With rising (hee hee) food prices and gas prices I'm thinking that I want a bread maker. I specifically want one to cut down on my trips to the grocery store and to have healthier options for bread. The bread I usually get - whole wheat - is about $3.00 a loaf. YIKES! This past week, I decided to get some cheaper bread. Chris calls it "faux wheat" bread, because although it says it's 100% whole wheat, the ingredients are less than stellar - high fructose corn syrup and a myriad of other preservatives and junk. However, if I buy the "preservative free" type breads, their shelf life is quite short and I don't have a big freezer, so freezing the loaves is out of the question.
So, I'm thinking that it would be nice to have a bread machine. I used to have one and used it quite a bit until the motor blew out on it (that was a sad day). Now I'm thinking it would be prudent to have another.
The biggest draw for me is that the bread machines these days have a "delay" option. Put your ingredients in the night before and wake up the next morning to a warm just-baked loaf of bread!
On the other hand . . . I can foresee us purchasing a large freezer in the not-so-distant future. With a big freezer, I can then purchase many loaves of bread at a time and freeze them. But, having a warm loaf of bread waiting for me in the morning is almost too good to pass up.
For those of you who do have bread machines - is it worth it? Do you have any recommendations for a good brand of machine?
I am quite aware that I could make my own bread without a machine - but I am TERRIBLE at making bread. I am exceptionally good at making bricks, though! And the ease of a bread machine is awesome - dump the ingredients in, push a few buttons, and take the finished product out a few hours later (and some machines have a rapid option - bread in 58 minutes!).
*A side note - I have some Bed Bath and Beyond coupons and a gift card - so I'm thinking if I do get a machine, I'll get it there and save some moolah. This limits my choices somewhat, though.
5 comments:
I love, love, LOVE my bread maker. I often wonder how I got along without one in the first place. I especially love the "dough" option. I put all my ingredients in and take the raised dough out a while later to make cinnamon rolls. All the hard stuff is done for you. It's WONDERFUL! The only thing I don't love is the shape of the loaves of bread when I leave the dough in to bake. I do not love square loaves of bread with a big weird hole in the bottom. The rest is great, though.
Ian's grandparents gave us a bread machine 5 years ago when we moved here and I havn't used it once. In fact I was tired of it taking up space in my cupboards so I transfered it a couple of weeks ago to my garage with the intent of getting rid of it. Do you want it? I don't know how great it is since I never used it, but since I'll give it to you free, it's worth a look to see if you might like it. Just let me know before you spend any money. I'll drop it off along with your book that I've had for ten years. (Well maybe not ten years)
Dude, take Deb's!!! :) I have a bread machine and tend to use the dough setting like Jodi. But then I discovered the dough hook on my Kitchenaid and that's what I use now. It's faster and, since the mixer has a permanent spot on my counter whereas the bread machine is stored in our buffet, the mixer is more convenient. I make the sourdough bread that way too. Let us know how this turns out for you. :)
Okay, I'm totally a homemade bread maker. I use my Bosch and I promise that homemade bread really isn't that hard. I'll show you if you ever care to know. Also, Shar's has a great, free bread making class if you can get by her trying to sell you everything. I agree with Jodi that I'm not wild about the shape and hole. But I do use my automatic bread maker for the dough setting as well. My favorite is making dough and then twisting them into breadstick. Cook them and then brush on some melted butter and sprinkle with "Salad Supreme" seasoning. My family is crazy about it!
Ok, Julie, I promise you that I'm totally bread-making challenged. I am horrible at it. You did an Enrichment a while ago and showed us all how to make bread. It looked easy - UNTIL I got home and tried it for myself. Really, you have an amazing talent.
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