Bread machine recommendations. I'd love to do it all by hand, but

[alfredo]

certain limitations prevents that. I can't spend a lot of money. I need one just to do the kneading.

Any recommendations and caveats?

[NMDemDist2]

1. as long as it runs, does at least 1.5 pound loaves and has a 'dough'

setting you should be fine

get one at the thrift store or on craig's list or ebay

or check this out if used worries you

http://cgi.ebay.com/THE-BREAD-MACHINE-BY-WELBILT-MODEL-ABM8200_W0QQitemZ150220143962QQihZ005QQcategoryZ20669QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[alfredo]

2. I noticed they take mixes. What's the deal with that, and can I use

standard recipes?

[NMDemDist2]

3. housewolf says you can

i think as long as you're only using the dough cycle it's fine

[alfredo]

4. OK. So I wouldn't need a top line machine just as long as I'm just using

it for the dough cycle.

[NMDemDist2]

5. heck no, it's just a stand mixer with a timer

at least I think so

when I first started making bread my 6 year old machine would overheat and not bake

but it made a mean dough that worked fine

[alfredo]

6. I was thinking that. I needed one anyway.

Sunbeam still good?

[alfredo]

9. So I could get a bread machine and it would do what a stand mixer does

as far as kneading dough.

[housewolf]

18. Mixes not needed for bread machines

Just measure out and dump in your ingredients. There are probably a quad-zillion recipes for bread machines on the 'net, and dozens/hundreds of bread machine recipe books around.

But you don't even need recipes specific to bread machines - you just need to know the capacity of the machine 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb), and the qty of flour that gives you each size of loaf. This is a max, most machines will knead a smaller quantity as well.

It's an easy calculation - approx 2 to 2-1/4 cups of flour makes a 1 lb loaf, 3 cups of flour makes a 1.5 loaf, 4 cups of flour makes a 2 lb loaf, and 5 to 6 cups of flour makes a 2.5 loaf. So once you know the capacity of your machine and/or the size of loaf you want, you can select a recipe specifying the correct amount of flour.

[alfredo]

28. I figured that was the case, but I wanted to make sure.

[Warpy]

7. Check prices

You might find out you can afford a bottom of the line, reconditioned Kitchen Aid mixer for less than a bread machine that will last half as long.

That's what I did when my hands and wrists would no longer allow me to knead bread properly.

[alfredo]

8. Do I need a heavy duty model for doing bread dough?

I'm on SSI, so I need to think money.

[Warpy]

10. That's why I suggested a refurbished machine

Check out Kitchen Aid's website. Then compare it with the bread machine model you're considering. Just be aware that the Kitchen Aid is a big, beefy SOB that won't die for decades, while the bread machines are generally not nearly as well built.

Plus you can do more with it, like beat egg whites and heavy cream. It's one of those things you didn't know you needed until you got it.

[alfredo]

11. I've been looking around on the web and I am seeing Kitchen Aid

is the way to go.

[MagickMuffin]

12. I have the Breadman machine

It seems to do a good job of making dough. I've used it on several settings, however, I started using it just with the dough setting and like the results.

I was making the (2 lb. recipe) dough for pizzas and making a loaf as well.

I haven't ever used my Kitchen Aid mixer for bread dough. I know several people suggested getting one, but if you're like me and don't have much experience with making bread the Breadman is a relatively cheap machine. I chose it because of its size.

Target has them for $77.00, Bed Bath and Beyond also sells them.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-9091374-5692110?ASIN=B0000DEZO0&AFID=Froogle&LNM=B0000DEZO0

One more thing about the lid, if you make the loaf and not just the dough, be sure to leave the lid up until the unit has cooled down completely or the lid dome will melt. That happened the first time I made a loaf. I was lucky enough that the store replaced it.





Good luck with whatever decision you make.

[KatyaR]

13. Here's my recommendations:

Buy this machine:

http://www.amazon.com/Breadman-TR875-2-Pound-Breadmaker-Stainless/dp/B000FZZ0VE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1204287158&sr=8-1

and this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Lovers-Machine-Cookbook/dp/155832156X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204287189&sr=8-1

and you'll be set!

I bought this breadmaker before Thanksgiving, and I use it every week. It will also make pastas, gluten-free bread, doughs for oven baking, and jams and jellies. It only has 1.5 and 2-pound settings, but you can still bake 1-pound loaves-just half a 2-pound recipe.

The book has 300 bread-machine recipes, and I use it more than any other machine book. She uses SAF yeast in her recipes, but you can order that from Baker's catalogue (www.bakerscatalogue.com). I don't think I've ever seen it in the stores here.

Enjoy!

[alfredo]

15. To get what I want in a mixer, I'd have to spend $300. A bread maker

seems to be a better choice if money is the big hurdle.

We have several gourmet kitchen boutiques in town, they may carry the SAF yeast. My neighbor owns a bakery, maybe I can get some good yeast from him. It seems that any good quality yeast would do the job.

[Warpy]

21. A word of caution:

Breadmakers are a fad item. Manufacturers don't make them to stand up to years of heavy use. Mixers are made to stand up to decades of heavy use and are much more versatile.

You can get the basic Kitchenaid for well under $200. If you wait for a sale, they're under $170. I don't know what the refurbished ones sell for, but it's about the same or less.

If you're doing more than 2 loaves at a time, no breadmaker will do it either. Most of them barely do one at a time.

[alfredo]

23. I'm going to get a mixer. It's much more versatile.

[Warpy]

25. Excellent choice.

It will stand up to hard use if you need to start selling your products.

[alfredo]

26. The one thing I make that's good enough to sell is my fudge.

It would soon turn into work, and I am through with work. I started working at 10, I need time to be a kid again.

[Warpy]

30. I washed glasses and opened beer cans in a bar at 9

in a private club. I was paid in beer nuts and other junk food. I thought it was a great deal at the time because my mother never bought junk food. I could get a whole week's worth of crap in one Saturday evening. The drunks thought a little kid with a smart mouth behind the bar was great entertainment.

I get what you mean. I'm in the same boat. I'm sure there's something useful I could be doing on a volunteer basis, but I'm tired.

[alfredo]

33. I do work the elections. That's about it. I worked for an auction and did

some farm work. I used to cut, house, and strip tobacco. I sold newspapers, passed out handbills, and did odd jobs around the neighborhood.

When my sister turned sixteen she moved out. Mom stopped cooking and I had to learn how to cook if I wanted to eat. I was eleven. Mom cooked for herself after dad and I went to bed. I was a light sleeper and would wake up and she'd have to share. So it was bad news, good news. If mom had kept on cooking, I might have not learned to cook.
Even when she cooked I had to read the recipes because she couldn't. I also learned measures from playing with a chemistry set. I see cooking as one part chemistry, the rest is knowledge and passion.

[flamin lib]

14. Check out any Goodwill stores in your area. I can buy like new

bread machines from Oster and Sunbeam for $7.00. No warranty but most of them only made 4-5 loaves before they go put away and for $7 you can go through one a month.

[housewolf]

16. Since you're new to breadmaking and money is an important issue

I'll join FlaminLib and suggest that you pick up a real cheap breadmaker at a local thrift shop or check CraigsList.com for your area. Goodwill shops have a return policy, and maybe other thrift shops in your area do too, so you'd have a couple weeks to check out the machine and see if it works okay for you. Almost any brand of machine should knead dough well enough, you just want to be sure that the machine has a dough cycle.

Here's a great site for breadmachine info and recipes:
http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/index.shtml

The reason I recommend a breadmachine is because breadmachines are designed for the sole purpose of kneadng bread dough and to that end, they are more efficient and effective than a mixer. I own 3 different brands of stand mixers (a KA 6 qt (and formerly a KA 5 qt), a Bosch and a Magic Mill), and have found that the breadmachine I have just does a better job of developing gluten than any of the stand mixers. I know tons of people use and love their mixers for bread making - and I love all 3 of my mixers and won't give up any of them (each has its "thing" that it does best), but I get a higher-rising, better texture from dough kneaded in the breadmachine (the one I have is an older Zojirushi vertical loaf model) than I do from dough kneaded in my KA.

Keep in touch, we'll be curious and interested in how you breadmaiking journey progresses.



:donut:

[alfredo]

19. My wife had a great idea, she can knead the bread. Still, she hasn't

done if for 25 years and may not remember how it feels. We're going to make some this weekend to see how it works out doing it by hand.


Right now she is dead set against a bread machine. That's fine.

[housewolf]

22. Well there you go!

You may have found just the right solution!

[alfredo]

24. It will have a lot to do with if her arthritis doesn't hurt too much.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. All of them work, and they are cheap now. I got a...

Breadman for about 40 bucks at KMart. I make 2-4 loaves a week and it works just fine.

Like Flamin Lib sez-- people get them and use them a few times then get rid of them, so either find a deal at a discount store or find one in a thrift shop.

[hippywife]

20. I have a Breadman that someone

gave us for a wedding gift over 10 years ago. Only used a dozen times. If it weren't for the fact that the DH likes to use it on occasion, I'd box that bad boy up and ship it to you!

I hope you find one at a decent price that does the trick for you, darlin'. :hi:

[fortyfeetunder]

27. If you are lucky to find the butter maker too..

I won't give up my breadmaker in a brazillion years...It has a no-heat cycle for making butter from cream. I like the taste of freshly-made butter. It's now a Breadman brand.
It came out about 3 years ago so they should be out there....

[alfredo]

29. I remember churning butter as a kid. Hard work.

One enduring image was seeing an old woman on the porch of her cabin. She had on her bonnet and long cotton dress. She was sitting there churning butter in an old wooden butter churn.

[fortyfeetunder]

31. This butter cycle takes only 30 minutes

makes about 1/2 cup butter. Then take the container with the leftover butter and whey then make bread...ooooh la la!

[alfredo]

32. I'd like to make Ghee again. Back when I didn't have a refrigerator

Ghee was how I kept butter good for extended period.

[fortyfeetunder]

34. Got a process to make ghee?

I like to keep butter at room temp so I don't have to heat it.

[alfredo]

35. It's just heating the butter and skimming off the solids.

It's been a couple decades since I've made it. I used unsalted butter.