So I have been pondering the idea lately of moving to breads. since the thought of making cakes is making me sick, and the thought of bread makes me hungry, I thought it might be a good move. I do NOT have the bread bible, but I am sure that if I go about making breads I probably should get it. I am wondering though….do you recommend getting a bread machine? I see most of the recipes ONLINE say to use a bread machine. Does it make life easier? Is it worth it? Or is it a waste of money??
welcome to the word of breads! bread is such basic food, and surprisingly most people have no idea how to make them. once you do, you will be seen as a king or queen!
my recommendation on bread equipment, in order of importance is:
1st, get the KA 5qt Artisan, or if you want to double bread recipes, get the KA 6qt Pro.
2nd, it is totally optional, but once you get it, you can’t go back, kneading is best done on the Zojirushi Bread Machine, even better than hand once you master how to use the machine cycles or custom program. Be aware, that you still need an oven, bread machines doesn’t bake or shape the bread nicelly.
I started making breads about a year or two ago with just the Bread Bible and a Kitchen Aid mixer. I’ve found that’s all I really need. (well, that and an oven, pizza stone, a plastic spray bottle and some ice) :-D
Home made bread is amazing. You’ll love every step of the way.
I used to have a bread machine, about 15 or 20 years ago, when they were all the fashion. I didn’t like the way the machine baked the bread, but it mixed the dough just fine. Problem was, my machine could do only small quantities of dough. So, I got rid of the bread machine, and bought a Kenwood 5-quart mixer (now called a DeLonghi). So, you don’t need a bread machine. Like the others said, though, a mixer is essential.
Mixer Madness I say! Essential? Craziness! Wacky! Borderline insane.
Mathew (as usual) has the right of it. In fact no mixer can produce the quality of bread that hand mixing does. Further there is no real time or effort saving. I can produce bread with a large bowl and sturdy spoon just as quickly and with a great deal less mess and cleanup than any mixer ever made. I have all those fancy machines and they are appropriate for many recipes but when I bake bread they watch my bowl and spoon in silent envy.
I have a Kenwood mixer, which I used yesterday to make some beautiful bread rolls. I also have a Panasonic bread machine which I use about twice or three times a week to make big loaves for toast, sandwiches. I also make lovely, lovely bread without either of these machines just by hand so no, you don’t NEED a bread machine but they are handy if you want to make a loaf without standing over the dough, just walk away and wait for the PING!
While it may be true that no machine can make bread dough like the human hand, when those human hands have carpal tunnel syndrome as bad as I do, there is no way those hands can knead bread or use a spoon and bowl to do anything. I started by making bread dough in the food processor, with a book called Bread in Half the Time. That book opened the door to the world of bread for me. I graduated to better recipes and my KA mixer, and held off buying my Zojurishi bread machine for many years. Once I broke down and bought it, I kicked myself for not doing it sooner. I have never used the machine to bake bread, just to knead the dough. I always hand shape and bake in my regular oven. I think if you asked 10 people how they use their bread machine, knead only or knead/bake, 9 out of 10 would way knead only. I haven’t heard of many true bakers that are really satisfied the way this machine bakes. I agree with Hector, once you learn to program the Zo, it can do many things with kneading the dough.
hmm mixed reviews lol
ok, I already have a KA mixer, but I am not exactly sure what size it is.
I was doing some research online last night about buying vs baking bread and it looks like if you eat a lot of bread (my boyfriend goes through a half a loaf of bread a day) then it is cheaper to make your own. So i thought, since in feb i will be staying home and not working, what else do i have to do! So i typically would want to make sandwich bread and rolls.
I don’t want to go buy an expensive bread machine either way, because I really need to save my money so I am looking for the most feasible thing.
If you are not looking to make a big purchase right now, and you are new to bread, I would recommend using your existing KA mixer, or on occaision, hand kneading. Once you have established which are your favorite breads and whether or not you enjoy kneading by hand, you’ll be in a better position to decide on the bread machine. I like the Bread Bible a lot, it teaches you so much, along with Rose’s YouTube videos for keading and shaping- I found the torpedo shaping video to be especially helpful.
Good luck and consider posting a few pics along the way!
so if i am correct here (apologize for my ignorance)..the bread machine doesnt BAKE the bread, but just mixes it??
I noticed when i made that brioche to make the sticky buns (omg they were soo good) I had a hard time mixing with the KA and dough hook. It was almost like the hook didn’t get into the dough that much and i felt much better when i actually started kneading by hand. Is this normal?
I am almost sure ALL bread machines bake as well as kneading the dough but some do it better than others I presume. I am quite happy with the loaves that my machine bakes although I do sometimes just make the dough and then bake it in the oven. The problem with baking in the machine is that all the loaves turn out the same shape, a not very attractive rectangle! However the advantage of using the machine to bake the dough is that all you do is put the ingredients in, in the correct order, press the right buttons and leave it to do the job! At the end of about 4-5 hours you have a good loaf,IMO anyway.
In summary, the bread machine is just a matter of convenience and how much time or hands you have! Stick to your hands, or next the mixer, and ultimatelly the Zo!!!!!
