What size loaves do you like to make? My sister's significant other has a ton of allergies so she makes everything from scratch. Two years ago she bought this one and absolutely loves it. She makes everything from bread and cinnamon rolls to hamburger buns and pizza dough with it. The only draw back is the price but if you want a good machine, she says it's worth it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread Machine

Last I looked the bread machines made from 1 lb. to 1 1/2 lb. But I always prefer bigger.

I'll save this one and see if others come up with any.

Thanks!

You might also want to click around and check out "No-knead" bread and/or Cook's Illustrated "Almost no-knead" bread. When my machine died, that's what I did. There was no way I would do all the kneading by hand.

Yes, that's what I have is a 1-1.5 lb. When baked in the 1 - 1.5 lb machine, the loaf comes out more upright. In her machine it's laying down like a loaf is supposed to. Anymore, I just mix the dough and pop it in my oven. Allrecipes.com has some simple and delicious bread recipes I like to use.

Sometimes I like to knead, sometimes I take the easy way out and make a batch of no-knead dough. It's incredibly easy! Combine all ingredients, stir to incorporate (takes a minute), cover and let rise at room temp, then stick in the fridge and cut off a piece to make bread. A batch makes about 4 loaves/boules. The recipe says the dough keeps for up to 2 weeks in the fridge; I find 9-10 days is about max for best performance.

Here is a link that might be useful: the master recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day

I always like to see if I get can get something cheaper! I Googled and found the machine that lukkiirish showed above for $199.00 with free shipping, new from eBay. I looked at on Amazon and it does get amazing reviews.

Here is a link that might be useful: Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker

Natal, I have that book but the recipes all seemed complicated to me though I admit, baking doesn't come real naturally to me either. Have you tried other recipes in the book as well?

I don't have that particular book, but I have made that recipe many times. I reduce the amount of yeast; don't care for the yeasty flavor with the full amount. I have their Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day book. Have only made the pumpernickel so far. Bumblebeez has the same book and she makes a few recipes in it.

I took these pics a couple years ago. This was day 11 ... using the last of the dough.

Here is a link that might be useful: dough & bread pics

That looks pretty easy and very convenient, but can I use loaf pans? I love my sandwiches shaped like that.

I've never used a stone before but I sure want that bread whisk!

I use my KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook for all our bread. There are two loaves cooling on the kitchen island as we speak. I always used to knead by hand but prefer to let the KA do the hard work now. It gives me total flexibility with recipes but no hand kneading. I found my bread machine too limited.

Sis, I've always wanted a KA stand mixer, but I don't bake enough to justify buying one. So I have the KA hand mixer in "buttercup yellow." lol

What type of bread did you bake yesterday?

I did learn something nifty. When we remodeled we installed under-cab lighting. It was cool on Saturday and boy did the bread rise perfectly sitting under those lights! The granite was so cold I put a potholder under the bowl.

Oh I loooove my KA mixer. Never thought I'd bother getting one because I don't bake hardly at all, but it works great for other things too, especially mashed potatoes.

That's a great price for that Bread Maker on Ebay. I'd just be nervous buying from there.

Thanks for the info and link Natal. I'll have to give it a try. Sure would make life easier to have the dough in the bowl ready to go.

I don't think I'd buy one on Ebay. The first bread machine I bought was a week after Christmas, and that's when I learned to NEVER buy anything like that after Christmas unless inspected thoroughly in the store.

When I got mine home, it had obviously been bought earlier and returned. I found a wad of GUM stuck under the bread pan, and the video and instruction book was missing! Yuck yuck yuck!! lol

I agree with the KA mixer. I'd probably go with that - it's not that much more $$ and you can do alot with one.

tina

Luk, what all do you use your mixer for? I love using the hand "smasher" for mashed potatoes or a large bowl of avocados for Guacomole. I'll never forget when my MIL put her mashed potatoes in her KA and she mixed it so much they were gummy! lol.

I really like the hand mixer though. Not for bread. I'm one of those that if I can do it faster by hand (hand mixer) I'd rather do that. Easier clean-up and not much storage.

I am sooo craving some of my cinnamon/raisin bread, but I lost the recipe!

Anyway, back to mixes, are there brands any of you have tried and liked? I'm not talking about Krustee's, and other "common" store bought brands.

Oakley, I feel the same about hand mixers. I even use mine to mix bread dough.

Have you tried any of King Arthur's mixes?

Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour yeast bread mixes

Btw, they have that bread whisk.

Here is a link that might be useful: bread whisk

I get King Arthur's catalog but never noticed their bread mixes! I'll probably order some.

For lunch I had one semi-thick slice of bread slathered in butter. lol. This mix has flax seed in it and it's great!

I use my mixer to make mashed potatoes, cakes, pizza dough and a variety of other things. Nothing compares.

I'm not real savy when it comes to yeast, so I make all my bread by scratch in the bread machine with quick rise yeast. I get the dough to the point where I just need to shape the loaf and bake it. I never use the mixes. Instead I bought everything in bulk and house it in my pantry. The flour (a 25# bag) is in a large air tight container on wheels. I make two loaves out of one recipe. The one I've linked to is my DH's favorite. He's the bread person in the family.

Here is a link that might be useful: French Bagettes

Those Bagettes look yummy and easy to make. Thanks for the recipe. My DIL swears by her KA too.

I ordered a machine and it should come today! But it was very inexpensive with mostly great reviews. What I like about it is that it matches the kitchen, and doesn't take up a lot of room.

Link below.

The biggest complaint is it's hard to read the panel because of the yellow background, but I keep my kitchen glasses sitting on the counter at all times. :)

Natal, if you're reading this...the machine gives me three choices of crust color. Wouldn't that effect the texture of the bread if I chose a light or dark color?

Also, I was looking at the bread mixes on King Arthurs, they have one that is a sugar/cinnamon bread. I read the reviews and no one mentioned adding raisins to it. I love me some raisin bread! Is it okay to add raisins to a mix like that?

Here is a link that might be useful: Bread Machine

Oakley, sorry, I don't know anything about bread machines. Maybe one of these links will help.

I don't see why you couldn't add raisins or nuts to one of the KA mixes. There may be a trick to doing it though when using a bread machine.

Here is a link that might be useful: choosing crust color on bread machine

Thanks, I saved the link. I read on the Red Star site, "If your bread recipe has a lot of grains or sweeteners that can cause it to brown quickly, choose a light crust cycle."

Hmmm. The Bob's mix (you need to buy some!) has a lot of grains in it, not sure about sweetners though.

I'll probably play it safe and use the "Medium" setting.

It should be here in an hour! :)