im a horrible cook (no real kitchen for over a year doesn't help) and the only thing I make from scratch is no knead bread. I've never used a bread machine, but I can't imagine anything is easier than no knead. Here's the blog that turned me on to bread making:

http://www.frugallivingnw.com/amazing-no-knead-bread-step-by-step-recipe/

I've had my Zojirushi for about 10-15 years and I love it. I use it to bake bread, bake sweet breads, make dough for bread and bake in the oven, make pizza dough every week etc. Can't imagine living without it. If it breaks at some point (knock on wood) I will buy another one.

The no knead bread we make is so easy and versatile. No bread machine needed.

I love my zojirshi, I've had it for bout 2 years, make all kinds of bread and use the dough setting for rolls and pizza dough. Mine is the BBPAC-20

I've been using this recipe for years. I don't have a bread machine, but it makes 3 loaves that freeze well and comes out perfect every time. I use King Arthur Whole Wheat White for all of the flour called for.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

I began making my own bread when I was at the supermarket and realized that there was only one loaf in the bread aisle at the store that did not have sugar-why do you need sugar in your bread? That was two years ago I bought a gently used zojirushi and have only bought one loaf since then...I've even made my own english muffins. You can buy many bread machines off craigslist because a lot of people only use them once or twice. Since I regularly bake It take less than 5 minutes to assemble all of the ingredients. I usually watch it for a couple of minutes at the start to make sure it's mixing (sometimes flour sits on the side and it takes all of a second it knock it down)...after that it does the work so once you understand it/what you need to do it won't take any time at all. I like it because it has normal loaf/slice size (2 paddles) and it has both preset programs (use those to start, they all work fine, you will like some better than others) and is also completely programmable so when you want to branch out you can decide how long each stage (setting, mixing, kneading, rising - you have the choice of two or three rises and baking) should take. If the machine is not located where its noise will wake you, you can set it up so that you have fresh bread in the morning...you can also make other doughs...or pizza. It has a backup for temporary power failures which is really a necessary feature in some places.

go for it...

I have the Zojirushi, I got it on Craigslist for s steal. I love it. You do have to find a recipe that works for your family. My DH, youngest son and I are all fine with the bread machine bread. My oldest is very picky.

In the winter I will often set it up at night so that there is hot bread for breakfast. I do the same thing to have bread fresh and hot when we are having soup for supper.

I use the dough cycle a lot too. Pizza dough ready when I come home from work-yay! My sons love using the dough cycle for homemade bagels and pretzels.

Note- I can and do make bread by hand as well, the bread machine still has a place in our home.

I'm happy to see the Zojirushi get several likes. That is the one I sort of had my eye on. I made a batch of the no knead bread today for tomorrow so we'll see how we like it but I still want the bread machine. Thanks everyone for your opinions!!!

I love to make my own multigrain and whole grain breads, but also use our Zojirushi. During cold weather I do prefer to make only the dough in the machine and bake the loaves in the oven.

I prefer to cool the bread after baking and stick it back in the oven to warm up for deliciously warm and extra crusty bread. Yum.

Freshly baked hot bread emits many gases that aren't good for people, and can cause belly aches for many. I definitely would not feed freshly baked bread to children. Anyway, cooled off bread is hot in 5 minutes in a hot oven. Bon appetit!

I love my zojirushi, too. But it doesn't make good sandwich-for-the-lunchbox bread. It doesn't survive the bread wolves long enough!

benjesbride, I want to try that bread. Can I mix it in my KA mixer with the dough hook? Or is that too rough?

I've never tried it in my mixer, Miz Lizzie. it so simple, though. When I bake that bread I actually feel like I have some domestic skills. In truth it's just an easy recipe (though I haven't told my husband this.)

MizLizzie, there's no need to knead so I wouldn't. The recipe I use is almost identical to what benjesbride posted. I just mix with a wooden spoon. I bet it doesn't take much more than a minute to mix it up with a spoon.

I do use my KA dough hook with other bread recipes but not this one.

Thanks, ladies. You may have inspired me . . .

I used to make a LOT of bread... then people found out and I made a few for them.. then they expected it and, before you knew it, I had my own dadgum bakery going, so I stopped.. heh

Plan to pick it back up as soon as the house is built as I have to justify the kitchen I conn.. er talked my wife into.. lol

Russ

Kneading is only interesting and meditation-like occasionally... let the machines do it the rest of the time. The KA dough hook works fine but you have to be there to watch the rise...knock it, watch the rise knock it, form it, turn the oven on, turn it off....none of which is a big deal but you have to be home paying attention....Bread machine does it all...

The dough is resting and covered in Saran Wrap! Pray for me tomorrow. Perhaps I have broken my lifelong Bread Curse . . .

Pictures of your loaf, please! I predict your curse will be broken.

I made the nyt no knead bread on Friday and managed to screw it up for the first time ever :D Hadn't made it in quite a while, added too much water because I forgot to subtract the amount I used for proofing the yeast, and discovered that too-wet dough made with bread flour is the stickiest substance known to man and laughs at all attempts to use flour or cornmeal to keep it from gluing itself to anything it touches. Then I picked the wrong size pot and to top it all off managed to underbake it slightly.

But by screw up I mean that while the texture didn't come out as perfect as it usually does, it was still lovely bread and had better crumb than anything I've had from a bread machine.

I need to redeem myself though so I have another batch of dough rising on top of the fridge for tomorrow's dinner. I actually went crazy and weighed out the ingredients lol.

I went out yesterday intending to just "shop" for the bread machine. There is a Bed, Bath and Beyond near me that is closing. Everything in the store was 40% off and they had 1 bread machine left and it was the Zojirushi BBPAC-20 so I came home with it!!! Made my first loaf last night...just plain white bread using the quick rise setting (I only had quick rise yeast) and it is awesome!!! Looking forward to thick slices of toast with my homemade peach jelly for breakfast after I finish my coffee this morning!!!

That is an awesome steal of a deal. I am kind of surprised that a BB&B is closing.

What differs between the models? I looked on amazon and there were several. Anybody know off hand?

I just recently started making my own dough for sticky buns and stromboli but you all make it sound so easy to make regular old bread that I have the itch.

Okay, fingers crossed. This thing put up a fight . . .

MissLizzie you might need to put that gem on a KAW thread. ;)

Let's see if it is a gem 2 hours from now! BTW, what is KAW??

Kitchen At Work. Sometimes when people are using their kitchens to make something homemade and yummy they post a thread about it. It's a different kind of 'eye candy' and normally results in hunger pangs like this thread did to me last night. :)

Here's the loaf I made last night in the new bread machine...well, half the loaf, we ate the other half for breakfast!!! Really impressed with my Zojirushi and can't wait to experiment more with it!!!

The zoji make's it so easy to control what's in your bread/ in your body. It is addicting and takes so little of your time.

OMG! I may have done it! It is making lovely, cracking sound as it cools. And the house smells like magic. Dying to taste it, but I will resist . . .

I use whatever's unused and cheap at the thrift store or swap meet. Latest machine is a Sumbeam.

We have a "sponge" method for bread machines.

Just made a loaf of Sriracha bread - 2 Tbsp Sriracha sauce replacing 2 Tbsp of water, with about 1/16 tsp of baking soda to neutralize the vinegar in the sriracha. Makes great sammiches.

MizLizzie, it looks perfect! Did it taste as good as it looks?

OMG. I feel like someone took me downtown to the local crack house and gave me the key. Just toasted half a slice. My sister -- aka the Professional Baker -- is visiting. She keeps saying, "I can't believe YOU made this!" Ha!

MizLizzie - Did you post the recipe? What size pan is that too? Looks awesome:)

Russ

YAY, ML!

Russ, benjesbride posted the recipe farther up this thread. I use the same recipe. it's super easy and quick to put together, tastes yummy, and you can make a lot of variations.

I am definitely going to give this a try - sans bread machine though.

Thanks funky.. I was in a rush this morning to get on the road so did not see that. I look forward to trying it myself.

Way back when.. I had a recipe I almost memorized.. something like 2 pkgs yeast, 1.5 qts warm water, 10 cups flour.. been a long time, so I forget.. but it was a great "every day sandwich bread" recipe. I tried an Amish one last year, but it was awful heavy... great as toast though.

Looking forward to getting the house built so I can get back to baking and this will be one of the first ;)

R

Interesting thread. I'm another zojirushi owner who also makes her own bread by hand.

And occasionally falls asleep during late night baking...

dcward89 - yay! Isn't it fun?

localeater - any chance you would be willing to post your recipe? I like the idea of having pizza dough ready for dinner, thanks.

I made Jim Lahey's recipe once (no knead bread) but was not amazed by the results. It sounds like I should give it another shot. I couldn't figure out what the actual recipe was, in the frugallivingnw link above, so ordered his cookbook :)

oasisowner - I will look forward to trying your wheat bread.

mizlizzie - Great pictures! Just a suggestion - I knead/shape/etc. my dough directly on the countertop. You just need one of these to get all the dough/flour up:

Sometimes I use the bread machine to prep dough for my favorite rolls. Sometimes, though, I buy this stuff and just take the frozen dough out (it comes in little balls) and let it defrost and rise, and then bake (same pan all three). WONDERFULLY light and airy! (It does take 5-6 hours to defrost and rise).

http://www.rhodesbread.com/products/view/dinner-rolls

I was afraid I had commented with the wrong link above. The recipe is at the very bottom of the Frugal Living NW blog post. I'll paste below:

If you google No Knead NY Times Bread, you'll get a lot of sites with recipes and variations. I've tried several different ones and they have all turned out well and taste great, imho.

Thanks benjesbride. I kept trying to figure it out from the text and didn't read far enough.

I haven't made any for a while, but I think I used a different variation than the one I posted above. As funky said, there are several variations. Oh! I'm excited to get back to bread making!

I baked mine in a Staub coq a vin, deeply discounted in the link below. Today my sister and I made her heirloom wheat bread, but because the recipe was smaller, we made it in my 4-qt wholesale club Le Creust knockoff. The bottom stuck and burned a bit. Might have been the density, not the faux-pot. But the Staub weighs twice as much, and everything I've ever cooked I it has turned out awesome.

http://www.amazon.com/Staub-5-75-Quart-Coq-Cocotte-Grenadine/dp/B00166MEBU

And BTW, I have another bowl of benjesbride/funky dough rising downstairs. Gonna cook for the neighbors tomorrow.

Got a question for those still following this thread. My next loaf is rising while my Staub heats. What if instead of tossing the dough, I lifted up the parchment and just settled the whole thing into the Dutch oven? What would happen? Just curious.

Why not give it a try? I don't see why not. I think I've actually read that in some of the variations.

man... I can barely fit my 9x13 in the cabinet in this apartment.. lol.. stop showing me cookware I know will just have to go to storage.. lol!

Daddy want!

R

FC, I did. It worked incredibly well, though I undercooked it just a tiny bit teying to achieve perfection. It is still excellent, and there was no cleanup. I am just so happy y'all helped me learn to do this, so thanks.

Russ, just buy the Staub. That is an awesome price, and once you own it, you can sell half your other cookware on eBay. I just wiped 'er down with a damp towel, and threw in a pot roast. You can roast a whole chicken, a big one, or cook a huge pot of red sauce. Or a couple of tenderloins for pulled pork. Heck, you can deep fry it it. And it works on induction beautifully. I am by no means a Cookware Ho. I have about eight mismatched pieces, some of it $9 pots from Tuesday Morning. But the Staub is a must have, and I'm just sorry I went so many years without it because I was a cheapskate. Get it now, and never regret it.

OB2B- Sorry been out of town without access to my pizza dough recipe. Here it is

12 3/4 oz flour

1T sugar

1 1/2 t salt

1 1/2 t oregano

2 1/4 t yeast

1 c water

2 T margarine or butter or olive oil

I do 1/3 wheat, 2/3 white flour

Just put the ingredients in the bread machine in the order appropriate for you model, mine is water first.

This Cooking Light recipe includes a Kale Pesto that is out of this world on pizza

I highly recommend the book, The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook by Jennie Shapter. The sections that explain the machine really educated me and enabled me to maximize the results of my machine. The Foccacia recipe is worth the price of the book itself. Oh, and did I mention it has a recipe for Chocolate Croissants- and that they are GREAT!

Just following up to say thank you to everyone who recommended the Zojirushi...I LOVE THIS MACHINE. It is head and shoulders above my last bread machine and I have made so many different breads so far. Here are 2 loaves of french bread I made yesterday...made the dough in the Zojirushi and then formed and did the rise and baked myself. Honestly it was fantastic...my DH is completely impressed!!!

I had a breadmaker and loved it, but as I progressed with breadmaking I decided to invest in a Kitchenaid stand mixer and never looked back. Eventually I gave the breadmaker to my mom. I'm going to throw out the suggestion anyone interesting breadmaking borrow a friend's machine. It might really fit the bill, or it might get you interested in going beyond the machine. In that case, a stand mixer is going to be a much more versatile tool. Making pizza dough or dough for loaves that you shape and bake in an oven is, I think, just as easy if not easier in a stand mixer as in the breadmaker. And while a breadmachine only makes bread, you can use the mixer for cakes, pies, cookies, whipped cream, and so on. Just my two cents.

And now I'm hungry.