Funny you should say that Cayu, for we have been researching getting one of those. The more we investigate the more uncertain we become. So much so that my Bride is to the point of just wanting to forget about the whole thing. I have not quite given up and am still trying to find a path to the best one for us. One thing we feel sure about is that the breadmaker ought to have two mixer blades so that our breads would be rectangular. Please tell me about your bread maker, what you like about it, its shortcomings and what atributes you find important . We could make this a new thread if you like. The fact that you broke it out again implies that you had retired it at one point. Why? When we lived in Alaska my Bride used to make bread all the time. There were no bread machines then and the breads were quite dense, albeit delicious.
My bread "machine" has two mixer blades--my hands! Husband offered to get me a bread machine, but I make bread in large batches--four, eight, or twelve loaves at a time, and making one loaf just ain't my style! I have a friend with a Hamilton Beach bread machine, and she loves it. It is several years old and perhaps is no longer available.
Good for you MG! I admire you industry! That is impressive. Just that your arms could knead all that dough. How do you eat (or keep) all that bread before it goes stale? Or do you have a roster of eager friends & family for it? SJ, I have an old Oster machine. I doubt is made any more. I think the new machines have a GF setting which would be good for my husband. So far I haven't found a good gf bread machine recipe. The breads have all been WAY too heavy. If anyone has a good one, please post it! SJ I love my machine. I can make sweet breads (without much sugar) with apples, or peaches or blueberries and lemon, etc. Or french bread or oatmeal or raison bread, etc. I have been keeping our daughter supplied in bread. To answer your question, I put the machine away when I was working full time, jazzing my kids around before they could drive and generally having no time to breathe. Very hectic days. But I am glad I didn't give the machine away. I am really enjoying it now. I wish our son lived close so I could give him bread too.
Cayuga, I give about two thirds of the loaves away--friends who don't bake, friends who can't bake, and the occasional person who does a favor for us. There is always a variety of breads in the freezer. And yes, my biceps are impressive!
Thanks Cayu. An Oster. I shall look into it. Is having a GF setting the only real aspect that is important to you? Are there any other functional specs that you find necessary? Jane—Hamilton Beach. I shall have a looksy. I guess there’s no chance of borrowing your blades for a while, huh. Anyway, my Bride is hesitating now primarily because reading conflicting reviews on how machines functioned and were liked or disliked by their owners. She listened to your complaint, Cayu when you said that your breads were too dense. She really dislikes heavy breads and doesn’t want to take a chance that she can’t find a recipe that will work for us. We both prefer light non-dense bread. Brown bread. I could tell you the type we most often buy, but the name is not in english. I am still open to hearing about bread making machines that anyone can recommend. Thank you guys for what you have written so far.
Good for you MG! I admire you industry! That is impressive. Just that your arms could knead all that dough. How do you eat (or keep) all that bread before it goes stale? Or do you have a roster of eager friends & family for it? Even if home made bread gets slightly stale,,and it will after two or three days,, I make French toast and freeze it ! Just did that this morning ! Handy for quick breakfast or with fruit for late night snack ! Apple pie filling over french toast and butter on top is pretty good ! Warm of course !
Sjoerd, I didn't mean to say the bread machine bread was very dense. The glutin free bread machine bread is! GF bread is really tricky to make...no glutin in it. The regular bread is just fine. Too bad you can't borrow someone's machine for a trial. I really like one of the features our mahine has: you can add mix-ins partway through the cycle for making apple bread, etc. It also can make quick breads as well as yeast breads. In my mind you can't go wrong with any of the bread machines, but I may not have as developed a bread palate as you and your bride have. Good luck with your decision.
Mart, what a capital idea to freeze French toast. And the topping that you mentioned—great! I see Cayu— that glutinless cooking is something that I know nothing about t all. I have read reviews where people have said that they couldn’t find the right recipe to make bread as light or heavy as they want. You are probably right though when you say that any machine will be alright. I may be over-thinking this. I am appreciating your input though.
Mashed potatos with cream cheese and chives mixed through, runner beans and bratwurst. It was delish.
Chicken and sausage gumbo in front of the TV. It's news week with PBS and since the Newshour comes on at 6 p.m., we eat once a week in front of the TV. How decadent!
I’ll tellya Jane. There’s noffink wrong with eating before a television set. We do that often enough, especially in the summertime when our hours are crazy. BTW, your meal sounds great.
Sj, what is stampot? A stew? We had left over curried shrimp over rice. For tonight, we added pineapple to it for a different flavor.
