Bread Machine

[seekermeister]

After the maintenance man gave me a loaf of bread from his new bread machine a few days back, I was surprised that I enjoyed it a lot, because it was white bread, which normally I don't care for at all. That inspired me to buy a bread machine for myself, but since I know absolutely nothing about baking anything that isn't already prepared, I get frustrated comparing the ads for them, because outside of a significant price range difference, I see little different between them, except quality of construction and design.

Is there anything in particular that i should look for, that is important either in results or use, which all of the machines may not have?

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Sounds like you are a healthy minded person who usually would stick to the multigrain
or wholemeal options i guess.

Glad you have finally come around to thinking that white can be right just like so many other
millions of happy toast chompers out there. Now to get serious! Don't worry too much about the bread
maker itself, if it is made by a reputable manufacturer of bread makers and comes
at a reasonable price then go for it- but remember that just like a puter you will get what
you pay for, cept your breadmaker probably won't have a 500GB hard drive. I did 1 year of
a baking apprenticeship (which I hated) about 20 years ago now, and what i found was
that it is all in the recipe. For example, the bread will taste dramatically different depending
on how much sugar, or fat, or preservative is added to the mix. So look for a good recipe!

Maybe if you kept the maintenance mans number you could give him a tingle on the ringle dingle
and see exactly what equipment he is packing to produce this deliciously tatsy loaf, and I'd suggest
if you do call then why not ask for the recipe he packs into that equipment while your at it!

Later

 

[seekermeister]

I do believe that the recipe is the most important aspect, but remain a bit unsure about the machine itself. If I understand, you are saying that the choice of the machine is primarily determined by price, and the price relates primarily to quality of construction and appeal, but otherwise all of the machines will produce about the same quality of bread...right?

EDIT: Actually, it has less to do with health than it does with taste. While I do prefer multi-grain breads, I would probably concentrate on Black Russian bread...my favorite.

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Correct with the bread maker. This is just my humble opinion though and I was
more involved with commercial size breadmakers, or ovens as we used to call
them and still do I think.

Black Russian hey - never heard of that one but hey - it has been 20 years since
my bread making hey day and besides, maybe I'm not the right person to answer you in the
first place cause I'm not really a big connoisser of different loaf variteties whether they be
mass produced or bread maker made.

I will look out for some Black Russian though (especially if he is 7"2 and goes by the name of Boris)

I would be most interested to check back here shortly and see if we can get a
third opinion on this bread maker issue. You should never take one persons opinion as the
gospel even if he did do 1 year of a bakers apprenticeship.

 

[seekermeister]

I could not guarantee that you would like it as much as I do, since tastes varies so much, but I would strongly suggest that you give some Black Russian a try. Walmart usually has some in their bakery section. It is not the best Black Russian that I have ever tasted, but it is what I have been using for quite some time, since I had no better option available. I do believe that it is good enough that you could decide whether you like it or not (they just label it as Pumpernickel, but that is a misnomer, because Black Russian and Pumpernickel are two different things}

EDIT: Oops! I just noticed that you are in Australia. Are there any Walmarts there?

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Yes I am in Australia and negatory on the WalMart

I do believe that the trying of the Black Russian may be problematic
if in Austarctica the guise of this you beaut loaf may be different.
By this I mean that it could be called something completely different
and I am starting to worry that I may never get to taste the seekermeister's
said favourite bread.

Oh well - guess I may have to soon start comparing bread makers as well and then
look for a Black Russian recipe on Dr. Google

 

[seekermeister]

Judging by your phraseology, I wouldn't be a bit surprised if it were called something else. I bet that you have at least seen it, but by a different name. Here is a picture of what it often looks like, but it also varies a lot depending on the recipe:

http://www.aussie-true-blue-recipes.com/BlackBread.html

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Thankyou for that link

Yes my phraseology can sometimes be a little confusing I know.
At one point I took electrocution lessons to try and alluviate
the problem and I think I'm doing heaps betterer now.

You Europeans are funny

Must sleep now- midnight here - will check back in tomorrow
to see if we have a third oponion

 

[seekermeister]

European? Despite the fact that Americans, just as Australians have European roots, I do not consider myself European. I'm less European that some Americans, because I'm also part Amerind. Then again, I don't think that you are a typical Australian either.

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Sorry- I was coming back to edit

Wish me sweet dreams still?

 

[seekermeister]

Don't let the bed bugs bite.

 

[Lava King]

Seekermeister,

In your first post you said that you enjoyed the bread that your maintenance man gave to you, why not ask him what make and model his machine is?

Another option would be to read the reviews on a website such as Amazon, this is what I do when considering an unknown or unfamiliar device or product.

Sorry, I haven't any experience with bread machines, but it stands to reason that the most important factor is going to be the recipe, and probably the quality of the ingredients.

 

[AllOnTheBus]

Hey seeker

I didn't realise there was a second page and that
you had wished me rainbows and unicorns in my lala.
Ty very much for that.

By the way, I meant absolutely no disrespect about the European
thing- it was purely a joke after your edit about about me being
in Ausweagia and there being no Walmarts.

Good to see that we got that third opinion to hey and I still
got me spectagoggles on lookin for the Black Russian.

Cheers my friend

 

[seekermeister]

I decided that I had hem hawed about too long, and went ahead and ordered this:

JR.com: Cuisinart CBK200 Bread Maker in Bread Makers

I doubt that it is the best bread machine available, but I think probably the best that I could afford. Now I have to order some ingredients, so that I can test it out when it arrives. I think that the main ingredient that is a problem is rye flour, because Walmart doesn't carry it (locally).

 

[seekermeister]

I Just sampled the first loaf from the machine and was very pleasantly surprised, because it was still quite tasty, despite the fact that I had made a major mistake in measuring the ingredients. Now to get it right.

 

[A Guy]

Bread Machine Recipes - Allrecipes.com



A Guy

 

[seekermeister]

Thanks for the link, but actually the recipes in the book that came with the machiine are quite good...if one follows them properly. The only other recipes that I need are those not in the book. The only one that I've had to Google for so far is for Black Bread:

Black Bread Bread Machine) Recipe - Healthy.Food.com - 210708

Of course, a recipe is just a recipe...until one tries it out.

 

[Joan Archer]

Bread Machine Recipes - Allrecipes.com



A Guy

I'm subscribed to their weekly email letter, very good it is too if you want to try to something different.

 

[boohbah]

i have a bread maker machine in the attic, the loaves it makes are far too small for a family of 6, so it got stored away, i did offer it to my neighbour but she didnt want the hassle of making her own either. it will be interesting to see if you are still using it in six months,or whether you have shelved it.

 

[seekermeister]

i have a bread maker machine in the attic, the loaves it makes are far too small for a family of 6, so it got stored away, i did offer it to my neighbour but she didnt want the hassle of making her own either. it will be interesting to see if you are still using it in six months,or whether you have shelved it.

You may not accept it, but I can assure you that I will be using the machine far longer than 6 months (assuming that it doesn't break down). I enjoy the bread that it makes far too much to abandon it.

As stated previously I totally dislike over-the-counter white breads coming from regular mass producer bakeries. I only consider them useful as fish bait. Yet, the taste, texture and satisfaction of even white bread from my machine surpasses that I have found with even breads of better quality from the above mentioned sources.

I'm curious about the comment regarding the size of your family vs loaf size...how big of a loaf does your machine make? Mine will make up to a 2 lb loaf, which I would think would be sufficient, for at least one meal per day, and if not, there is no reason that you can't make more than one loaf. It only requires a bit more time.