Bread Maker?

I researched this in depth several years ago and found out that https://www.zojirushi.com/app/category/breadmakers make the best bread machines in the world. I also asked 2 different independent bakers and they both said Zojirushi machines were the very best. The cheaper brands one sees at Walmart/department stores had a lot of problems but did work somewhat.

As for taste, I once worked in a bakery for about a month or so. My boss the owner told me I could have all of anything I wanted to eat free (for me only) the first week I ate enough pies, cakes, doughnuts, etc to sink a battleship, after that I was almost exclusively a bread eater. Fresh bread in it's many forms was something I just didn't get tired of, and it wasn't just me, the owner was the same way, true story :):cool:.
 
No doubt Zojirushi is a fine machine but ....

on that website I couldn't see what the zojirushi bread maker might cost and I watched the video that was very short on information about the actual workflow / evidence (purposely? (I've seen how bread machines work & their results on youtube), but I just cannot for the life of me fathom how a bread machine can be easier, faster, cheaper & make better quality bread, then your 2 hands, a world full of free recipes, a measuring cup, 2 measuring spoons, a metal bowl & maybe a metal or wood spatula (for which the Manual Equipment Total Cost could be maybe $15 or less or free as many kitchen folks have extras & would love to pass them on).

While advertised as "set it & forget it", that isn't the entire real world or complete story of using bread machines, nor are the "breads" that they output often shown in real world results. Even the machines require one to practice, tweak, have failures & successes. I was once attracted by the bread machine hype until I started doing some research on types, brands, costs of bread machines & the resulting breads & then I made a few loaves of bread by hand. There may be compromises on both methods, but even if I could afford a Zojirushi, I'd still opt to make bread by hand as it is so easy that for me, having an expensive machine make an inferior loaf of bread doesn't make sense.

Kind of like dashcams. At first, one thinks these little gadgets with tiny image sensors & electronics can do it all & the hype has people thinking that they work perfectly in all conditions, all the time, with incredible clarity & resolution & hold unrealistic amounts of memory / files ..... but then one buys one of these little "machines" & soon learns of their real world limitations, workflow, no matter whether cheap or expensive models.

The brain's bias for cheap & easy solutions & believing the marketing or illusion is powerful & rarely ever conciously questioned or examined by individuals. And which would take a lot of the emotion & "fun" out of impulse buys, hope & prayer. ;)
 
For the fellow asking for recipes to be posted; perhaps tell us what type of bread you want a recipe for? eg: I make & have developed for ME, a fantastic & wholesome fiber filled whole wheat multigrain flax bread that some white bread afficiandos might not be interested in touching whereas I have never made a loaf of white bread in my life & have not eaten a bite of white bread in probably 50 years :unsure:, so I would have no clue on a good recipe for that. But the interweb search would turn of plenty of any type. Then it's just tweaking a recipe to meet your tastes, equipment & situation. Recipes, as others have suggested, are often "guides" & variable with equipment & environment.

Also I've learned that breads, like wines, taste better the longer that the yeast / bread / wine is allowed to work / ferment / age. At least that is one part of the "taste" & easy to control. One won't get much "aging" control with a bread machine.
 
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Could be my environment or my bread type / recipe of extremely simple ingredients for a whole wheat fiber filled multigrain flax bread with zero preservatives (other than 2 tsp of salt), but 2 loaves last me about 2 weeks & I've never seen any mold develop on the oldest loaf. But, if I have freezer room in my tiny freezer or out on the porch in winter, then I'll freeze one loaf vs. having the extra loaf sit on the counter or in a cupboard. Still, I've never had mold on my home made bread unlike say the "multigrain" buns I used to buy from Costco that did have chemicals in the list of ingredients. Maybe it's not preservatives they include but spoiling chemistry, so one is forced to buy more bread sooner than later? :oops:
 
Zojirushi .... I've also herad it's the best, but it's way to pricey.

As for what kind of bread.. I'm not sure. I've only had really good bread here and there, say at a party or something. I do know I really like Wegman's
Garlic Tuscan Bread and their Tuscan bread. If I end up trying to make anything like it, I guess I'm just going to be using the bread machine as a dough machine. The set it and forget it mentality just works for me. Oh, I also really like the French baguettes at Panera. I can't imagine what they might taste like when they're hot out of the oven. I ordered a Perforated Baguette Pan from Amazon to give that a try too.



I can't wait for Wednesday.. That's when my bread machine is suppose to be delivered. I've picked up some bread flour in preparation for it.
 
No doubt Zojirushi is a fine machine but ....

on that website I couldn't see what the zojirushi bread maker might cost and I watched the video that was very short on information about the actual workflow / evidence (purposely? (I've seen how bread machines work & their results on youtube), but I just cannot for the life of me fathom how a bread machine can be easier, faster, cheaper & make better quality bread, then your 2 hands, a world full of free recipes, a measuring cup, 2 measuring spoons, a metal bowl & maybe a metal or wood spatula (for which the Manual Equipment Total Cost could be maybe $15 or less or free as many kitchen folks have extras & would love to pass them on).

While advertised as "set it & forget it", that isn't the entire real world or complete story of using bread machines, nor are the "breads" that they output often shown in real world results. Even the machines require one to practice, tweak, have failures & successes. I was once attracted by the bread machine hype until I started doing some research on types, brands, costs of bread machines & the resulting breads & then I made a few loaves of bread by hand. There may be compromises on both methods, but even if I could afford a Zojirushi, I'd still opt to make bread by hand as it is so easy that for me, having an expensive machine make an inferior loaf of bread doesn't make sense.

Kind of like dashcams. At first, one thinks these little gadgets with tiny image sensors & electronics can do it all & the hype has people thinking that they work perfectly in all conditions, all the time, with incredible clarity & resolution & hold unrealistic amounts of memory / files ..... but then one buys one of these little "machines" & soon learns of their real world limitations, workflow, no matter whether cheap or expensive models.

The brain's bias for cheap & easy solutions & believing the marketing or illusion is powerful & rarely ever conciously questioned or examined by individuals. And which would take a lot of the emotion & "fun" out of impulse buys, hope & prayer. ;)

Different strokes for different folks.
 
Try making 2 different batches of bread.
Use bread flour for one batch and regular flour for the other.
I doubt you will see much difference in the final result.
I never used a specialty bread flour and my bread always came out very nicely.

Be sure to sift the flour. That can make a big difference.
Because I used a bread bucket that used a lot of flour as required to make 6 loaves I used to fill the sifter with flour and then sift the flour directly into the bread bucket.
 
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Ok.. The Hamilton Beach 29886 bread maker came in and I just got done making my 1st load of bread in it.

It didn't come out the way I expected for white bread.

The crust is more like an Italian bread and it's a bit dense. It's also a bit bland. I think I'll need to add a bit more salt and possible a bit more water?
 
Here are some pics.. I hope it works because I'm using the web browser on my phone.
 

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Oh.. I also made a cheesecake in the instant pot tonight... I'll let you all know how it turned out tomorrow, since it has to set in the fridge.
 

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Ok.. The Hamilton Beach 29886 bread maker came in and I just got done making my 1st load of bread in it.

It didn't come out the way I expected for white bread.

The crust is more like an Italian bread and it's a bit dense. It's also a bit bland. I think I'll need to add a bit more salt and possible a bit more water?
Did you follow the instructions accurately?

Maybe that is the sort of bread that the developers like, maybe they were Italian!

The exact amount of water doesn't make much difference, although from the images I would guess there was more than ideal rather than less. The ideal amount will depend on how dry the flour is. As long as the bread maker isn't struggling to mix the dough then you have enough water.

I suggest you minimise the salt, you don't actually need any to make bread and most people eat too much to be healthy. One reason for using a bread maker is to reduce your salt intake since commercial bread has far too much. Zero salt bread has a different taste, but it is something that you get used to over time and it doesn't mean that the bread is bland, just that you can taste the other ingredients more accurately rather than it tasting salty! You can put some salted butter on it if you like salt.

To solve the "it's a bit dense", either add some extra yeast or extra sugar to feed the yeast depending on which is lacking, it is the yeast that make the bubbles.

As for the crust, try adjusting the settings. You can also put the dough in a proper oven for a different effect, mine goes in my microwave (set on convection) when I find the time to bother.

The most likely cause of a difference to what was intended by the instruction manual is that your bread flour is different. Different bread flours can give very different results, I always mix different brands of flour to get the result I want.
 
Before I saw this, I had started another loaf. I adjusted these thing.

Went from 3.5 cups of flour to 3.25 cups. Increased the yeast from 1.5 tsp to 2 tsp. Increased sugar from 1.5 tbsp to 2 tbsp and I added more salt. I goofed the 1st time. The original recipe called for 1 1/8 tsp of salt. I read it as one 1/8 tsp.. This time I went with 2 tsp of salt to just make it easier.

Wish me luck..

Thanks for the info Nigel! I’ll make more adjustments as needed, based on your knowledge.
 
Here's my 2nd try with the bread machine.

It looks better, but it's still heavy. I think I need to cut the flower back to 3 cups, but leave everything else alone. I haven't cut into it since it's still hot, but I can tell it's going to be a heavy loaf, especially since I feel a 1.5lb loaf should be bigger, based on its weight.
 

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Home made white bread is heavy.
If you want your bread to be really heavy add a bunch of shredded cheese to the mix to get cheese bread.
When I made cheese bread I doubled the original amount of cheese called for in the recipe.
The amount of cheese called for in the recipe did not give me a great cheese taste.
The bread with double the cheese called for was very heavy and very tasty!
 
Home made white bread is heavy.
If you want your bread to be really heavy add a bunch of shredded cheese to the mix to get cheese bread.
When I made cheese bread I doubled the original amount of cheese called for in the recipe.
The amount of cheese called for in the recipe did not give me a great cheese taste.
The bread with double the cheese called for was very heavy and very tasty!

Does the new loaf look ok in the picture? It's been cooling on the counter for about an hour now.. From my understanding, I need to let it cool for a minimum of two hours. I'm so tempted to cut into it, like I did with the 1st loaf.. but I'm still holding strong.
 
...It's been cooling on the counter for about an hour now.. From my understanding, I need to let it cool for a minimum of two hours. I'm so tempted to cut into it, like I did with the 1st loaf.. but I'm still holding strong.
Good things come to those who wait. (y)
 
Does the new loaf look ok in the picture? It's been cooling on the counter for about an hour now.. From my understanding, I need to let it cool for a minimum of two hours. I'm so tempted to cut into it, like I did with the 1st loaf.. but I'm still holding strong.
That looks great for home made yeast bread. The only minor problem I see (which commonly occurs) is cosmetic where the top part of the loaf lifted above the rest of the loaf. That is the fault of the bread making machine not the operator. It looks good enough to eat!
 
Ok.. It cooled enough so I tried it. Taste is really good, but it's too heavy. 1st slice I ate with just butter. The 2nd, I toasted with butter. I cut the 2nd a bit thick because it's so good, but after eating it, I feel like I ate a whole meal. A heavy one at that! I need to figure out how to lighten this up a bit. Next time, I'm going to try warm water, instead of just tap. If that doesn't work, maybe I'll add a small bit of baking soda?
 
Yeast bread is naturally dense. Squeezing home made bread does not see it crush into a thin piece of nothing unlike store bread.
 
Try more sugar, you can't have too much sugar but you can have too little, it won't be fluffy if you have too little.

If that doesn't work then go looking for some stronger bread flour, the stronger the flour the more elastic/less solid the bread is, I always mix strong and less strong to get the texture I like.
 
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