topic Re: Bread Machines in Kitchen

Bread Machines

Nightowlz — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 21:37:51 GMT

I need to buy a new one. Any suggestions? I made a loaf of bread Sat. Was making hamburger buns & my bread machine died. I had to make the hamburger buns by hand since we are having burgers for dinner with brats. I knew it was only a matter of time before it stopped working. It has been making a knocking noise so I knew something was up. TIA

Re: Bread Machines

madcity411 — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 21:47:15 GMT

@Nightowlz wrote:
I need to buy a new one. Any suggestions? I made a loaf of bread Sat. Was making hamburger buns & my bread machine died. I had to make the hamburger buns by hand since we are having burgers for dinner with brats. I knew it was only a matter of time before it stopped working. It has been making a knocking noise so I knew something was up. TIA

Sunbeam.com has one on their website for $58.99. I have had this one since 1996, and DH and I love it! It has a four star rating too. Hope this helps.

Re: Bread Machines

Sooner — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 22:45:56 GMT

If you want small loaves, my Zojirushi mini has NEVER made a bad loaf, we use it all the time and have had it since they came out. It is amazing.

If you want a larger loaf, ANY of the bigger Zo's do a great job as well. It just depends on what features you need. I got my first bread machine in 1992 and have had Hitachi and Bread Man ones that were ok, but the Zo's are a step up.

Re: Bread Machines

NWOL — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 23:19:53 GMT

Another vote for Zo. I've had three others before that and none even come close to the Zo. I will never have to buy another breadmaker.

Re: Bread Machines

Sweetbay magnolia — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 23:57:49 GMT

Hello - tell me, is it that much better to make your own? I make DH's sandwich for lunch every day during the week but I buy store-bought bread. It almost sounds like I need a new gadget . . .

Re: Bread Machines

SharkE — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 00:10:12 GMT

Oster machines sold by Walmart are really good. I've had mine for yrs. great machine, no waiting on Q, no shp. Good product . Oster makes good stuff.

Re: Bread Machines

Junker2327 — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 01:48:35 GMT

Speaking of the Zo bread machine, do you who own them use a recipe out of their book or do you buy the box mix. I have a large one and a small one and my bread does not turn out good.

Beckyblu

Re: Bread Machines

poppinfresh — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 02:59:20 GMT

Mini Zo is my bread machine of choice. Have had it for years and it is amazing. I bake the loaves in it, but sometimes just use the dough cycle and bake in the oven. Neve had a bad loaf. Adding, I bought mine on ebay and got a really good price on it. Was brand new in box.

Re: Bread Machines

DiAnne — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 03:31:32 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
Hello - tell me, is it that much better to make your own? I make DH's sandwich for lunch every day during the week but I buy store-bought bread. It almost sounds like I need a new gadget . . .

I think it depends on how much bread you eat. I had one about 10 years ago. At the time my mother lived with me and she would not eat the bread because it was "too soft". It would smell wonderful in the house while baking but got moldly pretty quick. It ended up at Goodwill.

Re: Bread Machines

Nightowlz — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 04:20:07 GMT

Thanks for all the suggestions. I should of said I'm looking for a machine that will make a regular size loaf of bread. A lot of the time I make dough & use a 12 x 4 1/2 x 3 bread pan. I hate the weird shaped loaves bread machines make. What size & shape loaf does the Zo mini make? I have an Oster bread machine in the attic. It was well over 100 today so told DH to wait until it cools off Weds to go up & get it so I can use it to make dough until I buy another one. I will checkout the Zo tomorrow when I have time.

Re: Bread Machines

Nightowlz — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 20:11:51 GMT

@Junker2327 wrote:
Speaking of the Zo bread machine, do you who own them use a recipe out of their book or do you buy the box mix. I have a large one and a small one and my bread does not turn out good.

Beckyblu

I don't like the mixes I have tried. I like doing it from scratch so I know what's in it. I have the Bread Machine Magic recipe book. All the recipes in it have turned out really good. The revised edition now has the recipes for 1 lb, 1 1/2 lb & 2 lb loaves. They have several on EBay for less then $5 plus free shipping. They also have it on Amazon. If you check Amazon you can click on see inside where you can see the index of the recipes in the book.

Re: Bread Machines

Nightowlz — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 20:15:24 GMT

@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
Hello - tell me, is it that much better to make your own? I make DH's sandwich for lunch every day during the week but I buy store-bought bread. It almost sounds like I need a new gadget . . .

Yes it's really that much better. There is no comparison to store bought bread. It smells wonderful while it's baking & tastes even better. The 1st time I ate homemade bread I was around 20-21. I worked in the office at Zales at the time & one of the ladies that worked there brought some to work. YUM!!! She could not believe I had never ate homemade bread. I have been making since.

Re: Bread Machines

Nightowlz — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 20:26:28 GMT

Ok I checked out the Zo machines. Looks like the Mini Zo makes one of those weird shaped loaves from the looks of the interior bread pan. The other 2 both have 2 paddles & the pan looks like it would make a normal sandwich size loaf of bread. Generally make a 1 1/12 lb loaf so don't know that I like the idea of only being able to make a 1 lb loaf. I also like sourdough bread which the 2 larger ones will do. The machines also do other things like make jam which I do so this is intriguing. Those that have a Zo have you made jam with yours or anything else with it that it will do? I may tell DH I want a Zo for Christmas & use my old Oster in the attic for dough until then.

Re: Bread Machines

tkins — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 00:33:14 GMT

Hi Nightowlz,

The best breadmachine I have owned is the Breadman Programmable. It makes a normal looking loaf in 1, 1 1/2 and 2 pound sizes and has great options for dough making, I like to use the pizaa dough option not only for pizza dough but for homemade hamburger buns and all sorts of rolls. I would not hesitate to get another one.

Good luck and happy baking.

tkins

Re: Bread Machines

amateurcook — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 02:34:31 GMT

The West Bend Hi-Rise bread machine does true horizontal loaves. I have an earlier version of one and I love it. They are under $100.

Re: Bread Machines

poppinfresh — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 03:58:03 GMT

So far I have made jam, bread. brioche and cake in my mini Zo. I usually make the 1 1/2 pound loaves and they come out looking just like a smaller loaf of bread. The slices are the same size as a regular loaf, but we don't have to eat the same bread day after day for a week. Because the loaf is smaller, I can make two or three kinds of bread a week and with that we have a variety. I have made cinnamon roll dough also. Must admit, I have not baked a true sour dough in it yet, but if I did I would just use the dough cycle, then shape and bake in the oven. There are only two of us, so the smaller unit works well. If I had a family, I would most likely go with the full size zo.

Re: Bread Machines

Group 5 minus 1 — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 15:26:13 GMT

I always make bread if we have company for a meal. I have also sent to it neighbors as a thank you . Everyone loves the smell of freshly baked bread.

Re: Bread Machines

Sooner — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 18:11:38 GMT

You know that "amazing" internet site you can go to to order all kinds of things? They have a T-fal one on sale for $75 today. It seems to get very good reviews. . . Just FYI!

Re: Bread Machines

Tigriss — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 20:56:09 GMT

I second the West Bend Hi Rise with two paddles. It is at Amazon for $78 and WalMart for $87. If you get it from WM and have issues, they will refund your money, so it is worth a try for what you like to cook without going for the more expensive Zo.

Re: Bread Machines

house_cat — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:54:11 GMT

Thank you for this very helpful thread.

I have always wanted one, but I thought you could only use the mix packages.

Am I understanding correctly that you can make the dough from scratch?