Re: BREAD MACHINES

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

If you are alone or don't eat much bread, look for a deal on the older style Zo little one with the handle. We've had a lot of bread machines and it is THE most consistently great one we've had!

We had problems with one of t he newest Zo's and exchanged it for one that works great. Yes, some of them, especially the older ones, make a loaf that is a little lopsided in the bigger machines. But for us the bread has been great.

And that lopsided problem, by the way, is more pronounced with King Arthur Bread Flour than lots of other brands.

TO KEEP BREAD FRESH! Slice it the second day and put a little piece of plastic wrap or parchment or waxed paper between the slices. Put it in a zip lock bag and freeze. You can used the paper again by the way, and we use the squares made for hamburger patties, already cut waxed paper.

cozyseeker · ‎03-11-2017

@lovesallanimals @Sooner I have the gallon Zip bags and will give that a try. I love your idea Sooner to put wax paper in between slice and I am definitely going to do that. I just found a lucite box with small holes in one end supposedly a "bread keeper" that I had from years ago. I think this was why my bread was always going stale so soon and won't use that again.

furbabylover · ‎08-24-2011

@HerRoyaLioness So glad to read that I'm not the only who thinks Zojirushi is a hunk o' junk. Wow, thanks for the news about finding older American made bread machines!! I am definitely going to go looking for one since I love the idea of the machine. I also found out too late that other Zojirushi appliances were junk, too. We bought an expensive tabletop grill that was the worst ever. It worked for about 2 months and then just died. We may have used it a half dozen times... I bet you make some awesome bread!!!

HerRoyaLioness · ‎03-13-2010

@furbabylover - I don't know how they get by with charging so much for their products! I had a drip coffee maker by them many years ago and that did work well, but love my thermal Mr Coffee that I have now.

The bread I make is a recipe that came from the booklet that came with the machine, it is so good, uses milk instead of water - tried other recipes but always come back to that one. These machines are getting harder to come by though. I go through spurts of bread making, but glad I have them when I get hungry for fresh homade bread!

Now if I could just find a good toaster! How hard can it be to get something that will toast bread evenly?!?

furbabylover · ‎08-24-2011

@HerRoyaLioness Toasters are a really difficult thing. 35 years ago I bought a British made toaster called Dualit Classic. I paid a fortune for it, but it is still working today like a champ. It makes perfect toast every time. I bought it from Williams Sonoma and they still sell them today.

HerRoyaLioness · ‎03-13-2010

@furbabylover - I'm sure the ones today are "new and improved"! I just checked on ebay and found some. What model is yours?

furbabylover · ‎08-24-2011

@HerRoyaLioness My Dualit is the 4- slice "Classic". I decided to look on Williams Sonoma at their Dualits and I was shocked at the bad reviews. Apparently Dualit messed with a good thing, calling it an "upgrade" and it has affected the performance. I would skip that one! However, America's Test Kitchen (Cooks Country) rates as number one the "Breville A Bit More Toaster" for about $80.00. They rave about its performance and give you a thorough description on their website.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

@furbabylover wrote:
@HerRoyaLioness Toasters are a really difficult thing. 35 years ago I bought a British made toaster called Dualit Classic. I paid a fortune for it, but it is still working today like a champ. It makes perfect toast every time. I bought it from Williams Sonoma and they still sell them today.

@furbabylover - Sadly, 35 years ago things were made in Britain. Now the same brands are made in China. We had a Russell-Hobbs electric kettle that lasted for decades, but a newer one did not (lasted a few years).

Now, it seems, you can't count on any brand to be consistent.

furbabylover · ‎08-24-2011

@Venezia I don't know if you saw my next response, but I looked on Williams Sonoma, and Dualit had horrible reviews, due to poor performance and breaking down. You are right about stuff made in England versus China. I am thinking about buying a small appliance made in the Czech Republic and having it shipped here, just because I don't trust the Chinese version.

HerRoyaLioness · ‎03-13-2010

@furbabylover - I checked out the Breville at Amazon and no thanks - reviewers had pictures of how unevenly it toasted and the heating elements that had gaps in spacing.

I'll keep looking for older ones - I honestly don't think there are any good ones made anymore today.

Right now I have a Breville toaster/convection oven that I make toast with and it does not toast evenly either. Like I said how hard can it be?!?