Kitchen

[Azcowgirl]

Thank you so much for posting !! My bread machine has been relegated to the back of the pantry for years also, because my beloved dark pumpernickel rye mix was discontinued. I will be ordering (:

[MKR14]

deniseMB

Thanks for the great site.

Isn't it nice how we post sites to share our favorite places, items and things with each other? I know many may not reply to a post back but also enjoy all of the forum has to offer. I love to read the pros and cons of all posters as there are many valid points from most that post.

This is an interesting site. Do you subscribe to the free email recipes or have you gotten their free books? The company not only sells merchandise but gives back with their free recipes.

Thanks to all that share new and interesting information.

[denisemb]

Thanks to all for sharing your comments and sites! Rec'd my 2nd order yesterday (ordered Thursday) which I think is pretty good coming from ID to FL. I'm now a bread baking fool...made the loaded baked potato (sour cream, chives & bacon) bread yesterday which was heavenly in hot beef sandwiches. Mix was very generous with the chives/bacon. Onto the apple bread today!

Sparklestar, it's not that bread mixes are the better way to go for everyone. Like I said, I've attempted no knead bread, using my KA mixer to knead and bake in the oven and just haven't been satisfied with the results. Bread baking takes a LOT of practice and knowledge to get everything correct (liquid temp., proper yeast, some suggest hand kneading even after using mixer, etc.) and I was getting discouraged. I have an order in for King Arthur Flour, so I'm still determined to get it right, LOL.

MKR NY, I subscribed to the daily email newsletter, but that's it so far. I.E., today they have a Norpro oven thermometer for $1.99 with $10 purchase. They also list "specials" on mixes, etc., which I took advantage of in my 2nd order.

Thanks again to all that responded.

[Sooner]

I love making my own bread because I can control what it is in it and leave lots of those chemicals behind! Plus, it is fresh and so good and the house smells good!

My big Zo is sort of quirky and wants a wetter dough than the littler one. One of the advantages of a bread machine is that it can work with a stickier dough or one that is not as firm, which sometimes makes better bread. The big Zo does a lot better with a little wetter dough than the little one.

So when the kneading is going on, look in a few times and note what the dough looks like. The next time you might need to add a little flour or a tablespoon or two more liquid--you learn this by looking at it and thinking about the results of the finished loaf.

I think you will LOVE using your own ingredients as you get used to doing it--and experiment with different brands of yeast to find what works best for you. Also, read up on the net on instant yeast vs. active dry yeast etc. King Arthur and other sites have good into on this! ENJOY!

[OCGurl]

I mix the dough myself however as of late I am letting the bread machine do the kneading. I am finding I get a higher rise & fluffier loaf with the machine, and denser loaf when I hand knead. Sometimes you just need to knead by hand as it is therapeutic, but last night my husband (who does 99% of the cooking) was running late, so I made a cheese, salami & olive platter & a loaf of fresh bread that I mixed, kneaded & baked in about an hour (only 1 rise required with SAF yeast). "Simple One Hour Bread" "La Fuji Mama" on you tube is where I got the recipe (I cut it in half) . Wonderful wonderful. Also King Arthur "Classic Sandwich Bread" is a great, easy loaf that I mix & then knead in the machine, but takes 2 rises. I'm really liking the KA flour/SAF yeast combo.

[Q4u]

Aebleskivers.....!!

UFF DA... I'm doomed.

[wismiss]

Thank you so much for the post. What a wonderful site! I love sourdough bread and I see that they have a couple of choices and even a bundle. I also love rye bread, and have tried to make it. The bread turned out OK, but I didn't think it had enough flavor to tell that it was rye, so I may send for their rye bundle sometime in the future.

I have bookmarked this site, but if I was wise, I would erase it.

Again, thank you.

[Zhills]

If I bought a bread machine I would look just like it does, half as wide as I am tall. Love fresh bread!

[FunkyHulaGirl]

WARNING WARNING WARNING!!!!!!

Actually, I've been buying Prepared Pantry items from Amazon for a couple of years now; I didn't realize they have their own website. Well, I went to the website, and it's infected with malware - I kept getting a pop-up saying a "systems error" has been detected and I had to call an 800 number IMMEDIATELY.

Fortunately, I've learned how to use the Task Manager to get rid of things like that, so I shut it down. Tried the site again...same thing happened. I ran a virus scan, and will stick to their "store" on Amazon - from what I can tell, they have everything there that's on their website.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL!

[denisemb]

FHG - I'm very sorry you ran into that problem!

I haven't had that issue, but perhaps my retired IT husband has some kind of a block on my computer?

Anyhow, I'm still going nuts. The Knobby Apple Cinnamon bread is wonderful and I can't describe how good the Fully Load Baked Potato bread was in an open faced hot beef sandwich. I need to use up all these mixes so I can move onto making my own bread.