Kitchen

[SharkE]

going back to tried and true days of old. Lot less costly and in the long run less time consuming.

Bought a brand new Cuisnart Bread Machine from B&B Mon.  It kneads the bread (basic cycle white bread)to death like 15 min. Then it rises and you think Yay! it rose well now it will just bake. Nope, it knocks it down and kneads it again, deflating the raise altoghter. Rises again and I could swear not just twice , but, it knocked it down 3 times then it sunk in the middle altogether and collapsed from over beating I'd think.

Packing it up and sending it back. I used recipe from King Arthur, bought exactly what it said put stuff in the exact way they said too, measured exactly, separted the ingredients in it's own bowl, Temp was checked, liquid first, dry then made a well, added yeast, pushed button. Sunk and wet. Went to walmart got me a box mix and used option 6 on the machine 'packaged mix' you don't get a choice of browness when you use option 6. Box mix all you add is water , nope, it rose nice, only kneaded once and sunk again. Forget it !!!!!

Just a heads up.

[jclark73]

I have never been tempted by a bread macine. Have always made it by hand.I like to feel the dough respond as I knead it. I like all the rising and punching down and waiting. Tha's just me. Sorry the Cuisnart did not work out for you.

[SharkE]

Thank God I'm an old dog and can make by hand never any problem and when you make by hand you can be a little more lenient. A bread machine it's strictly this and that no forgiveness. I measured , tested the water with thermometer, only bread flour, etc. I thought with a box mix that would take a lot of that exactly measuring and testing out of it just put in the cup of lukewarm water 90 degrees, add the mix, add the yeast. Fool proof, nope, the ****** still sunk. I've spent a fortune LOL to have me a servant in the kitchen making it for me, but, looks like shark slave is back in kitchen. I thought I was losing my touch went and made my regular bread turned out perfect as usual. I gave up on bread machine. I even watched you tube videos. They must be making them different now days.

[Sooner]

I am so sorry you had problems with it.  I have a mini Zo that has made hundreds of loaves, and they always come out great.  I have had a bread machine since 1992, and without one we would have home made bread maybe twice a year--when I am off work on holidays.  

It's good that you can make bread by hand.  My bread machine is something I would replace immediately is it broke.

[SharkE]

So weird, my Oster went out it was Ok, then, I bought this Cuisinart and it's not worth a spit or I'm doing something the least big wrong. Oh well sitting here eating my home made bread will just have to make do I guess. LOL

[Snowpuppy]

I learned to bake bread from my grandmother and I think she would have a good chuckle about today's "scientific" approach to baking. She just knew by touch and texture what her dough needed.

Just ordered 4 new Nordic Ware bread pans directly from their site. Should arrive this week. I still bake by hand but I do use the dough hooks on my KA mixer to cut down on the work.

I bake on Saturdays in the fall & winter and throw the loaves or biscuits in the deep freeze. Can no longer stomach the stuff they pass off in the grocery as bread.

[wismiss]

If you ever get to the point where you don't want to knead your own bread, the KA mixer with the dough hook does a really good job.  I had stopped making bread because I could not knead it anymore.  Then one year I got a really good deal on the mixer and have made bread ever since.  Only 2 minutes of using the dough hook, and wahlaaaa...you have the dough for scrumptious bread.  I use the recipe from this book and it always comes out well----well, one time it didn't because my yeast was old.

[SharkE]

The Cuisinart kneads, kneads and kneads some more LOL Mixes it and beats it to death like a baseball inside the unit then the poor thing rises, then, it punches it down and kneads some more rises again and pushes it down again and on the 3rd rise it's wore out and sunk in. Weird machine.

good looking book. I like your pumpkin avatar, also.

[wismiss]

Changed my avatar as the previous one was cut off and not centered.  Hope you like this one, too.  I think this one is cute, too.

I make the bread dough, let it rise, punch it down and let it rise again.  Then I punch it down, form it into whatever I'm making that day, and let it rise again.  So mine is done 3 times, but not four.  The second full rise gives the bread a lightness that I really like.  You can just peel off a piece of bread when you eat it.  I don't use butter or anything.  In my opinion, homemade bread is delicious.  Have to agree that bread from the store just doesn't compare.

As far as the cookbook, there is a whole series and they are under $5 each.  I bought the whole set over a period of time and use them frequently.

[SharkE]

yep, like that one too (avatar) those books at Amazon?