# My first attempt at bread with a bread machine



## danpeikes (May 16, 2011)

The crub was pretty soft, fluffy, and consistant.  The crust was not bad but a little softer then I would like.  Probably because I did not pull the bread out when it was hot, but rather let it cool in the machine.

Recipe:
3.25 cups of bread flour
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp margarine
3 Tbsp sugar
1 3/8 cup sugar
1.5 tsp (1 envelope) active dry yeast

Follow the directions on your bread machine!!!
Peikes' Cookbook: First attempt with the bread machine.


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## Selkie (May 16, 2011)

It's fun, isn't it! You not only get a sense of accomplishment at making "the staff of life," but allowing your home to take on an aroma that can't be beat!!

Way to go!


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## Bolas De Fraile (May 17, 2011)

Well done Dan
Selkie mate my kid brother is an estate agent, he advises his clients that the smell of baking bread and coffee is the greatest house selling aid known


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## Selkie (May 17, 2011)

Bolas De Fraile said:


> Well done Dan
> Selkie mate my kid brother is an estate agent, he advises his clients that the smell of baking bread and coffee is the greatest house selling aid known



I have no doubt! 

Apple pie scent heavy with cinnamon is another attractive and emotionally charged aroma.


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## CWS4322 (May 18, 2011)

I don't  bake bread in the bread machine because I don't like the crust. I use my bread machine as a "dough" machine. I use it for bagels, pizza dough, pita bread, bread sticks, pretzels, rolls, and, naturally bread (which I bake in the oven).


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## taxlady (May 18, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> I don't  bake bread in the bread machine because I don't like the crust. I use my bread machine as a "dough" machine. I use it for bagels, pizza dough, pita bread, bread sticks, pretzels, rolls, and, naturally bread (which I bake in the oven).



Any tips or tricks? I was told you can't do that.

I would love to have a bread machine, but I was leery of the weird loaves.


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## CWS4322 (May 18, 2011)

Most breadmachine have a "dough" setting (mine has three dough settings--one of bread, one for pizza, and one for bagels). It takes about 90 minutes to two hours to make the dough. When it "beeps" I take the dough out and do whatever it is I want with it. 

I always put the wet ingredients in first, one cup of flour, then salt, rest of the flour, and then sugar. I put the yeast in the center. If I use butter or margarine, I put a "pat" in each of the corners. 

Don't get a two-paddle one (horizontal loaf). We had one of those and hated it. The paddles didn't always turn, one would get stuck, all kinds of headaches.


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## pacanis (May 18, 2011)

My bread machine makes a great loaf. The crust is just right, unless I do not remove the bread from the pan right away, then I get a harder crust.
There's a workaround for the weird loaves, but it means one side of your loaf will not have a crust. Slice the bread as it comes out of the machine, along one side. Yes, those first couple pieces will be tall, so either make a big sandwich or use them for TX toast. Then, after a couple slices, lay the bread down on that cut side. This will give you more normal sized slices, but without a crust on the "bottom". It will also have you slicing back towards the "navel", where the paddles was. It's a workaround for sure and not like store-bought, or if you used a loaf pan and your oven, it's not like a high end Zoji machine that makes a normal loaf, but if I am making a loaf using my machine, this is what I do. The convenience of having the machine take it from start to finish is well worth it to me. No watching the rise time or punching it down or other bowls to contend with.


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## Bigjim68 (May 18, 2011)

CWS4322 said:


> Most breadmachine have a "dough" setting (mine has three dough settings--one of bread, one for pizza, and one for bagels). It takes about 90 minutes to two hours to make the dough. When it "beeps" I take the dough out and do whatever it is I want with it.
> 
> I always put the wet ingredients in first, one cup of flour, then salt, rest of the flour, and then sugar. I put the yeast in the center. If I use butter or margarine, I put a "pat" in each of the corners.
> 
> Don't get a two-paddle one (horizontal loaf). We had one of those and hated it. The paddles didn't always turn, one would get stuck, all kinds of headaches.


I haven't baked bread in my bread machine for years, but use it often for mixing and kneading dough.  Form it into any loaf style you desire and bake.  I use a thermometer and bake to 190 degrees.

I often start the kneading before I go to bed, and bake in the morning.  I also let young kids cook the bread when they stay at the house.  Turn a 9 year old girl loose with a ball of dough, and you would be amazed at the shapes of bread loaves I have eaten.  Use an external probe thermometer, and you have an occupied kid for a while.


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## Bigjim68 (May 21, 2011)

Colin4May said:


> Wow. That looks good!  I'm looking at this Bread-maker: http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/290123/module/general/compare/productsCategory.html  which seems ok. I know some people say that's cheating using as machine.. but WTH! I want to start with what I hope will be consistent results to start with!
> 
> I also wonder whether you can make garlic bread with these breasd makers?


You can make nearly any kind of bread that you can make by hand.  All a bread machine does is knead the ingredients and then apply heat.

Bread machines are often to be found in thrift stores, sometimes in new condition.  The last one I purchased looked like had never been used and cost 3 dollars.


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## Katie H (May 21, 2011)

I still have my first bread machine I bought in 1999 and another one, nearly identical, that I purchased at a thrift store for $2.  I don't think it had ever been used since the cord was still neatly coiled with what appeared to be the original securing tie.

I use them both regularly, many times at the same time.  However, I've never used them to complete the full bread-making cycle.  I use them strictly for kneading and the first rise.

I've had arthritis in both my hands for years and the kneading just kills me, plus I've discovered that the machine does a far better job kneading than I ever did.  This was confirmed when I spoke to one of the resident bakers at the King Arthur Flour folks.

One of the pluses, for me, is that I can put in enough ingredients in my machine to make two normal-sized loaves of bread, instead of the one the machine would've made on its own.

I like to multi-task, which means that I can be doing something else while the machine is "using my time" to knead and set the first rise of the dough.  That's especially helpful during the holidays when I make tons of breads, rolls, etc. to give as gifts.  That's also when both my machines get heavy-duty workouts.

I'd be lost without my helpful electronic workhorses.


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