Hey everyone! I'm on P1 right now and am moving on to P2 on August 10th. I've always wanted a bread machine, but never had enough reason to justify such a big purchase. I'm wondering; would it be worth it to buy one now?
Here's a little background; DH eats A LOT of bread, usually 3-4 sandwiches a day. (*&@$ men and their fast metabolism!!!!!) So far, I've only found two brands that are sold in town that offer bread with 3g of fiber per slice. Both would last us about two days because they're smaller than the 2g-per-slice bread we buy now and both cost $5+ per loaf. Our current loaves cost us $3 and last about 4 days. Changing to the 3g-per-slice loaf would essentially cost an additional $500-$700 a year. (You read that right! )
I'm thinking that investing in a bread machine now wouldn't be a bad idea. I know that I can get whole grains and whole wheat flour in bulk from our two health food stores. I can also buy it in bulk, probably for cheaper, on our frequent trips to the "big cities".
Any thoughts? Bread-machine owners who use them all the time? Bread-machine owners who never use them?
Also, any ideas on brands and price points I should look into? I imagine that a brand-new machine that retails for $45 isn't a good investment, but am I looking at spending $200-$300 on this?
I bought one about 5 years ago ~$50 on sale, it didn't do a good job of making bread. I don't remember the brand, after 3 loaves it broke. I took it back and didn't get another.
IMHO-Bread is something that can't be done with a standard recipe, because depending on the temperature, humidity and such flour requirements can change, that's why most recipes say 3-4 C flour. You may not need all 4 cups that day, on a really humid day you may need a little more the 4 cups.
But on the other hand, I've had friends absolutely love their bread machines and turn out pretty decent loaves of bread. They had the over $200 ones.
Until you figure out what to do, can you find this brand of bread in your area? It's got 5 g of fiber per slice and it's usually around $3-3.50 a loaf. http://www.naturesownbread.com/NAT_V...&productid=393
Good luck
Sarah in MD
Thanks, Sarah! No, we don't get that particular type here. We do get Nature's Own, but only the 100% Whole Wheat (what we eat now) and the Whitewheat.
Maybe I can ask them to order it for us. I think with the "special order" fees, it would be about $4 - $4.50 a loaf and we'd have to buy a flat at a time, so it would mean lots of frozen bread! I'll have to look into it!
I bake most of our bread and love it. I use the machine on the dough cycle and bake in the oven though because the machine we have doesn't do a great job with the baking. It's also fun to shape the bread I buy flours in bulk at the Co-op and use high fiber types. I also often mix in fine ground whole grain cereals, like Bob's Red Mill 10 grain cereal mix. Because DP is diabetic I use 1/2 c gluten in place of some of the flour - adds protein with minimal carbs. I've found that as long as more than half the flour is the more traditional gluten types it always works.
I used to think bread was fussy and hard to make but have found it incredibly simple. I don't even use a recipe anymore. My basic formula is 3 cups of dry ingredients, 1 1/4 c warm liquid, 2 t yeast, 1-2 T sweetener, and a little oil. I discovered no one noticed if I left the salt out. I've subbed applesauce, whey, and broth for the liquid; added herbs, seeds, and nuts; and made all sorts of crazy combos with the flours. Most worked, a couple where a tad flat With the bread machine you can check the texture while it's mixing so adding more dry or wet ingredients is easy.
We don't have air conditioning though so are going a couple of weeks without bread
Cyndi, I'm copying your bread making guidelines. I haven't made enough bread to know how to substitute ingredients like that. My daughter bought a breadmaker at a garage sale for $5 and it works great. I seldom use mine because I don't know how to make my usual oatmeal bread SB friendly. I also have a bread slicing rack, but the slices still come out much bigger than a commercially prepared slice, so I worry about portion size.
Thanks for the tips, Cyndi! You make it sound much easier than I envisioned it being.
I have to say, I'm SO jealous of you ladies with decent grocery stores/Wal-Marts nearby. Usually I don't mind being this far from "civilization" so much, but when it comes to groceries, my envy runs deep. The nearest Wal-Mart with groceries is 3 hours away!!!
So I suppose that means no Costco? I do understand, I spent 23 years in Alaska about 200 miles from a good sized grocery.
Is your DH following SB? Mine is eating much healthier, but not needing to be so strict about things. I am a little less picky about breads for him and keep my Ezekial bread for myself. A loaf lasts me quite a long time so I keep it in the freezer.
I have been using my bread machine to make WW pizza crust and like Cyndis method of baking in the oven. The pro of your own bread would be using better quality ingredients. Like Anne, I'm not fond of the bigger slices and I tend to want to eat more "fresh baked" right now.
I have a Breadman Ultimate by Salton/Maxim. I bought it because it baked a traditional loaf and I've been very happy with it. If I were going to buy something new I'd google around for product reviews. I like hearing what others' have to say before I buy something.
I bought a bread machine and started making my own breads earlier this year when I started SBD. I wanted to avoid all the chemicals in commercial breads and more importantly for me, I needed to avoid soy which is in almost all commercial products.
Because it's only me & Mr. Ski, I bought the Zojirushi mini that makes one pound loaves. It sounds like you need the regular size machine. I can't say enough good things about Zojirushi machines...they truly are the Cadillac of bread machines. They are pricey though but definitely a good investment.
Before my purchase, I spent hours reading the reviews over on Amazon.com. There are a ton of them (for different brands too.) All those review helped me make a decision on what brand to buy.
Also, from recommendations in those reviews, I bought the Bread Machine Magic and More Bread Machine Magic cookbooks. OMG these books are excellent with tons of whole grain bread recipes as well as bread recipes that have fruit or veggies in them as well as traditional bread/roll recipes. In a couple of weeks I was able to customize recipes to make exactly what I wanted too.
I love my bread machine and it is so easy to make bread. The hardest part is measuring out the ingredients. I've moved over to the Atkins diet so I'm not having bread right now but Mr. Ski is still lovin' the loaves.
It is easy enough to learn to make bread by hand. Why spend all the money.
(I have a bread machine-- a present-- but make most of my bread by hand.) Simply go to the library and look at the instructions in good bread making books. I'll admit there is a bit of reading. There is a book called the "breadmaker's apprentice" forgot who the author is. Talks about things like "sponge" technique. You do not need a machine to make bread. You need a big bowl, a wooden or plastic spoon, and few kitchen cloths, and a warm place to ferment yeast. Bread is made with flour, yeast a bit of sugar and salt. Learn the basics and then think of machines.
Buy and read this first before buying a bread machine. It is supposed to be one of the best----> The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread (Hardcover) by Peter Reinhart (Author), Ron Manville (Photographer) 38 new and used at Amazon.com starting at $3.84
I have a bread machine and love it. Don't use it as much as I should though. I'm lazy and just buy wg bread mixes, dump it all in and walk away. I mostly just use it now for company coming to have hot bread for breakfast.
Once you get a basic recipe down, you can experiment with adding things, mixing different grains and seasonings to find more interesting breads. Just make sure your flour amount stays about the same.
I agree, bread making by hand isn't difficult. My problem is I never have time to spend. I am much more likely to throw ingredients into the bread machine than make bread by hand Then again I almost never bake at all.
I use my bread machine a few times per week, because with three young kids who eat a lot of sandwiches, it is just cheaper and healthier to make my own bread...but I seriously do not have the time for hand-kneading and shaping all that bread.
My basic, delicious sandwich bread recipe:
1 3/4 cup water
3 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp lite salt
1 tsp yeast
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup almond meal
3 cups white whole wheat flour
In that order, I put it in a bowl and mix it all up, then dump the mass in my breadmaker and let the machine do all the kneading, rising, and baking. A few hours later we have hot bread that everyone clamors to eat. This makes a loaf of about 16 thinnish slices--it's quite durable for sandwich-making, and also makes wonderful French toast. Each slice has about 160 calories, 5 grams protein, 6 grams fat, 5 grams fiber.
CindiM
Yeah, there is that problem. I understand why bread machines are very popular. They even have ones with timers so you can throw all the ingredients in the night before and it will turn on in the early morning so you can have fresh bread for breakfast. I know for me that even if it's SBD friendly, warm fresh bread is my downfall and I'd be eating the entire loaf before I thought about it.
Sarah
As far as the too big slices go with bread machines, I use mine on the dough setting, then shape it in to 2 smaller loaves in smallish breadpans, do the 2nd rise and bake in the oven. It isnt automatic, but it takes all the hard work out and then I get much smaller slices - and no hole. I think my recipe has developed to the point that it would be too large for the bread machine to bake anyway.
I discovered this week of zucchini explosion that if you take your normal bread recipe , shred one medium zucchini, salt and drain in a colander and then squeeze all the water out of it. Add it to your normal bread recipe after the dough ball has formed. You dont notice it but it makes the bread moister and it adds fiber and nutrients. And heck, this time of year anything that uses one more zucchini is ok by me.
Bread; to bake or to buy?
) 
With the bread machine you can check the texture while it's mixing so adding more dry or wet ingredients is easy. 
I do understand, I spent 23 years in Alaska about 200 miles from a good sized grocery.
Then again I almost never bake at all.
