I posted on facebook recently, asking for bread machine suggestions. And then Kim, over at Life in a Shoe, posted about making bread in her incredibly helpful weekly post on "4 Moms, 35 Kids." Since she's doing linky's for this particular post, I thought I'd get in on the action, and hopefully get some great bread machine recommendations along the way!
Making our own bread is something I've been thinking about for quite awhile, but recently (after running out of yet another bulk order of Alvarado Street Sprouted Sourdough bread) I've gotten serious about it.
I've thought about doing bread by hand and baking it in the oven, saving the cost of a bread maker. But, if I go that route, I know it'll never get done. Life with soon-to-be three little men under 3, and no really productive "helpers" (yet!) is just too busy and unpredictable. It looks like bread maker prices range between $60 and $300. Even at the $300 price, from my rough calculations, it would pay for itself in a little over a year. And it would be healthier and cheaper than storebought! : )
A few requirements/preferences in a bread maker:
Whole wheat & sourdough options
Pizza crust option
Mixing, kneading, & baking
I would love to avoid non-stick pans, but haven't seen any non-stick options. And it seems like that could be a real mess!
I've also seen a "sandwich bread" option on a few. This sounds really good to me, since a lot of the bread we use is for sandwiches.
A few of the recommendations from wives/mothers/daughters/homemakers on facebook:
Oster
Panasonic SD-256
Zojirushi
The Cuisinart also seemed to have good reviews.
What breadmaker have you found to work the best with whole wheat? Have you tried grinding your own grain? How did that turn out? Which breadmakers have just not worked for you? What have been your experiences with whole wheat sourdough bread?
Looking forward to your feedback!
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7 comments:
Bosch mixer. I know it doesn't bake it but when those guys get a little older you will need to make more than one batch at a time. I've even used my Bosch for mixing some gluten free stuff that I was told would only turn out if done in bread machine and it turned out great. It also has a bunch of handy attachments.
So glad you are doing so well this time around. Maybe I'll bump into you in town sometime:)
Ami
Lauren,
A dear mama who lives near me (and has 11 precious little ones), bought the Zojirushi bread machine over a year ago - she loved it so much that she convinced my mom to buy one as well, and she's loving it too.
I'm putting it on my list of "to-get-at-some-point's" ;)
no recommendations, I don't have a bread maker, but I have a grainmill and a bosch mixer and well, at our high altitude my attempts have been less than successful. but just wanted to say that I LOVE Alvarado St. Sprouted Sourdough too! oh my gosh so good! I eat it as a snack every day, toasted with butter and honey.. yumm! I think I would only make my own bread if it could turn out as good as theirs. :-) though it is on the expensive side
I have the Zojirushi....and it is just wonderful. I make all of the things you listed...plus so many more. I can easily make a loaf of bread each day...it takes less than 5 minutes to get everything set up in the morning. Then you leave it till it's done. The pizza crusts are great. I make sweet rolls, cinnamon rolls, and dinner rolls with it.
I don't care for the "bannana bread" (quick breads), corn bread (I'm from the south...it's not my momma's cornbread!), and the brownies we made in it (in a pinch when the propane ran out) in it as much as oven baked and traditional mixing methods.
But for other breads....our favorites are whole wheat, breakfast bread, raisin bread, rye bread, pumpernickle bread, cheese bread, herb bread, stuffing bread and lots more....you should be happy with it!
I have had mine for over 3 years!
It has been a very good investment.
Debbie
Hi...
I forgot to say that I do grind my own wheat too...I use the Nutrimill for that. By using the bread machine with the whole wheat flour...(I prefer the hard white wheat) I get wonderful soft bread that doesn't taste to strong or have a tough, dry chew.
I also make sour dough bread, but I use King Arthur Bread Flour for that. Not whole wheat. I use the bread machine to mix the dough, but I always bake it in my pampered chef clay baking pans. They make the crust really crusty and chewy! That's the way we like it.
Debbie
Thanks for the feedback! Very, very helpful!!!
We use a Bosch mixer and love the capability of making 6 loaves of whole wheat bread at a time...for a family of 10, we use that amount very quickly. We also grind our own grain and love that too:)
Have fun!
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