The wife and I are going to buy some new and replace some old small kitchen appliances. Currently we do not have a bread machine so I’m asking for opinions on bread machines that are under $200.
From opinions I’ve been able to gather locally the Sunbeam or Oster appear to be the leading so far. The type of machine I’m looking for should be a two pound machine with a dough cycle (for pizza crust). While making bread products totally by hand is probably better, I’m lazy would like to spend my time in the garden making veggies.
I have a West Bend Homestyle Plus Bread & Dough Maker. I’ve had it for years and it works great. It’s a 1 or 2 lb loaf maker.
What I like about this machine, compared to the others, is that the bread actually looks like a loaf of bread. The container is not shaped like a pail. It’s shaped like a loaf pan. It’s the only bread machine that I’ve seen like this.
You can choose how dark you want your crust to be. You can make pizza dough. You can also bake banana bread in it.
You also can have the machine prepare the dough and then bake the bread in your own oven.
It comes with a book filled with recipes for all kinds of breads and doughs. Even recipes for breads prepared with the machine and baked in your oven.
I’ve had a Williams Sonoma bread machine for about three years and use it quite often. It is a very reliable machine, plus its chromed exterior makes a very handsome addition to my kitchen counter.
My uncle just gave me his bread machine. I made a loaf in it today… it tasted good but such a strange shape. Really too much for my dad and me. I guess i’ll make french toast or stuffing with the leftovers.
I have read the literature sent to me to get me to buy a machine and I checked the recipes. I found that with the same amount of flour, yeast and other ingredients needed for one loaf of bread in a machine, I can make two larger or as large loafs using my Kitchenaide Mixer and my hands for the final kneading. Good bread needs hand kneading to get the best texture in the crumb.
With the rising cost of food stuffs today, we need to use what we buy to it fullest and using enough materials to make two loafs to make one is not a frugal thing to do.
I have eaten bread made in a machine and I find it does not have the same texture as bread made either totaly by hand or with the Kitchenaide and hand kneading. I also get to take out my frustrations on the ball of dough when kneading it. I pretend it is someone who made me mad that day LOL,and beat the puddin out of them by giving the bread dough a good pounding. THis also makes better bread texture as the Gluten developes to its fulelst and the crumb is very small and good.
I am on my second breadmaker, a West Bend model that bakes a traditional loaf shape of bread. There is an option to let the machine perform the kneading, then you take the dough out to shape and bake yourself. I like it very much.