If you bake your own bread...

[*********]

So, I like to bake our bread. I don't always do it. I didn't have a mom that baked (or even cooked for that matter, lol), so everything, and I mean EVERYTHING I know about cooking, baking, and any other household duty I have taught myself.

 

So I have a recipe that my family likes for bread. It uses a combo of whole wheat and white flour. We like the texture and taste, and I've discovered that cutting the loaf with an electric knife can give me the thinner slices my family prefers for sandwiches and toast. I even discovered that I already own the perfect size container for the loaf. Oh, and the recipe makes three loaves, so I did some research and learned how to freeze the dough for later use.

 

All that to say, it took some time, but I got the whole bread making thing figured out.

 

But.

 

I bake it in the oven. And I've done some research on bread machines, and WOW, that would be a whole lot easier! But I don't own one, and there's such a HUGE price range and so many models. But my in-laws always want one big present idea from me for Christmas, so I'm wondering if I should ask them for a bread maker. I've got a few other things I'd like as well (like a nice set of knives, for example), and I just don't know if I'd like the bread maker or not.

 

So, that leads me to the poll. :001_smile:

 

Feel free to comment about why you prefer to use the oven or your bread maker, as well as what brands/models of bread makers I should look at or avoid.

[Liz CA]

I have used both and prefer the oven, simply because the oven gives me a "crustier" crust. ;)

 

I grew up in Europe and am used to firmer bread and a real crust.

Nowadays, I am almost exclusively baking sourdough and I need to have more control over it than the bread machine would give me, i.e I check on the rising progress and so on and when I feel I have a nice loaf to bake, I stick it in the oven.

 

I started out with a bread machine because I thought I would never learn how to time rising cycles correctly, etc. but after a year or so of baking in the machine, I ventured further and now I never use it.

 

I am almost on the verge of offering you mine but shipping charges would probably take all the fun out of it. :lol:

 

[OrganicAnn]

We actually do both. But the bread from the oven has a thinner crust and is nicer than the breadmaker. We use the breadmaker for convenience or when we don't have time. It has a delayed start which can be a good feature. For the oven, we do the no knead method.

[claire up north]

I prefer the bread machine because my days are so busy and I wouldn't make the bread if I had to be around to put it in the oven and supervise it. Lazy, I know, but I also know my limits. ;)

 

I have a Zozorushi (sp?) machine and I love it.

[*********]

I am almost on the verge of offering you mine but shipping charges would probably take all the fun out of it. :lol:

 

 

Liz, I suspect you're right, since I'm in Michigan, and that's a long way to send a bread maker! :lol:

[arcara]

I mix the dough in the bread machine and bake it in the oven. I don't like the shape of the loaf when it bakes in the bread machine. It doesn't fit in my bread slicer. And, the machine overcooks it.

[BigMamaBird]

I voted "Other," and I don't mean to be a smart alec. I dearly WANT to make bread, but all I get are bricks.

 

Would some of you lovely ladies mind posting your recipes? Pretty please!?!:crying:

[*********]

For the oven, we do the no knead method.

 

Wait a minute, WHAT? You mean there's a method of baking bread where you don't knead it? Seriously, I can't believe all the things I don't know! Please, someone clue me in...

[gardening momma]

I have a bread machine, but I don't use it anymore. It'll be sold one of these days. It made good bread, but only one shape. And even though there are settings for how dark I want the crust, the lightest setting wasn't light enough for me.

 

I'm much better at making bread now, as a result of searching for recipes and trial and error, but I still haven't found one I like for sandwiches. My bread is good if I want bread and butter (like with supper or a snack), or for making rolls or baguettes/french bread (I bought a baguette pan--yay!).

 

I like using my KitchenAid mixer to do the kneading. I can knead the bread longer if I want and I have a choice on how long to let it rise. My bread machine has various settings, but I can't determine knead time or rise time. It's just much easier with my stand mixer and oven.

[gardening momma]

Wait a minute, WHAT? You mean there's a method of baking bread where you don't knead it? Seriously, I can't believe all the things I don't know! Please, someone clue me in...

The Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day book--their website has the basic recipe. I tried it, and it's very good.

[gardening momma]

I have used both and prefer the oven, simply because the oven gives me a "crustier" crust. ;)

What I like is that with my oven I can get a less crispy crust, which is what I prefer. I can either put an oven-safe dish of hot water on a lower rack, or brush the dough with lightly beaten egg whites. The egg whites give it a shiny, lightly crispy crust, but in my experience, the crust isn't as thick, which is the problem I have with crispy crusts (I don't like how thick and hard they are--a thin, fragile crisp is what I like).

[wildflower]

Wait a minute, WHAT? You mean there's a method of baking bread where you don't knead it? Seriously, I can't believe all the things I don't know! Please, someone clue me in...

 

Can I chime in here. HAs anyone seen the artisan bread in 5 minutes a day book? It is very similar to the no-knead recipe that was in the NYTimes a few years back. There is a website also:

 

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

 

hope my 2cents helps!

[OrganicAnn]

This is like a card trick. First you have to tell me how big the pan you will be baking your bread in, then I'll tell you a recipe to fit it.

 

I use pyrex glass pans. For everyday we use a large retangular pan. I love to make small round loaves to give a presents.

 

ETA: Also let me know if you want WW or white.

[LostSurprise]

I started with a bread maker. I used that for a year or two, baking occasionally.

 

Then I took the final step and started making it by hand. The variety is better. I can make more loaves at a time (just 1 in the machine) and freeze them for later. I can do a cold rise overnight, adjust the times for the heat/humidity, do sourdough, crisp the crust...all things I can't do with the machine.

 

I had a bread maker. I gave it away.

 

If you're interested in having one I'd recommend yard sales and Goodwill. Many times people have good intentions (or they get a Christmas gift) and don't go through with it. I have seen many bread machines over the years and had several offered to me. There's nothing wrong with preferring one, but I would recommend getting a cheap one first before deciding if you like it or you'll use it on a regular basis.

[Tutor]

I voted bread machine since that is how we bake most of our bread just because it is less hands on time for us. However, when we have time, we make yeast bread in the oven, and we also make quick breads in the oven quite often - banana bread, soda bread, etc.

 

Our recent addiction is Native American Fry Bread which is fried on the stovetop.

 

Guess I should have voted "other". LOL!

[krisp]

I primarily bake mine in the oven (though I do own a breadmaker) because I can make 4 loaves at a time. My bread-hungry children would go through a bread machine loaf/day.

 

Another advantage I've found to the Bosch/oven combo over a breadmaker is that I can easily do real whole wheat bread. Most of the "whole wheat" bread machine recipes I tried were 1/2 white flour (if not more).

 

Do you want a 100% whole wheat recipe or white or some combination of the 2?

[David]

I use the oven for all my bread. For sandwich bread, I use King Arthur's Classic Sandwich Bread recipe, modified to slightly reduce the yeast, salt, and sugar.

 

For our better-tasting, artisan-style bread, I use Cook's Illustrated Almost No-Knead Bread recipe, I think from the January 2008 issue. It's baked inside a Dutch oven in a very hot oven, and has great crust and flavor. And, yes, it's virtually no-knead, calling for 10-15 kneads or about a minute's worth.

[Jen in PA]

I mix the dough in the bread machine and bake it in the oven. I don't like the shape of the loaf when it bakes in the bread machine. It doesn't fit in my bread slicer. And, the machine overcooks it.

 

This is what I do. It saves me some labor, and I end up with very nice-looking loaves.

[FO4UR]

I voted "oven."

 

I do sometimes use my breadmaker ($99 bought 9 years ago version), but I can only use white flour in the breadmaker so I only do that if I need bread in the 1 hr super rapid cycle. My machine has NEVER made a decent WW loaf:glare:.....probably b/c it is an old/cheap brand.... I'll be:lurk5:this thread for bread machine name drops:tongue_smilie:

 

I love hard white wheat flour - YUMMY! That makes the best WW bread ever...add butter and honey...:drool:

 

My favorite recipe

[Melora in NC]

I usually mix the dough in my Zojurushi machine, then take it out and bake it in two pans. The machine bakes the bread beautifully, but the loaves are very big.

[Quiver0f10]

I prefer oven mostly because that is what I have always done and because I make 4-6 loaves at a time.

[abbeyej]

I think oven-baked bread is so, so, so much better. I have a no-knead recipe that I love. It's about 5 minutes hands-on, and the bread slices great for sandwiches... I love it. :) I could never get my bread machine bread to have a really nice texture.

[Guest Katia]

I make all our bread and I use our cheap bread machine. I use Prairie Gold whole wheat flour and rolled oats. It turns out with a very soft crust (which is what we love) and we use it for sandwich bread. It's my own recipe that I messed around with until I finally came up with what we like.

 

I use an electric knife for thin slices. I make a loaf every other day. It's just so easy to put the ingredients into the pan, push the button and go on my way. One pan to mix, knead and bake. Very little to clean up.

 

I don't care to mess with mixing in my Kitchen Aid and then having to wash it, then knead on my counter and clean it off, then take a bunch of time with raising and punching down, then clean up the pan(s).....I just don't have the time or energy for this.

 

I love my bread machine and don't plan to get rid of it any time soon.

[melissel]

I think oven-baked bread is so, so, so much better. I have a no-knead recipe that I love. It's about 5 minutes hands-on, and the bread slices great for sandwiches... I love it. :) I could never get my bread machine bread to have a really nice texture.

 

Abbey, could you share it? My bread machine's heating element pooped out, and I need a good sandwich bread recipe.

 

Thanks!

[Heather in WI]

I mix the dough in the bread machine and bake it in the oven. I don't like the shape of the loaf when it bakes in the bread machine.

 

This is what I do, too.

[jewellsmommy]

I grind my own grain and use a Panasonic bread machine ($109.99). Even with the grinding, I can prep my bread in less then 10 min. This bread machine has a 1hr 55min cycle that makes a delicious loaf of bread. The texture is great. I pre-combine dry milk, gluten, lechitin, sea salt, and a pinch of citric acid, in little baggies and keep them in the fridge. When I go to make bread, I grind the wheat and measure out (digital scale) 14.8 oz of wheat into the bread pan, add 1 baggie from thr fridge, water, oil, honey and ground flax seed, put in the machine and add the yeast into the dispenser. Done. I have whole wheat bread in 2 hrs!

[abbeyej]

Abbey, could you share it? My bread machine's heating element pooped out, and I need a good sandwich bread recipe.

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1095044#post1095044

:)

[*********]

Anyone have a no knead recipe that uses at least 1/2 whole wheat flour?

[abbeyej]

Anyone have a no knead recipe that uses at least 1/2 whole wheat flour?

 

I use only whole wheat for my recipe, Bethany. Well, I did use white flour once, and it was very tasty, lol, but I don't do that on a regular basis. I'm sure it would also work with half-and-half, if that's what you prefer.

[Melissa in Australia]

I had a no bake mother as well. I learned to do most baking by myself.

I Have a beautiful wood slow combustion stove, and make all my bread in it.

[gardening momma]

I don't care to mess with mixing in my Kitchen Aid and then having to wash it, then knead on my counter and clean it off, then take a bunch of time with raising and punching down, then clean up the pan(s).....I just don't have the time or energy for this.

I don't knead on the counter if I use my KitchenAid. I let it do all the kneading.

[melissel]

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1095044#post1095044

:)

 

Ooooooohhhhh, that sounds yummy. I'll mix up a batch tonight and give it a shot tomorrow. I don't have a Dutch oven, but I have a big, heavy bottomed stainless steel pot that I pretty much use the same way. I wonder if that would work...hmmm.

 

Thank you!

[gardening momma]

This is my bread machine's 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe (ingredient list, anyway), which I modify to apx. 1/4 wheat to 3/4 white flour, and makes great bread in the machine and great bread and rolls in the oven. Maybe I'll try it no-knead sometime to see how it does:

 

1 2/3 c. water

2 Tbsp. margarine or butter, softened

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

4 2/3 c. whole wheat flour

3 tsp. active dry yeast

[Rosie_0801]

I'm voting because I really wanted to be able to vote "Other!" :D

 

I cook ours in the frying pan because I only make flat breads. I'd like to go back to making yeast loaves eventually, but my self esteem isn't high enough yet. I just can't get them right! I don't want to use a bread machine though, I think it would be a better use of my time to practise and get it right since you can do so many more things with the oven.

 

Of course my dream would be for dh to knock up a solar cooker so I could bake in that. Yes, I could make it myself, but that would be to deny dh the feelings of being manly and workshop-ish. He went to a private school so his first woodwork project was at age 33. I went to a tech school. He's cute when he struts around showing off his handy skills. :)

 

Rosie

Edited July 31, 2009 by Rosie_0801

[OrganicAnn]

Anyone have a no knead recipe that uses at least 1/2 whole wheat flour?

 

If you let me know what size bread pan you use, I can give you a recipe.

[Harriet Vane]

We used breadmakers for years. My number one frustration with them is that they inevitably break within a few years, and it is way too expensive to repair so we end up replacing every 2-3 years. My environmentalist sensibilities cannot stand the thought of all those small appliances cluttering up our landfills!

 

Plaid Dad recommended a book that has revolutionized our bread baking process. It's called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's the easiest bread system ever, and the bread is incredible. Twice a week we make a tub of dough to make four loaves of bread. It takes roughly 10 minutes to mix it up. Every morning I bake one loaf. To do this I dig out a wad of dough from the tub and let it sit on the counter 20 minutes while the oven preheats. I then throw it in the oven. It takes, literally, five minutes a day. My total work for the week is 30-40 minutes on bread. No kneading, ever.

 

Here's a link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249010706&sr=8-1

[Guest sarathan]

I make all of our bread with a bread machine and I love it! If I had to make bread completely by hand and use an oven, I'm not sure I would make as much and I would probably buy more store bought bread.

[melissel]

We used breadmakers for years. My number one frustration with them is that they inevitably break within a few years, and it is way too expensive to repair so we end up replacing every 2-3 years. My environmentalist sensibilities cannot stand the thought of all those small appliances cluttering up our landfills!

 

Plaid Dad recommended a book that has revolutionized our bread baking process. It's called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. It's the easiest bread system ever, and the bread is incredible. Twice a week we make a tub of dough to make four loaves of bread. It takes roughly 10 minutes to mix it up. Every morning I bake one loaf. To do this I dig out a wad of dough from the tub and let it sit on the counter 20 minutes while the oven preheats. I then throw it in the oven. It takes, literally, five minutes a day. My total work for the week is 30-40 minutes on bread. No kneading, ever.

 

Here's a link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249010706&sr=8-1

 

This is waiting for me at the library right now, woohoo!

[Shelly in the Country]

I like to make the dough in the bread maker and then bake it in the oven. I have two bread makers that are used several times a week. I bake all our bread. I like to make hamburger buns especially. If pressed for time (which is nearly all the time) I just make the whole loaf in the bread maker.

 

Before I had the bread makers I made bread by hand, but I mostly stuck to dinner rolls, hamburger buns and pizza crust. I bought our sandwich bread. The bread makers make it much easier for me to make everything at home.

[gardening momma]

I like to make hamburger buns especially.

I forgot about buns! I made homemade hot dog buns once, but I made my first batch too big--I either used too much dough for each, or let them rise too long (probably too much dough). They made great sub sandwich buns! My second attempt made great hot dog buns. My hamburger buns were o-k, haven't perfected the size yet. Haven't tried since that first time, but thanks for the reminder. :)

[joannqn]

I voted other. I use the bread machine to do the mixing, kneeding, and rising. Then I take it out, shape it, let it proof, and bake it in the oven. I don't like how the machine bakes it.

[Ellie]

I have a Bosch, which besides being a great mixer in general is amazing for making bread. I also have a grain mill, and I can go from wheat berries to 4 of the most amazing loaves of 100% whole wheat bread in about an hour and a half. That would be my first choice: a grain mill and a Bosch. Your family will LOVE that bread.

 

My second choice would be a bread machine. My hand-made bread is pathetic.:glare: The Zojirushi usually gets really good reviews.

[TCoppock]

I just got a brand new Zo and am in love with it. I actually just finished making a loaf of applesauce oatmeal bread. I have made simple rolls and pizza crust by hand in the oven but my arms were always sore the next day. lol I can't imagine doing everthing by hand.

[Kimm in WA]

I use Marilyn Moll's (The Urban Homemaker website) recipe for WW bread. She also has a lot of variations of the recipe to make different baked goods.

 

I mix it all in my Kitchenaid (would LOVE a Bosch so I could do 4 loaves at a time instead of 2). No hand kneading required.

 

I used to do 1/2 WW and 1/2 white flour until I discovered white wheat flour, which I get through Azure Standard. It is fabulous!

 

If your kiddos don't like sandwiches with homemade bread, you could make large rolls but flatten them a bit to make sandwich rolls. This is what I did when I first started making my own bread since my kiddos weren't used to it. Now they like the bread better, but with 3 teenage boys I always make ahead and freeze loaves and bags of rolls.

 

HTH,

Kimm

[dirty ethel rackham]

I did the bread machine thing for many years because, one, I got one as a gift, and, two, I did not have confidence in my abilities to make bread without it. Well, after my 2nd bread machine died at the same time as my hand mixer, I got myself a KitchenAid pro mixer. I make it with that and bake it in the oven. I use whole wheat flour, gluten, flax seed meal, yeast salt, water, oil and honey. It is delicious. The only disadvantage is that I have to be home.

 

Bread machines can be tempermental. There are lots of factors that can go into how well the bread turns out. My last bread machine never really made good bread. I am much happier now that I can have more control over the outcome.

[KingM]

I voted "Other," and I don't mean to be a smart alec. I dearly WANT to make bread, but all I get are bricks.

 

Would some of you lovely ladies mind posting your recipes? Pretty please!?!:crying:

 

If you want a quick boost, try this beer bread recipe. You can't go wrong. Use a lager or wheat beer, rather than something heavy like a stout. Oh, and I think the recipe is better with 1/4 cup of butter.

 

I always sift my flour and I use King Arthur flour. Bread is pretty cheap when it's homemade and the slightly higher cost of better flour is well worth it.

Edited July 31, 2009 by KingM

[KingM]

I cook ours in the frying pan because I only make flat breads.

 

Do you have a pizza stone? I make this naan recipe whenever I make Indian food and cook the naan on the stone. It tastes fantastic.

[David]

...Cook's Illustrated Almost No-Knead Bread recipe, I think from the January 2008 issue...

 

In an earlier post, I extolled the virtues of this recipe. Here's a link to the recipe and a short video about making the bread. http://www.breadtopia.com/cooks-illustrated-almost-no-knead/

[In The Great White North]

I grew up in Europe and am used to firmer bread and a real crust.

Nowadays, I am almost exclusively baking sourdough and I need to have more control over it than the bread machine would give me, i.e I check on the rising progress and so on and when I feel I have a nice loaf to bake, I stick it in the oven.

 

How do you get European white bread in your oven? I have no problem with the Roggenbrot types but can't get the brotchen type to come out right.

[stacim]

Here's another vote for kneading in the bread machine and baking in the oven. I would love a Bosch so that I can make several loaves at a time, but it's not in the budget right now.

 

~Staci