Bread Making, here I come

This particular object is another 'toy' that I have been wanting for some time but just could not justify spending money for. I am one of those types who make bread by hand on a regular basis and enjoy the taste but have often wished for something that would ease the time it takes to mix, rise, knead and mold dough. I suggested a bread maker for my birthday and amazingly my husband listened. The deal was he would buy it but I needed to pick one out that wasn't extremely expensive.

After my usual stint of online researching I narrowed down my choice to this particular model. It seemed to have the options I wanted while not being too complex or bulky. It was ordered and arrived and once again I was free to experiment and play with my new goody.

My overall impression of this machine is very good. It cooks the bread properly, has a few options for 'express baking' a loaf of bread in around an hour and is geared with the usual basic, wheat, dough, and bake options along with a couple of others. The best way to start out with your new machine is to use the recipes that came with it. In this case it came with a nice spiral bound book that contained all the info you could possibly want plus a myriad of recipes. I have tried several and all have turned out wonderfully. If you purchase this machine, I strongly suggest the dinner roll recipe. Divine!

I have tried the machine using many different recipes and as with any loaf of bread you do need to have an idea of if the dough ball is too wet or too dry and adjust accordingly. It cooks thoroughly, has not burned any loaf I have made and even has the option of crust color. I prefer a light crust but there is also medium and dark.

One thing it does not point out, which I thought strange, was in the recipes it does not suggest any for quick breads using the bake cycle. Instead it just focuses on jams and preserves. I have made banana bread in it a few times with excellent results. This is particularly nice during the hot summer when you have bananas you need to use up but you don't want to heat the house using the oven. If you use this machine to make a quickbread test the loaf for doneness. The bake cycle is 60 minutes but it does take an average of 15 minutes longer to acheive proper cooking of your bread. I just set the timer on my microwave and started the bake cycle again on the bread maker, when I was beeped at, I checked the loaf again and it was perfect.

Counter space, do you have a lot of it? If so, prepare to lose a fair amount if you decide upon this bread maker. It is fairly large, at least in my opinion, but it is the first one I have ever owned so really cannot compare it to other models. I have a spot on my bar where it sits comfortably but if you do not make bread often, a nice spot in a cabinet or in a store room would be suitable.

Bread, my family cannot live without bread and I prefer avoiding preservatives if I can help it so this poor little machine gets used at least twice a week if not more. I have had it for a little over a month now and so far it has kept up nicely with the regular baking workouts it gets. Cleanup is easy, wonderfully easy. I soak the bread pan for about 15 minutes or so in hot soapy water and then a nice swipe down with a rag is all it takes. They strongly suggest you do not wash it in the dishwasher but that is not an inconvenience considering the nonstick coating it has.

The thing that surprised me was the small mixing paddle. It is definitely little, at least that is what I thought. However, it mixes things well. My only negative comment about the mixing is that you do need to watch it to make sure that the flour in the corners of the pan do get incorporated into the loaf properly. It is not a big deal if it doesn't but you will end up with a loaf with floury corners if you don't keep an eye on it. All it takes is a nudge with a small rubber spatula and the flour will be pushed into the dough and mixes nicely. The paddle also has a nonstick coating so it is recommended to not stick it in the dishwasher either.

Overall I am very pleased with my new toy. Anything that makes my life simpler is given my seal of approval and this bread maker gives me back at least 3 hours that I would not normally have when making bread from scratch.