breadmaker bread as good as by hand?

[crl]

I'm wondering whether I would like a breadmaker. It sounds like it would be super easy to make bread, so hopefully I would make it more often. But I'm wondering if the quality is as good as bread made by hand?

Thanks!
Catherine

[MeepyCat]

We have a breadmaker, and the best bread we have ever had from it is... meh. The quality of breadmaker bread is definitely below that of bread made by other methods.

I think they're just one of those things that sound great in theory and aren't so hot in practice.

[lil_earthmomma]

Before I was grain free, my breadmaker collected dust while I made no-knead bread 3x/week. It was actually easier than using the breadmaker and WAY tastier!!!

www.breadtopia.com

(Check out the no-knead section! )

[Liquesce]

I've never been a fan of breadmaker mixes, but I'd never had any issues using one to mix and knead bread recipes. Mine never got much use though ... if I really want mechanical help with bread I'd just use a kitchenaid's dough hook, but I really enjoy kneading, so.

[akwifeandmomma]

I like using the breadmaker for kneading and rising, then baking the dough in the oven. Kind of defeats the purpose, I suppose, but it works for me!

[PGTlatte]

I use the bread maker for kneading only, on the pasta dough cycle. I mix by hand, toss it in to knead, then shape it into a loaf and bake it in the oven.

[paxye]

I used to use the breadmaker when making bread intimidated me... and it was easy and I thought it was good...

When I started making bread I found out how good it can be and I can't go back to the breadmaker... I tried to use it for kneading but I don't think it does a good job at all... My family likes lighter (fluffier) breads and I can't make it in the breadmaker with the good water ratio for the results I want...

Because I make pretty much all of our bread/baking products and wanted to make things a bit easier, I bought a mixer (Cuisinart), and I am really happy with the results... I can even make the perfect Ciabatta or Flatbreads with a very high water ratio that turn out perfectly. The mixer takes a lot of the work out of making bread without comprising the results...

[notneb]

Originally Posted by akwifeandmomma

I like using the breadmaker for kneading and rising, then baking the dough in the oven. Kind of defeats the purpose, I suppose, but it works for me!

That's what we do too. The kneading and rising is the time consuming part of bread baking, and the crust just doesn't come out with as nice of a texture when baked in the breadmaker. It's nice to be able to throw the ingredients in and not have to worry about them for a few hours until the bread is ready to bake.

[crl]

Thanks everyone! I don't mind the mixing and kneading. It's figuring out how to time the rising and punching down parts in with errands, etc that stops me from making bread by hand more often. Somehow it seems like it only works on days where I spend all day at home--which doesn't happen very often. I think my mom has a breadmaker, maybe I'll find time when we visit over the holidays to try it and see what I think of the bread.

Catherine

[PGTlatte]

I make a bread with no intermediate rising or punching....it is mixed, kneaded once, shaped into a loaf, rises in the loaf pan once, and then bakes.

http://www.recipezaar.com/One-Rise-H...t-Bread-340369

Originally Posted by crl

Thanks everyone! I don't mind the mixing and kneading. It's figuring out how to time the rising and punching down parts in with errands, etc that stops me from making bread by hand more often. Somehow it seems like it only works on days where I spend all day at home--which doesn't happen very often. I think my mom has a breadmaker, maybe I'll find time when we visit over the holidays to try it and see what I think of the bread.

Catherine

[elanorh]

I actually really love our bread machine. We had a Breadman, now have Zojirushi.

I have made bread from scratch for years - but while WOH with a very ill, food-allergic babe, a bread machine was the only way we could get bread that she and I could eat. I thought it wouldn't be as good, but found The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook and discovered the main thing which had been making my bread machine bread so lousy, was lack of vital wheat gluten. It makes all the difference.

The bread machine means I don't forget to punch dough down, or that if I'm in the middle of something else, I won't end up burning bread in the oven or etc. I can even put my ingredients in the night before, and time it so that we have dough ready to shape for cinnamon rolls when I get up in the morning, or etc.

We probably use our bread machine every 2-3 days. We make foccaccia, pizza dough, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and many different breads, typically multigrain. Today's is a potato bread. Our breads need to be egg-free and often have needed to be dairy-free as well.

If I didn't have a bread machine, we either wouldn't have bread, or I'd have to give up some of the other things that we do. It makes my day work much more smoothly.

And, frankly, the bread quality is not so different from an oven baked bread - the main difference is the crust which sometimes is more dense. Otherwise, it's good bread and the crumb would definitely be winning a purple at the fair (from my 4-H experience ).

I was always a snob about bread machines, until we hit the point where we needed one. And I still feel a little bit like I'm cheating. But it makes my life much easier. I still make bread by hand occasionally, but it's really nice to be able to just put the ingredients in the machine and not have to come interact with it for the next 3 1/2 hours - just let the machine do the work.

ETA - so, yeah, it's timing the rest of my life around how quickly my bread will rise (or not), how long it will take in the oven, whether it needs one rise or two .... that's the tough part, and that's where the bread machine has made my life easier. Bread itself isn't that complex to make - it's my complex life AROUND the breadmaking which makes a bread machine more convenient.

[verde]

I use the breadmaker about 5 times a week. I make all our bread and it's great. I set it at night and we wake up to freshly baked bread. I use a zojirushi now and I love it. I have used a whole variety of breadmakers and the zojirushi is the best of them all.

[crl]

Thanks for the further input!

Catherine