Does anyone have any experience?

I've used several bread machines over the years -they all are pretty much the same. I've found that having a stand mixer with a bread hook is almost as easy, and gets better results. It also has the advantage of other uses, and not having another big machine taking up counter space.

What R1 said. You don't knead a bread maker (sorry, I couldn't resist). If you don't have a stand mixer, you can get one. But in the meantime, you can easily just make a no-knead loaf.

Or do one that you just fold. I did one of those a few weeks ago and it came out excellent.

OP, could you be more specific as to what you mean by, "Making bread from scratch is getting to be too much all around as I’m older now. " [italic]How[/italic] is it getting to be too much?

I would consider using one if it really cut down on the mess & cleanup of conventional bread making. I guess there’s no mixing bowl and no flour on the countertop, but you still have to clean the bread machine parts (the pan/vessel, and whatever does the mixing and kneading). Other than the cleanup, I enjoy the rest of the process and it doesn’t seem to be getting any more onerous as my years advance.

OP, go to a thrift store and pick up a breadmaker for $5. I'd be shocked if you'd spend more than $10. You can google the breadmaker's instruction booklet, which will also include recipes for breads, quickbreads and other things. I've bought one through a thrift store and two others I got for free off FB Marketplace. They are pretty foolproof (you just need to be aware of what the beeps are and when to add things) and take out a lot of the work of mixing, kneading, raising, etc.

At the very least, you'll make a few loaves without the guesswork of whether it's risen enough etc. etc. Once you get a few loaves under your belt, you'll realize you can probably do it on your own without the machine, but either way, you're only out $5 and you'll make better tasting bread than the crap you get in the store that's filled with so much sweetener/corn syrup, it's practically unpalatable.

Let us know how it turns out!

Go on Facebook Marketplace and see if there are any for sale. Facebook also has "Don't buy anything" pages for most areas and people can list things they want to give away for free and people can also ask if anyone has an item they don't need anymore. You could ask if anyone has a bread machine they don't use/need anymore

The mess and cleanup of making your bread from scratch? It's not that messy. And there's lots of hands-off time to clean up. You don't even need a stand mixer if you don't have one (though it is easier). The most important item you need is a good scale. I suggest the OXO brand scale.

If you have the time, embrace the zen of making your own bread by hand. It takes five minutes to mix the ingredients, and ten minutes to knead (set a timer, it's longer than you think). After a while, you get a feel for how the dough should feel.

Watch John Kirkwood's videos. He gives very thorough instructions, and he sounds like Winnie the Pooh. In general, I tend to make more Italian/French style loaves. It occurred to me you might be more interested in sandwich breads. Here's a great recipe by JK

You might have gotten more helpful responses if your thread title had been a bit more specific, OP. The current one could refer to bread machines or to symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases.

As R8 said John Kirkwood is fabulous. Also artisanbreadwithsteve on the tube. Simple, leave overnight recipes. He was a baker but not sure he uploads anymore. Old school style. Good luck OP.

Came here to say, as R2 did, that you can try a no-knead bread. Super easy, great results.

I had a bread machine for years. Never used it. Gave it away.

Here's a John Kirkwood video where he's making ciabatta. You don't need a stone to make this. Just oil a sheet pan and plop it in there. No kneading, just folding.

For me, anyway, bread machines are one of those gadgets that seem fabulous the first time you use it, but soon wind up in the back of a closet.

I recommend getting a basic Hamilton Beach bread machine. Use King Arthur flours and Fleischmann bread machine yeast (check the expiration dates before buying.) Read the directions and follow them carefully--you can get creative and improvise when you have more experience with the medium. Breads will be a weird shape but will be better and fresher than anything you can buy in supermarkets and way cheaper than artisan bread.

My bread maker is orowheat

Quick breads are just premade breads you add water too, you dont need a bread maker for that either.

r15 that's not true. A "quick bread" is a bread you don't use yeast with...baking powder is used instead. Think of Banana or Zucchini bread. You *can* get a mix for a quick bread, but they are more commonly made from scratch and not with mixes.

Bread machines will do all the stirring for you. I'd never use one for that, though. The only possible benefit is less bowls and cleanup since you dump everything into the bread machine pan and it has a built in paddle to mix the ingredients, then baked in the same pan.

I'm fascinated with this - it's something I'd never buy, but nothing touches good homemade bread with some butter or olive oil and pepper.

I'm available for samples - if you want some feedback.

Just saying...

^^muffins, scones, biscuits and cornbread also fall into the "quick bread" category as well.

I have experience. First, you get the money, then the gentlemen can do what they want.

I was given one someone never used it herself. I did not follow instructions religiously, dough escaped and got baked info to the interior of the gizmo. I never used it again.

I have a 5-minute, no-mess recipe for wheat/rye bread cooked in a Dutch oven if you want it. 6-12 hour rising time, though.

I have one, a compact Cuisinart model that I got for free with Amazon points. It’s smaller than some other models, and stainless steel. If you buy one, I would recommend a really good quality serrated bread knife. I use mine more often in winter and bought it because I can make breads without sugar. Store-bought breads (even premium brands) tastes too sweet for me to enjoy. I make a basic French bread recipe that has just flour, yeast, salt, water.

I slice it very thin and freeze two or four slices for sandwiches and toasts. Because it has no preservatives, it goes stale quickly and the crust gets very hard. I throw the dry and stale pieces into a small chopper and make breadcrumbs from them. I have a big cleaver and sometimes chop the stale bread into cubes with it, excellent croutons.

During COVID I decided to buy a small mill and some hard red wheat berries, and I ground up my own wheat flour. I made bread from it and it was so delicious I thought I would cum! Seriously good. If you have a weight problem and need to avid carbs do not make your own. But. You can order the hard red wheat berries off of Amazon. Don't try to use a blender because it will destroy the motor. You need a ill. Go on eBay. I paid $60 for a small one. My advice is to go on You Tube and do some research. And make sure you get the right kind of wheat berries. The hard red wheat berries are the best ones to use for bread.

R22 here. You can use a bread machine once you grind your flour and add your ingredients I guess. I never used a machine. Just the small flour mill.

Many DL-ers seem to enjoy making recipes as complicated as possible, but R22 is the first one I recall who actually grinds his own flour.

r22 says use the hard red wheat berries for grinding into flour for his bread. It probably has a higher gluten/protein content. That's well and good for bread-making. When I was going through my bread phase a few years ago, I made sure to get "bread flour" which definitely makes a difference in your finished product/loaf. Depending on what kind of bread you're looking to make, you'll need to either use flour that is specifically "bread flour," or just straight AP (all-purpose) flour...OR even doctor AP flour with "vital wheat gluten" which you add into AP flour at a certain ratio, depending on how much protein/gluten content you want your bread to have.

However, fun fact: the reason why "Southern-style biscuits" are rarely good outside of the South is because they use "soft wheat" - NOT red winter wheat - for the flour that's used for biscuits. I read an article within the last 3 months about that. Specifically, a flour called White Lily, which is lower in protein and gluten content than flour that is typically used for bread. It is available on Amazon, and if I was a huge biscuit fan, I would totally buy it. Alas, I'm not really that big of a biscuits and gravy fan. I do make scones on occasion, and regular, old AP flour works just fine for that (or muffins).

R25 - you're right about southern biscuits - they're just not the same anywhere else. I hate biscuits and gravy - but I enjoy a nice southern biscuit every few months.

This thread has me drooling.

I'm a kitchen appliance queen and have at least two of every possible appliance, including breadmakers. Would you like one?

(I think I'm up to 10 coffeemakers.)

The best thing about a bread make is it gives you a perfectly mixed and proofed product every time, so you get to know the look and texture of a good dough. Then if you try making bread by hand you'll have a better idea of what you're doing.

Agreed r28. it will also give you an understanding of the process, the conditions needed to achieve the desired finished product, and the confidence that you CAN make bread, perhaps eventually even without the machine.

What you make will taste so much better and fresher than what you get in the store, and as you learn the process and your machine, you can also experiment with ingredients as well. I made a wonderful Parmesan rosemary loaf a few years ago that I'm going to be repeating when soup weather descends upon us.

How much bread do you fat whores eat? It goes stale after a couple of days.

The deli at the upscale grocery store near me always has two types of fresh baked bread you can buy by the slice. I buy two or four on the weekend.

That must be nice for you, r30. I've never heard of that before...and we don't have any grocer that does that here. I live an hour north of SF and when I lived in the city, no place did that either.

Also, that sounds pretty expensive.

There's something to be said for knowing EXACTLY what is going into what you're eating, having it fresh out of the (breadmaker) oven, and having the capability to make the kind of bread you want, when you want it.

R30: This fat whore bakes breads, cinnamon rolls, etc. and takes them to work to share. I get the enjoyment of baking, and I get to have a bit of what I made -without gorging on the entire thing. The other fat whores at work love me. It's a win-win. You try showing up with a loaf of warm bread and a bowl of homemade jam and a stick of butter. It can do wonders for your sex life. Just sayin'.

Another fat whore who likes to cook and bake for others here! I embrace my inner fat whore.

Years ago my late mother asked for one for her birthday. Back then she was still living alone in the family home and hosting family holiday dinners. She was put off by the shape of the loaves so mostly used it only for kneading and proofing, with great results.

The cinnamon rolls were especially good.

Wow this thread turned out to be a Pandora’s Box!

r34 - that's true...and you can use it for everything up UNTIL the baking if you don't like the shape it makes.

One of my bread machines has a recipe for bagels in its recipe collection. You take the dough out, shape into bagels, boil and bake.

There are other such similar recipes, including cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, pizza dough, pretzels, french bread, etc. Many of those are some variation of the same dough. But once you know (dough), you know (dough).

Hell, I just remembered you can even make jam, jellies and spreads and applesauce in the breadmaker without having to sit over the stove and endlessly stir. I've never used it for that, but I would definitely try it. And try it I might this year, as the place I moved into has an apple tree that's quite heavy with apples and harvest is coming!

R27, you’re not an appliance queen, you’re a hoarder…

I just found it all too much trouble when I can get fresh bread at Publix. I dont eat a loaf fast enough and unless I keep it in the fridge it goes bad quickly.

[quote]...unless I keep it in the fridge...

Never EVER put bread in the refrigerator. It won't go bad, but becomes stale almost immediately. Put it in the freezer. Always. It stays fresh.

I would rate this up there with pasta machines, think Phillips. I have a Phillips, I use it for tube pastas and other shapes. Sometimes I use it for a good rough spaghettini or thick pasta, think with a clingy sauce and sliced sautéed chicken. Mostly, I use my Atlas or just roll by hand, I do my stuffed pastas by hand as well. I second the posters above discussing flour types. We mostly use White Lily as our everyday, perfect for many things. If I make corzetti, I use a mix of White Lily and doppio zero semolina. But I love making pasta by hand, I love the challenge and the outcome. It’s cathartic.

R39 I buy my bread at Publix most of the time. I get the 12 grain multi grain bread fresh from the Publix bakery and it is outstanding. I love it too much. I will say, Publix bakery is just about the best supermarket bakery I have ever tried. Everything is delicious. Everything.