I had a Panasonic for the last few years and it worked great for two basic recipes: white or half-white/half-whole wheat. Any other recipe I tried - from the manufacturer’s cookbook or any other – produced a loaf of bread I could use to build an adobe wall. I thought maybe it was because I live at high altitude (5200 ft.), but other people I know haven’t had such problems with theirs. Another thing I didn’t like about this machine was that the recipes in the cookbook that came with it called for amounts like 5/8 cup, 11 1/2 oz., etc. Gimme a break. I haven’t given up on the idea, though. What bread machine brands have others had success with? - Jill
Greetings, predecessor!
When my (now) wife and I registered for our wedding at the beginning of the year, we asked the employee at the major department store which breadmaker she recommended. She said “the best is the Oster” (5834 is the number on the box).
We have used for several recipes with success. The only caveat - when we have made bread using the “fast” option (1-hour bread) it didn’t rise as much as when we used the regular 3-hour setting. The breadmaker makes a 2-lb bread.
I’ve got a “West Bend” brand and it works really well. I’d highly recommend it. It’s quiet and produces really consistently good loaves.
However…
If you’re having trouble with bread-machine breads at high altitudes, I suspect I can help. I live west of Denver, so I’m at a similar altitude and my bread-machine bread came out yuk too, especially with non-white breads. Howvever, if you look for something called “High Gluten Wheat Flour” (if your supermarket doesn’t have it, your local natural-foods store will). It comes in a small bag and is pretty expensive, but it only takes about two or three tablespoons of the stuff in each loaf to make it rise (and stay risen) at high altitudes correctly.
Fenris
Wow, thanks. Good advice once again from the TM. - Jill
Seriously? I’d get one with modest proportions so it can be put away in a cabinet. If you’re not using it weekly, it’s a damned waste of counter space. We have a wonderful one, but I only use it periodically. I used to keep it on the counter but then I wised up. However, I had to clean out and ENTIRE cabinet to fit that puppy in because it’s huge.
Now I look at the dimensions of all applicance before I buy them. I have a Kitchenaid blender that kicks booty, but I have to disassemble it to fit it into a cupboard. I wish I’d gotten the smaller model!
A year or so ago I did some research, and everyone seemed to agree that the Zojirushi was the best bread maker. I went out and bought one, and ended up taking it back. For all I know, it is the best one, but I just don’t like bread from bread machines. I bake my own bread, and although the bread machine bread is better than storebought, it’s not like real homemade bread.
Check out the message boards at some of the cooking sites. It’s pretty easy to find people who’ve owned several bread makers, and there’s usually a brand/model out there that everyone thinks is the best.
I have a Zojirishu that I’m very happy with. It’s handled different types of bread (white, wheat, rye, raisin) well. It’s also programmable, so I can have hot bread when I wake up in the morning.
I don’t have a bread machine yet, but I’m thinking of buying one which is why I opened this thread. I make bread the hard way and I live near sea level, but I might be able to help anyway.
The usual reason for a brick-hard loaf of bread is insufficient water in the recipe. It’s easy to tell if this is a problem when you’re kneading by hand, but with a bread machine you might never know. It could be that the higher evaporation rate at a high altitude has something to do with it. However, my sister (who also makes bread the hard way) lives at 5,300 ft. in Idaho and she doesn’t change anything except the rising time. (She says bread rises faster there). It could be she unconsciously compensates for the water problem by adding less flour.
I have found that white bread is more forgiving than whole-grain breads. White bread will turn out pretty good no matter how bad you treat it, so it’s not surprising that white bread turns out good.
[[For all I know, it is the best one, but I just don’t like bread from bread machines. I bake my own bread, and although the bread machine bread is better than storebought, it’s not like real homemade bread. ]]
One compromise is to let the machine do the mixing and rising, then put it in a bread pan and cook it in the over. Unless you really like to knead dough too, which I also enjoy.
I have a Zojirushi that I bought on the recommendation of a friend. She loves hers, though she has the older model and would prefer the horizontal loaf that my newer model creates. She almost always uses her machine just to knead the dough andthen shapes it herself and bakes it in the oven. I have been very happy with mine as well. I agree that machine made bread is not identical to handmade, but it is better than store bought. I enjoy using my machine when I want fresh bread but don’t feel I have the time to make it. And, as JeffB notes, the timer option is nice.
To compensate for the high altitude when baking cakes you add a little extra flour and extra water, too. Little less sugar, and don’t beat the eggs as much. That’s what I do. I haven’t heard of any adjustments when making bread.
My machine beeps at me during the end of the mixing cycle (because that is when you would add things like raisins) so I can go over and check the relative stickiness of the dough and add water or flour to correct it.
My machine beeps at me during the end of the mixing cycle (because that is when you would add things like raisins) so I can go over and check the relative stickiness of the dough and add water or flour to correct it.
I guess I was wrong about adding more water. According to a source I found, you should use less water at high altitudes. See this PDF document:
Bread Machine Baking at High Altitude from the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Wyoming.
I was just fixing to leave for lunch and buy my wife a bread machine for Christmas and boom here is this thread. Talk about timing.
Let us know what kind you get, Wildest Bill.