I make all of my own bread, with the machine but baking it in the oven. Love it, and there are so many recipes out there now.

Son has had one for years and several years ago I thought that I should get one, so was looking.

After having taken him to one of his entertainment gigs, I was driving toward a village and saw a "Yard Sale" sign on a wagon rack in a field beside a farmer's house, so went in to check it out.

I checked a few things and asked what the lady wanted for the breadmaker.

She asked how much I was willing to offer.

During my cogitation as to whether I could spring for $20.00 ... or whether $10.00 was, shall we say, more or less beneath contempt ...

... while I was cogitating ...

... the woman said, "How about $7.50?".

So - I allowed as how that price seemed fair and just to me!

When one is in such negotiations ...

... often the one that speaks first ...

... loses.

I expect that you'll be even more well-bred, now, don't ya figger, Patti?

ole joyfuelled ... and fuelled by bread from his breadmaker, as well

Love my breadmaker. I use it for making the dough for pizza, pretzels and rolls more than I use it for making bread but I do love the bread it makes.

Anne

I bought it because it had a dough cycle and I will use it to make my mother's rolls and pizza dough, but thought I'd better just test my wings first.

OJ, you got, as they say, such a deal!! Me, not so good at keeping my mouth closed :-)

Good deal...........I use mine as a dough maker too and then bake in the oven...Only because I love the real loaf shape.

Patti try the Honey Wheat recipe I posted on the forum here or go to the Harvest forum and get it.Oh heck I'll just post it. The recipe might have to be cut in half depending on your bread maker but it is the best recipe and it makes fabulous rolls or buns. It's from Annie at the Harvest forum.

HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups all purpose flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
or any combo of the above...
2 pkg. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp. oil
1 egg
PREPARATION:
In large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the yeast, and salt and mix well.
In saucepan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until a thermometer reads 120-130 degrees F (warm)
Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Beat this batter for 3 minutes. Then, gradually stir in rest of whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose four to form a firm dough.
Sprinkle work surface with flour and knead dough, adding more flour if necessary, for 5-8 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, until double in bulk.
Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll or press each piece of dough to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal and place dough, seam-side down, into greased 9x5" bread pans, making sure short ends of bread are snugly fitted against the sides of the pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 30-40 minutes.
Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. I like to brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust.

Now, all I do is put the wet ingredients on the bottom, the dry on the top, and press the "dough" button. The machine does all the work.

Thanks, Ruthie. I'll try that one next. I will have to halve the recipe, but I do have wheat flour. Isn't the smell of the bread wonderful when it's baking?

Patti,
The Honey Whole Wheat that Ruthie posted is our all-time favourite recipe. I make it all the time.

Do cut the recipt in half. I make it on the dough cycle and bake it in the oven. But I do make bread start to finish in the bread-maker, too.

I also make raisin bread and Challah bread using my breadmaker.

The only bread we buy is Rye.

Good for you Patti!
I love my bread machine, I make our sandwich rolls every week. Better and cheaper then the store. My recipe is in Our Recipes plus more for bread machines too.

When I was a kid on the farm we did not have running water to the house so when Grandma was baking bread, doing laundry or canning fruits & vegetables Grandpa would assign one of us boys to stay at the house and help Grandma by fetching water from the spring, carrying coal in for the cookstove or carrying the buckets of fruit and vegetable peelings out to the hog lot. I loved helping Grandma because she taught me a lot of secrets about cooking which i still use to this day.

When Grandma made bread she use an old Granite ware dishpan to mix the dough, then turn it out on a large wooden bread board for kneading. She usually made about 30 to 35lbs of dough and formed loaves in 12 "railroad pullman" breadpans that are about 3 times the size of regular bread pans plus she made 36 yeast rolls. (That was a one week supply for our family on the farm.)

When my Grandfather passed away, to the dismay of my Mother and her sisters, we found out that Grandpa had willed that dishpan and breadboard to me, and I still use it to make my bread.

When the bread making machines first came out someone gave me a really nice one for a xmass present, and I actually used it once, but it just did not make the same quality as Grandma's old pan & breadboard.

About a year ago my sister was in my garage and she saw that old breadmaker, still in the box, sitting on a shelf. She says, "What would you take for that machine?"
I said, "I don't now sis, its almost brand new, only made one loaf of bread about 20 years ago, I guess I would have to get two cups for that"
"Two cups?"
"Yea, take it with you and next time I stop by your house you will owe me two cups of coffee."

About a week later I got my two cups and to this day I still think I got the best end of that trade.

I received a bread maker for a gift after I was injured in an MVA and was unable to knead bread any more. I loved kneading bread, and humoured my family for giving me a bread maker for a while. But soon I began to love the bread maker for making dough. I love to make dinner rolls, cinnamon buns and different breads with it. Today I'm going to try a recipe for cinnamon twists that I found on All Recipes. As there are only two of us here, I tend to cut bread recipes (especially French bread) in half or in three. I shape all loaves, but only bake one and freeze what is left. With the frozen loaves, I take them out of the freezer and let them rise in the oven, then bake them. I find if I bake them within two weeks of freezing, there is no difference in the quality of the frozen loaves. LOVE doing this...

Patti, be prepared to gain weight. It goes hand in hand with baking your own bread. :)

Moni

I was thinking that, Moni. Especially since the loaf is just about gone. We usually don't eat much bread, but the semi-homemade is so much better. Cheaper, too. All mine had in it was water, oil, flour, salt and yeast.

I sure as heck don't need to gain weight!

I just talked to my daughter about her bread maker. She isn't using it much right now, and I plan to get it next time I am there. Just bought bread at my favorite bread store in Tulsa last Thursday, and when that's gone, I will be baking again too.

Not only do I love to eat fresh baked bread, I also love smelling it. :)

Moni

I love making bread and it is something that I have spent many years doing and learning. I have books up the ying yang and have found that experience is the real teacher. I do not have any strength in my arms any more because of arthritis, and fibro myalgia so the bread machine affords me the opportunity to still have good homemade bread. I take it out of the machine and knead it just enough to satisfy my creative needs and not enough to damage myself. I cannot tell the difference in the bread......If you really have an interest in bread making....may I suggest a particular site with the sole subject of bread making.....You can get the answer to any question you ever have.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Fresh Loaf

Great site, Ruthie. Thanks!

I have one stored in the basement. I loved using it. Too much so! But, I think I may bring it out of hiding and get DH involved in making some whole wheat bread and buns. He's been told his cholesterol is high so whole wheat breads are best now. It might make this diet a bit more interesting for him if he is involved in making his own bread.

Hi mush,

I think that involvement adds to one's store of knowledge. The practical kind - not the airy-fairy stuff.

ole joyful

I have a nice breadmaker in my basement too. LOL I make virutally all the rolls and breads that I use and h ave been doing that for about the laST 50 years. Occasionally I will buy a loaf of store bought bread, but not very often. Publix has some nice breads that I cannot resist.

I use a Kitchen Aid to mix the dough and then knead it by hand for a bit before letting it "rise to the skies" as my grandma used to say. LOL

If you are just beginning, it is important to follow a good T & T recipe such as Ruthie posted, then once you get used to the feel and textures, you can then add things into the dough to make it your own. I love adding things such as dried cranberries, nuts, seeds of different sorts and mixed cereal grains as well.

IMHO, cooking should be fun, and that includes bread baking.. so let your imagination sour with the eagles... and you will be pleasantly surprised..

Bon Apetit..

Carolyn

Thanks for the link, Ruthie. It will come in handy, I'm sure. I made your honey wheat bread today, but I'm waiting for dinner to try it. Looks and smells great, though.

Let us know how it was, I may have to try it also.