Thanks, Annie. When I was trying to get a handle on what all is involved with a bread machine, I watched a You Tube video where someone had bought a 25 year old Zojirushi bread machine at a thrift store. Looked like a good product. However, they are also 2-3 times more expensive than the Cuisinart I was looking. I don’t know that this is something DD will stick with.

I've never used a machine, though I briefly shared space with someone who used it daily. I do know from a lot of past chatter that the Zo is (was, I suppose, because I haven't heard of newer and better in a year) the most highly regarded. But bread people use them the way Annie does, and I think most of them are similar on the knead and rise. The kinds of bread you can make on automatic settings are limited because they depend on timed rise. If you just use it as an aid, you can make anything. I get it about put in ingredients and out pops bread, but the same is true of my 2qt. Anchor Hocking, covered measuring cup plus dump in pot and put in oven. Depending on which bread you're making, same as the machine.

How picky are the kids? Will they eat home baked? Will they dislike the flavor/texture/crust of machine baked? Does your daughter already know how to bake bread? Do the adults in her household like bread machine bread? (In my time with the daily machine bread, the others were all gaga for it, but I passed, I thought it was too yeasty tasting, had a weird spiky crumb which refused thin slicing, and had the problem of all fast rising bread of tasting sugary from lack of dough development—but newer machines might be better for that. An autolyse setting would help a lot.)

What I'm getting at is it may be too soon. Also, if they're into whole grain, perhaps an electric grain mill might be more useful...

I've had two bread machines in the past, and they did not last very long. Also, they made vertical loaves, which is not ideal. I would recommend the Zojirushi even though I have not used it because it has two kneading blades, a non-stick pan, and it makes horizontal loaves. Plus it has a lot of settings to choose from.

You definitely need a non-stick pan.

I ended up mixing all of my ingredients in a bowl before I added them to my bread machine because it did not do a good job of mixing - I think it was a Panasonic, but they might not make them anymore. Since I was first mixing all the ingredients by hand (except for the yeast - the machine had a special place for yeast, and it was incorporated last), I decided that I might as well just make the bread completely by hand. Of course this meant that I had to have time to let the dough rise, and so I pretty much only made bread on week-ends when I was working.

I think your DD will get the best results from a Zojirushi, and you might consider that if you buy the wrong machine, you might have to replace it very quickly - that is what happened to me.

In L.A., I make bread dough in my Kitchenaid mixer, but in Cathedral City, I start the dough with a Danish dough whisk and finish kneading by hand on a stone or quartz counter or table top, and I use a dough scraper so that sticky dough does not stick to my hands. I like to make a dough with a high hydration, and this should be easier in a bread machine, but again, make sure that the pan and kneading paddles are non-stick.

Good questions, plllog, about the kids and home-baked bread. I’m sure they’d love the sugary taste. The crust won’t bother them because DD cuts the crust off their sandwiches.

Now that I think about it, DD’s MIL may have a bread maker DD could borrow. She has lots of gadgets and small appliances. I’ll have to ask.

DD frequently made bread before the kiddoes came along. She really doesn’t have time any more. That is why dumping the ingredients into a machine and removing bread several hours later has some appeal.

Re rising time, one can also stick the dough in the fridge.

I guess I am going to be different here. Not that I would not want a Zo, but i have never had one. My 1st machine was the cheapest available at the time, and I thought it made good bread. I had 2 after that I got at Goodwill. Again, cheap brands. I know the last one cost me $2.50. It lasted 6 or 7 years and was still working fine when my husband needed something to get me for Christmas so that is what he got. Rolls are requested from me whenever there is a pot luck. Everyone seems to love my bread. I do only use it to mix, I bake in the oven. If you think she may not keep it up, I am not sure I would invest in a top of the line. That is why there are always so many at 2nd hand stores.

I have a Panasonic that I use to make bread, cook rice, make soup and make risotto.

dcarch

If DD can borrow one, that would be ideal.

Before the Zo I bought a couple of different models at Goodwill, one was a Breadman and one was, I think, Hamilton Beach. The Breadman was pretty good, but soon quit and the Hamilton Beach was terrible. The ingredients did not mix properly, so I had to stop the machine and stir it or do like Lars and mix the ingredients before adding them to the machine. If I baked in it, the bread was burned on one side. And, of course, there was that big hole in the bottom of the loaf, so only about half the loaf could actually be cut into slices, the rest of the loaf had a big hole right in the middle of all the slices. I'm not sure why the paddle on that machine was so big/tall and still did such a terrible job of mixing/kneading.

Anyway, do not get one of the really cheap models, even second hand, they'll be so terrible that your DD will never want to use a bread machine again. Sometimes there's a reason they are at the thrift shop and so inexpensive...

Plllog is right about the kids, they can be picky. I remember when I was a child my Grandma lived with us. She baked all our bread, twice a week, and packed our lunches because we didn't have a cafeteria in our little country school. All I wanted was to have cheap, squishy white bread like everyone else. Now I think back about what a dumb kid I was, I could eat homemade bread every day and just wanted the cheap stuff instead!

Annie

Borrowing from the in-laws is a great idea! At least to get a start and learn about using a machine.

And since your daughter is a baker already—which makes the whole thing easier—why not check out which recipes she's meaning to use, and portion out the dry ingredients, and vacuum seal them in a way that best fits her freezer or pantry? Write the portions for liquids on the outside. OR, if she has the freezer space, mix up the dough for a month or two of bread, so she just has to thaw, rise, shape and bake.

Any way you go, she's lucky to have an awesome mom just trying to lighten her load. :)

When I first started making bread, I bought a bread machine. It made a vertical loaf. The little mixing paddle broke, so I bought a larger Black and Decker, that made the regular horizontal loaf. I used it for a few years.

I found I prefer making my bread by hand. I make 2 loaves at once, whereas the bread machine makes 1. But you can make it back to back of course to make more loaves.

Don't forget, she'll have a hole in the bottom of the bread if she bakes it in the machine.

Like Annie said, she can have the machine do the mixing then form it into a loaf and then bake. Again, that would only be one loaf at a time.

Jasdip, I did enjoy baking bread by hand, kneading was kind of soothing. But my carpal tunnel problem got worse and worse, until I couldn't knead the bread properly and it hurt besides. That's why the machine does the hard work for me, but I still get to play with the bread dough!

Annei

I much prefer using my Zojirushi bread machines. I have a 1 lb maker and a 3 lb. Bought the 1 lb because I bake only for me now. Excellent bread makers.