Posted: 5/16/2008 8:45:04 AM EDT
This is rsqhobbs wife here , looking into buying a bread machine- not having any ideal about these things.Could you please help? I would like to Thank you in advance!!
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I have had a Panasonic brand and a Zojirushi brand bread maker. Both will make good quality bread with minimal work on your part. The difference is the shape of the loaves. The Zojirushi makes "conventional" looking loaves, while the Panasonic makes tall loaves that look somewhat like a mushroom. The only tips to follow are to use good fresh yeast and to add the ingredients in the order in which the instructions state. The order in which you put in the ingredients matters! The machines make some interesting grinding, whirring, and buzzing noises when they operate and go through the different cycles. To mix the dough they use "hooks"- they are small paddle like objects that are in the bottom of the mixing/baking pan. The pans that the bread cook in are non-stick coated. The paddles sit on the bottom of the pan, and when you take the bread out to cool there will be a matching hole in the bottom of your loaf of bread due to the location of the paddle. Most of the time I just made basic white bread. You can make funky stuff, or use the bread maker to just make dough (pizza, etc.). Fresh baked bread with so little effort is worth it. You can program the bread to cook while you are at work, and having the house smell so good is worth it! Downsides? Some cleaning is involved in cleaning the machine (but a lot less than making bread from scratch- basically you just clean out the mixing/baking bowl and wipe the machine down). Another potential downside? You eat more bread! Upside? Fresh bread for a reasonable price. GI only have experience with two brands, but both have been very positive. Go for it! |
