Suggestions For Bread Machine?

[himslim]

Has anyone here recently purchased a bread machine that they could recommend for a newbie? I have no experience with any kind of baking.

I'm looking for a machine that would be around $100 and easy to use. Preferably one that I could put the ingredients in and walk away until all was done.

I posted in the Canadian forum because lots of the other suggestions are for machines that I can't find here in BC.

If anyone has tips on where to purchase a machine, that would be great too. I was thinking of a store where I can return it if things don't go well, maybe the Bay?

Thanks.

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Hi himslim,

my MIL gave me a breadmachine last year christmas. And this one is great (i don't know about other ones...lol). It's from Sunbeam brand and the model number is 5891. If you want to make gluten-free bread with that you have to chose the ExpressBake setting number 6 (for 1.5 lb) or 7 (for 2.0 lb). With this setting I use the All Purpose gluten-free Baking Flour from Bobs Red Mill and the recipe is from Bette Hagman's "The Gluten Free Gourmet" (Revised Edition)-Book and is called True Yeast Bread (page 53). That really works excellent. And i don't think the breadmachine was so expensive, because it was a present for christmas. I don't know where my MIL bought it. I suggest try it at WalMart.

Greetings, Stef

[Canadian Karen]

Hi Himslim,

I just bought one last week at Walmart. It is a new one on the market - a "Black & Decker Horizontal Automatic Breadmaker" B2000. It makes a 2 lb. loaf in 70 minutes. It is one that you just put everything in and walk away. It was $119.00 at Walmart (in Toronto).

My first loaf did not turn out very well but that was entirely my fault. Apparently, for gluten-free bread, rapid rise yeast is required, and I used the regular yeast by mistake. I am making another attempt tomorrow......

Have a great day!

[himslim]

Thank you both for replying so quickly. I'm very anxious to find a machine and start experimenting. I will take a look at Walmart for these models, thanks for the additional tips.

Canadian Karen - please let me know how the next loaf turns out, with the 'rapid rise yeast'. I wouldn't have known about this myself.

[flagbabyds]

we use zogiruchi(sp?) and we got it at some gluten free website and is has instructions on programming it so it will make gluten-free bread

[stef-the-kicking-cuty]

Oh, i forgot some other information, about the breadmachine, i bought. Well, there's a little window on top, so you can look at the different stages. That's really interesting . But if you want, you can also walk away. That's absolutely no problem. And the time with the ExpressBake setting is 58 minutes . That's funny, because it counts the minutes backwards. So you always see, how much time it still needs to be done. And at the beginning i couldn't wait (because i was so keen on bread) and looked on the "countdown" everytime i walked by the kitchen. And after a while I started to walk through the kitchen on purpose and always shouted through the whole apartment: "Only 13 minutes left". And I stared into the little window and sniffed at the machine, if you already smell something. And stuff like that. I started to become real childish and my hubby said "Oh, you're becoming a pain in the butt".

Hugs, Stef

[himslim]

Well I found a machine at London Drugs - Black & Decker B1561. It has a Super Fast cycle that is 70 minutes long. They were sold out of the Oster (which looks and sounds exactly like the Sunbeam that was described above). It was the only one in stock and it will be on sale next week for $70 so I'll get the difference back.

I'm trying it today for the first time with B.Hagman's recipe for Sesame Bean Bread. I'll report later tonite on how things go... Thank you all for your help.

[himslim]

I'm thrilled to report that everything went well. I enjoyed fresh, chewy bread that I haven't had in months and it was wonderful. The Sesame Bean Bread recipe makes a darker loaf that is more like a whole grain bread. I may have used too much yeast because it fell after I took it out, but looks aren't what I was going for. I wanted bread that tasted great and was easy to make - I got it.

I'm off to slice and freeze the rest so it doesn't get stale. How do you all keep your breads fresh? Is there a better way to store them instead of freezing?

Thank you for the support, I wouldn't have had the confidence to try this if I hadn't read all the messages on this forum.

[Canadian Karen]

I'm glad it worked out for you.

I haven't had a chance to make my second attempt at my bread yet. The kids have kept me hopping and I had my dr's appt. I am trying again tomorrow. I have to remember to take the yeast and the egg out to get them at room temperature.....

I also am looking forward to home baked bread. I am especially looking forward to being able to personalize my breads, e.g. almonds, raisins, etc.

Have a great day!

[himslim]

I made a second loaf with the same recipe and got good results again. To bring the eggs to room temperature, B. Hagman suggests putting them in warm water for a few minutes prior to baking. I was storing the yeast at room temperature in my cupboard, since that's how I bought it at the health food store. Is this a problem?

Actually I cut back the amount of yeast by 1/4 tsp since it rose really high and then kind of fell when I took it out of the pan. The second loaf did the same even with the reduction in yeast so I will try a recipe for the 1 lb. loaf next time instead and see if that helps. Love the flavour though and my husband said he'll eat it too, he liked the taste.

[lbsteenwyk]

If you buy yeast in a jar, you should keep in in the refrigerator once you have opened it. If you are using individual packets, it is okay to store them at room temperature.

[celiac3270]

There was an article in the latest Living Without magazine in the "grapevine" section entitled "The Hunt for a Gread Machine". I'll try to summarize the points of this article--I assume that that's okay because I'm listing the source and not copying word for word:

Okay, basically, there are two helpful ways to find a good bread machine, she learned. The Gluten Free Pantry and Red Star Yeast. The Gluten Fee Pantry's site is at Open Original Shared Link and it has a section on how to make bread, tips on programming the machine for gluten-free bread, etc. Red Star Yeast has a hotline where they list bread machines that are good for gluten-free bread: 800-423-5422.

The author says that it's helpful to have a machine that can be programmed to have only one kneading and rising cycle--this is better for gluten-free dough.

She reviews two bread machines priced at over $200, so I won't go into those. She does say that the Breadman TR2200C is "programmable" and there isn't a monstrous difference between it and the higher priced Zojurushi X-20.

Then there are the much lower cost bread machines (such as a Sunbeam 5833 for $38.95), but with those, she says, you need to be there to "set the bake cycle" and it's generally very inconvenient.

Finally, Susan Adamson says that she bought the Breadman Ultimate. It's programmable with a "horizontal loaf pan" and can be purchased for $72.79 at amazon .com.

If you would like to order a back issue of the magazine, you can do that or subscribe at Open Original Shared Link. This is also good because it can help you decide whether or not you might like to subscribe, though keep in mind that the amount of gluten-free stuff in it varies from issue to issue (it's for alergies and food sensitivities, so it's not 100% celiac). I found this one had much less on celiac than the other issues usually do.

[Happycat]

Thanks for all the useful info. I saved everything to my favorites. I am so glad you're on the road to recovery!

Lisa

[artmeg55]

If you don't have time to make your own bread which I don't, and you live in Canada, Sterk's Bakery in Ontario has really good products. Their pizza shells are surprisingly good and the Italian bread is too. I order these online from Miss Robens. This supplier is quite good reliable, reasonable, and ships fast. I like their muffin mixes also. www.allergygrocery.com

[Daxin]

My mother in law just bought us a bread machine since I was diagnosed only 3 weeks ago. It is Cuisanart, and is has a gluten free setting right on the panel. It is the only bread machine they make, so it should be easy to find on their website or in stores.

The recipe book it comes with has several VERY good recipes in it. We could only find it at one store, and it was a little preicer than the rest, but well owrth it IMHO.

I hope this is helpful to others. IT was to me.

[gutlaugh]

Hi - I am new to food allergies in general, and was just diagnosed as being allergic to wheat, sulphites, egg whites, and milk. I have no idea if that makes me celiac or not, but I am looking for info. I am allergic to the casien in cows milk, which I gather from reading the posts, is in everything dairy.

I am allergic to wheat, not gluten. So I can have spelt and other grains. I cannot seem to make my spelt bread in the bread machine work out, so if you have any tips, let me know. I have no recipes.

Since I have not given up eggs yet, I think I might try and continue with that, and just eliminate dairy and wheat. Trial and error, I guess!