Bread machine

I have one I got at Target a few years ago by Breadman which replaced one that got inadvertently knocked off the counter.  The Breadman works great and is easy to use, tho I go in spurts using it.  It was about $50 at the time at bakes 1, 1.5, & 2 lb loaves.  Here is the one, tho I see it’s more now ~ http://www.target.com/p/Breadman-TR520-Programmable-Bread-Maker-for-1-1-1-2-and-2-Pound-Loaves/-/A-10610286 or at amazon ~ http://www.amazon.com/Breadman-TR520-Programmable-2-Pound-Loaves/dp/B000Q4QM1Q

Hope this helps! 🙂

I have a loaf of whole wheat bread baking in my BreadmanPro as I type this!  This is a very easy machine to use.  Even after I accidently knocked it off the counter (I did have to replace the top) the machine works great!

Are you going to use it to actually bake, or to mix dough?  Just about anything does dough cycle pretty well.  As for actually using it to bake, we’ve never had one we are happy with but a friend of mine has a Zojirushi that is tremendous.  I can’t afford one though, so I mostly use my machine to mix up dough for rolls, pizza crust, and fill-in if we eat all my baking recipe before I have time to make another big batch.

I bake bread in my machine and have a few favorite receipes that came with the manual.  I have had great luck using recipes from food.com (used to be RecipeZaar.com) and AllRecipes.com looking under bread machine section for recipes.  I also make pizza crust and cinnamon roll dough in my machine and then bake them in other pans (obviously, right?).  I like using the recipe websites because I can read the reviews and make something that will most likely turn out.  Keep asking questions too – you don’t know what you don’t know. 🙂

P.S.  I should add that I’ve only baked yeast breads in my machine.  It does have the option of quick breads like banana bread, but I like what I make already and those are simple so I just bake them in my oven.

I wouldn’t say you’ll have 100% success with every recipe, because you’re bound to have some failures along the way, but most times you’ll be successful.  It’s important to follow the directions in your manual of how to make a loaf.  I also think yeast definitely plays a role in success (is it active still and did you put the proper amount in).  However with that said, I never use bread machine or rapid rise yeast.  I just use plain yeast I buy at Costco in a big bag which is about $4.  I store most of it in a glass jar in my freezer and have a small portion in my fridge in a little glass jar.  When my fridge jar is low or out, I add a little more from the freezer jar.  It stays good for a long time this way.  There is a conversion chart in my bread machine manual and I use that to figure how much yeast I need if the recipe doesn’t specify how much of regular yeast.  All the recipes in my booklet say how much regular, rapid rise, or bread machine yeast to use, but some recipes off other websites say use “x” yeast, so I can just convert if I have to.  I have had much success with regular yeast (even using the quick one hour loaf function my machine will make).

I’d also suggest you read the reviews on Amazon and Target about the machine if you’re considering it.  Also, you might look at other bread machines on Amazon and read those reviews too.  I will say on the Breadman, mine looks like the Amazon picture with the yellow area with the keypads.  I find the yellow area can be hard to read because the it’s white lettering on a yellow background.  It looks like the manufacturer might have changed it when looking at the Target picture.  It’s not a deal breaker for me, but it was a silly design idea in my opinion.