Hey everyone, 

First time in this forum...pretty excited :) 

I got my boyfriend the a breadmaker (Sunbeam 5891, 2-pound capacity) for Christmas as well as a recipe book, but I'm thinking of including a couple bags of bread mixes so he can make them right away. 

Does anyone know where I can buy some good bread mixes in the Los Angeles area? Any recommendations on which kind to get? 

Thanks for all your suggestions and help!

This is not a big deal, but it is mildly annoying.

When I finish making a bread, I hold the Bread Pan upside down and shake the Bread out.  99% of the time,  the Blade is embedded in the bottom of the bread.  I have to wait a minute for the Bread to cool down, then cut it out with a knife.

Is this common?

Is there some way to avoid this?

Thanks

Been playing at baking for eons; some successes, mostly less than spectacular results. Got into trying sourdough with sourdough starters after picking up a book in San Francisco airport featuring sour dough tales from the goldrush days, along with a packet of "starter." Sounded like such a great idea to try and take a stand for living free of commercial products including "expensive" yeasts. Only down side besides the frequent disasters, was handling the "gloppy" dough, so invested in a "bread machine." Less sticky hands, but little improvement in the end product.

Am now on a new track. Suddenly realized "starter" does not necessarily mean sour dough. Forget waiting for wild yeasts to take over. Create a "starter" with commercial yeast, and then nurture it carefully, saving a little "dough made from starter" from each batch of "dough cycle" bread machine product.

Haven't been at it long enough to know if I'm really onto anything; but have found that starter leavened product from the bread machine dough cycle, saved and properly fed, seems to hold great promise. There does seem to be an art to what the consistancy of the nurtured starter should be. A "soupy" batch gets the familiar foul looking liquid similar to my old sour dough efforts; so have had some success maintaining it at the consistancy of a workable bread machine dough.

Therin lies another concern. My most successful bread machine dough is from a recipe I found with precise amounts of water to dry ingrdients; which if deviated from even the minutist, produces a loaf with a collapsed top; or one so dense it can only serve as a paper weight. Figuring out how to combine the ideal starter, to the additional ingrediants to make a perfect loaf has proven very tricky.

I bought a Breadman TR555 bread machine and, in the instruction manual, there is no mention to the different cycles for each program (how many cycles of kneading/rising, how long is each step, etc). I sent 2 emails to the company (Salton), but I had no response after 6 months (I received a confirmation email each time, saying they would get back to me in 2-3 business days...). The reviews for this bread machine were mixed and a lot of them were warning about the poor customer service, but I ignored them. I should not have to!

Does someone own the same machine and know the description of each program?

Thanks for your help! 

Hi all!

I have a Zojirushi and it kneads and rises well but the baking results are not as good as in my oven. So, I want to use it for kneading and rising. Is the easiest way to do that to use it on the custom setting and specify each step (e.g. Bake: OFF)? I would do that, but I have no idea what the appropriate lengths are for each stage. I have searched this and other forums before posting. Can I just use the dough setting instead?

Does anyone know what length time I should set for Knead and Rise cycles for a basic loaf, or how it changes for whole wheat loaves?

The only example the manual gives is for French bread, which is clearly different than the normal cycle:

Knead: 18 minutes Rise 1: 45 Rise 2: 1:25 Rise 3: OFF

Thanks for your help.

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if any of you knew of a bread machine that has a stainless steel pan, or non aluminum/non-stick? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Cana

Okay, the say confession is good for the soul. I confess there are two foods that for some reason confound me. One is Jello. For love or money I can't make Jello. It's either unset, runny, hard as a rock, separating, or won't come out of the mold. Mom soon learned not to ask me ever to make it.

I have a bread machine, but the paddle is struggling so I figure it's not going to be long until it's useless.  I've never liked actually baking in the machine anyway, because of the big holes a paddle makes.  However, I have a bunch of recipes for use in the bread machine that I'd like to use.  How long should I bake bread in the oven, and at what temperature if using a recipe for a bread machine?
thanks for the help! 

I have been baking with my sourdough starter for over a year now and I've always kneaded the dough in the Kitchen Aid and baked it in the oven, but now with two babies there are times when I'd like to spend less time making a regular loaf so I got a bread machine. And now I'm not sure how to make the move from oven to machine. My standard recipe is 16oz flour, 1.5 cups water, 1.5 tsp salt, 4oz starter. Usually after kneading I let this rise for 8 hours, shape it then bake it. However, it doesn't seem possible to let something rise for 8 hours in the machine...