Is Zojirushi or Breville worth it for dough only?
Hi All,
This is only my second post on this board, but I'm hoping somebody with bread machine experience can give me some advice. I have an old Breadman that I've been using for as long as I've been making bread - I don't know exactly how old it is; I bought it at Goodwill about 7 years ago and have used it twice a week since then. However, it's recently developed some problems after "walking" off my counter twice, and in addition I'm now seeing some rust on the pan. So, I think it's time to replace it.
I've been looking at a Zojirushi machine or a Breville, but I'm wondering if you all think those are worth it for dough only - I don't like the way my Breadman bakes, so I've always taken the dough out to raise and bake it in my oven. My guess is that I will mostly continue to do it that way, since my family is partial to Pullman loaves. I have no interest in doing dough by hand or in a mixer - I am a working mom with three small kids and I do not have the time for it. I have the money for either of these machines so cost is not a concern.
If it matters, I mill my own grain, although I figure either machine can handle that. And I need a 2 lb machine at least because of the Pullman pans I use. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated!
April
The SD2500 or SD2501 are one and the same just that SD501 has a rye option and a dispenser for fruit etc.
Very good make. Of course never as good as an oven but top range of the breadmakers.
Personally, it seems like a lot of dough for making dough. Were I in your shoes, I would buy this Cuisinart at Costco, see if it meets your needs, and if not, return it with their no hassle return policy. And if it meets your needs, you saved yourself a bundle.
I have one and it is the best bread machine I have had. Others followed the path described in the inquiry post that started this conversation. I used to make all of my doughs in this machine; baking the doughs in the oven for more of a "real bread" look.
Now, I only make one bread dough in the machine, but it is great for someone with little ones who need a bread made easily in three hours or less.
Here's a picture of Hokkaido Milk Bread with Tangzhong, rising and later baked in my Zo Virtuoso when it was 100 degrees outside. I didn't want to heat up the house baking in my regular oven.
I used the Zo dough cycle, then removed the Zo bread mixing pan. I formed a loaf, placed it in a conventional 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, placed the conventional loaf pan in the Zo, let the dough rise and baked it.
Here is a link to more information:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/299684#comment-299684
Picture of rising Hokkaido Milk Bread dough in conventional 9x5-in loaf pan in Zo Virtuoso - prior to baking in the Zo for 70 minutes on manual bake cycle.
I too use a cheap old bread machine for mixing the dough. If you're sure that's all you'll do, I think a zojirushi is overkill, since you're paying for the nuanced bake cycles.