Has anyone of our members messed with a bread machine?

[glohworm]

I found this beat up old bread machine in a thrift store for $8 and I'm putting it through it's paces, even as I babble here. I have a small receipe book that came with it and I'm baking something right now. It's some Russian thingy receipe and I added a few tablespoons of bourbon to it! 30 minutes to go. All I can say is, "BOURBON IS BETTER", in any receipe!

[BobOmega]

w00t bread machines.

we have one, we stick to the mixes beacuse i'm dumb and mess up the directions to anything else. the only thing i don't like about it is the bread has a diff texture then i'm used to. more corse on the inside then say store bought loaf.

[glohworm]

Bob,

Where's that adventurous side of you? Nothing ventured, nothing gained! BTW, my bourbon bread's done right now.

[BobOmega]

last time i made bread from a receipe i left something out... the bread was ok it just takes awhile to make. ours takes about 3 hours. i happen to be lazy.

ooo, Bourbon bread!! Make sure you keep it away form naked flames, though...

We normally use pre-mixes in ours, as we have a shop that sells all kinds of pre-mixes (dunno if the have Bourbon bread pre-mix, though - I'll have to ask! ). The reason why we went to pre-mixes is the wife got tired of all the non-edible hard lumps coming out.

Hope Bourbon Bread isn't too runny, gloh! Otherwise you'll eat it with a straw!

Cheers
Mick

Just one other tip. Many bread machines use belts to drive the dough hook and stuff. If it's old and beat up, watch it close. If it stops moving, the belt probably busted. Ours did this once. A new belt was easy to put on, though.

Cheers
Mick

[glohworm]

Thanks for the tips Mick,

It looks like I have a beautiful 2 lb loaf of bourbon bread! The basic receipe called for a cup of diced fruit. That's when I added the bourbon. Perhaps I'm trying to duplicate my grandma's old fruitcake thingy she always sent me while I was in the Army! All I did was buy a 5 lb bag of bread flour and some yeast, and I'm off to the races!

[no1_vern]

Terrific glohworm,
Homemade bread is better for you and actually tastes like bread should.

Vern

[Epidemic]

No they are illegal in the US!!!

HP makes a pretty good one I hear. But it is really hard to duplicate it perfectly.

Basically I think bread machines should remain illegal.

I mean they can definitely destabilize an economy.

If every one had one of these bread machines I could see america becoming a third world nation very quickly.

Thank god that the government has forced modification to all potential bread machines to insure the product is of lower quality than the original.

[Sweet]

Hey Everyone, this has been a thorn in my side too....

This is my answer to this problem/dilemma....

First, use the machine to only make the dough.

This is my recipe that works for me (1 1/2 pound loaf)

Now as I hate reading in all the recipes, add per manufacturer's directions. ( Just add em all and let it knead and rise...)

recipe for a half way decent loaf of good bread!!!!!

1 1/8 C. water
1 1/2 C. Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 C. Bread Flour
2 Tablespoons wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 C. honey (local honey is best)
1 Tablespoon dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons butter (soft)
1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

let the cycles run for the dough cycle. put in either bread pan for a loaf or a 9x9 pan for a circle loaf. bake 350 degrees F. for 30 to 45 mins.

The current testing I am going with includes adding some bran to the mix, slicing the top and drizzling butter, egg wash glaze, th the flours to make a rye& pump, pans of water to the oven to simulate the crustiness of a french bread, and of course when I try to braid one, I'll tell y'all about it....

USE THOSE DARN MACHINES for what they are best at, preparation!!!!!

I hope y'all will try this recipe and get to enjoy those darned machines!!!!!

take a moment to look at the difference between hard and soft flours.

Good Luck to You, send me your thanks in smiles...... this will work!!!!!