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I Just Got a Bread Machine. Now What? — 26 Comments

  1. I got a bread machine and as you said to read the manual. I was scooping the flour out and my bread was solid. I read that you need to spoon the flour in to the measuring cup. My bread came out beautiful. I also added garlic and cheese to the bread. Delicious. Thank you for your help. Jim

  2. We recently purchased a Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus bread maker. We tried making the basic white bread loaf – automated course #1. We tried setting the crust to light & then medium. The loaves came out well but the crust was extremely flaky on both loaves. When you slice it it flakes apart. The bread however is not crumbly. Any suggestions on how to prevent this?

    Also although the bread is tasty we would like it to be a little softer inside. How does one get that real soft bread with a firmer non-flaky crust?

  3. I want to bake my bread in the oven, but it is a waste of electricity to bake one loaf at a time. Can I mix up one loaf and put it into the baking pan and into the fridge while waiting for the next one to mix, and then put both pans in the oven at once?

  4. I have three bread machines. I purchased the Toastmaster Bread and Butter Maker years ago and its the bread machine with which I am most familiar. I still have the manual for it, but the recipes that I usually use come from The Bread Machine Cookbook by Donna German. Her recipes often come out as softer with thinner crusts. The Toastmaster manual recipes are often harder, tougher and dry.

    The other two I purchased were gently used and came to me without manuals. The controls are very different. Can I get manuals for my Regal and Sunbeam bread machines? Is there a place online to download the manuals as pdf files?

  5. I got a bread machine from QVC at the beginning of the COVID troubles. My friend sent me AP flour, 20 lbs. I did bread all the time when I was young, but haven’t in 25 years. Anyway, my bread machine doesn’t have a dough cycle, even though one of the recipes in the manual says to run on dough cycle. I have a knead cycle. Is that it? I want to use the machine primarily for mixing and kneading, but bake in oven.

  6. I have a Zojirushi virtuoso bread machine, which I love and couldn’t live without. I just recently bought a 25Lb bag of bread flour from Costco (Ardent Mills brand). All the breads I usually make, french baguettes, naan, raisin bread are turning out very dense, and the tops are very torn is there a way to adjust my recipes for the Costco flour? Previously I was using either Gold Medal bread flour, or King Arthur’s bread flour and my loaves were perfect. Does anyone else have the same problems? I usually stick to the recipes in the instruction book.

    Thanks for all your help!

    • How do you measure your flour. You might try weighing it instead and see if that helps.

      I use the scoop and sweep method but am preparing to make the switch weighing all my ingredients. I’ve done it a few times and see the wisdom of using that method. It’s just that old habits die hard. 🙂

  7. Following this from the FB article. I remember moving from an Oster (easy peasy) to Zoji. I read and followed exactly and got the worst bread imaginable! Salt, sugar, etc all in little pocket clumps, no mixing, no rising. *shudders* I realized that the way I had learned with the Oster was really the way we do it by hand. Mix the liquids (room temps please) and put in machine. Then do the dry (sans yeast) in a bowl, mixing thoroughly, aka spoon sifting, and getting the mix together then spooning it (actually sprinkling it) into the bread pan. THEN a small nudge for the yeast. If I added VG (Vital Gluten) I put it in with the flour. Only failures I’ve had since then is not paying attention to barometer or forgetting yeast (yes, I’ve done that).
    I think experimentation in bread baking via machine is essential. Sometimes the book is right and sometimes … well, it’s up to the baker.
    And for the record, if I have failed to say so recently, Marsha, you are a Goddess-send for bakers new and old. I learn things from you I missed, or am reminded. Never too old or too young to find a kindred spirit.
    Have a great 2019 and thank you for being here.

    • Kim, thanks so much for the kind words. I learn so much from you too! And I’m relieved that I’m not the only one that forgets the yeast sometimes. 🙂

      I’m really excited about 2019. I’ve taken a class in breadmaking that’s changed my thinking about how I’ve gone about it. I need to blog about that and the dough shaping that I’ve done.

      I think 2019 will be an exciting year!

  8. I have a new Russell.Hobbs bread machine. 1st loaf sunk despite following instructions to the letter & following advice, changed a couple of ingredients- 2 more sunken / big valley loaves followed. Fwd up now & going back to my old, smaller Hinari bread machine…. :(((((

  9. my new bread machine has 2 dough setting one called ferment dough and other just called dough question is which do I use ..I live in asia and not able speak the local language .
    I would thankful for your help John

  10. I’m so glad to meet you Marsha. Thanks for all your help making my family the freshiest bread possible. My first loaf was pretty, but not enough salt,, huggg,, the second loaf, great and keeps getting better. With your receipts help and tips…
    Thank again ,,, so glad i found you…

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