Random question.

[rivka]

Do you have a bread machine? If so, what do you think of it?

It's that time of year again: my parents want to know what we would like for Christmas. I was thinking that a bread machine might be a good thing to have. We frequently buy artisanal-type bread from the grocery store, but (a) it's expensive, and (b) it goes stale so quickly. bosssio brought us a loaf of homemade bread after Colin was born, I think made in a bread machine, and it was delicious and stayed fresh for several days.

So is good bread-machine bread easy to make? Are there lots of different kinds? I've seen bread-machine mixes, but presumably you can also make bread in a machine from scratch, right? Any brand recommendations?

Comments

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

One of the things I like best about fresh bread is the crust - and bread machines are always disappointing in that department.

I find that baking my own is pretty quick and unproblematic - it takes about ten minutes actual work spread over a much longer time. I'm a very lazy breadmaker - throw things into a bowl, mix, let stand in a warm place, dump on tray, bake. And, y'know, it turns out fine, so all the stuff about feeding the yeast and second rising _might_ add to the experience (it didn't when I tried it), but I haven't found them necessary.