Bread Machines For Dummies (3 page)
Read Bread Machines For Dummies Online
Authors: Glenna Vance,Tom Lacalamita
Early on, the average bread machine purchaser was 55 to 65 years old and somewhat affluent. They were financial risk takers, who had the expendable income to purchase the latest and newest gadget on the market. With the downsizing of corporate America at the beginning of the '90s we also saw many men from this age group, forced out of the work force with incentive retirement packages, picking up bread machine baking as a hobby or as an introduction to cooking. Bread making to them was nostalgic, bringing back memories of the good old days, when they came home to the smell of homemade bread from their mother's kitchen. The smell of bread baking in their own kitchen is comforting, and the taste of homemade bread is wonderful. Eating it is sheer pleasure.
Since the introduction of bread machines over ten years ago, bread machine retail prices have dropped to less than $100, which has initiated a change in who uses them. A recent survey by
Good Housekeeping
showed 43 percent of its readers have bread machines that they use at least once a week. For the most part, today's consumer is a 30- to 39-year old, married, working woman with children. To her the bread machine is a convenience. She's able to prepare nutritious bread with minimum effort that the whole family enjoys. This makes her feel good, because although she works outside the home, her primary concern is the care of her family.
Of course, there's a group of us who just want to eat good food that's good for us. The bread machine makes it possible, with limited effort and time, to make healthy breads for a healthy diet. And did you know that bread machines are now a standard item on the bride and groom's department store shopping guide? Speaking of gifts, bread machine sales are at their highest during the winter holidays. Many grandmothers, who are perceived to have everything, find a big box under the tree for them to open. It's a bread machine! And they love it! Bread machines may make it possible for a grandmom to rekindle her love of baking fresh bread in her kitchen, without the hassle and strain that's a part of making homemade bread without a bread machine. Many people who give a bread machine as a gift receive homemade bread in return.
And let's not forget another group of people using bread machines â kids. They love using them. They are fascinated with how they work and what goes into making a loaf of bread, and kids can use a bread machine with ease. Bread machines are great tools for practical, hands-on learning. Using a bread machine can teach a child how to measure, help them visualize fractions and percentages, and allow them to see organic chemical reactions. Many schools are incorporating the bread machine into their standard classroom equipment, from grade school through high school.
In 1989, when we first talked to bread machine owners, we heard, “We love our bread machine, but the cylindrical pan only makes round slices.” We'd tell them, “Make baloney sandwiches.”
I took three bread machines, measuring utensils, and the ingredients to make Dinosaur Bread to my grandson's preschool class. I had a small pitcher of water so that the kids could feel the weight of the water and pour it into a measuring cup. I placed the flour in large plastic bowls so that they could measure with as little spilling as possible. Not all of the children were interested in what I was doing, so as they showed interest I let them measure whatever ingredient we were on. By the time I was ready to load the third machine the interest was quite high. I showed the kids how I started the machines, and left the lids open so that they could see the mixing and kneading process.
Because this was not going to be Gourmet Delight Bread, but rather Dinosaur Bread, I saw no need to wait for the dough to rise after the kneading process. Instead, I divided the dough into sections so that each child could make his or her own dinosaur. The teacher had collected a number of dinosaurs from the toys in the school, and we looked at them as we formed the shapes. We used some small tools, like plastic knives and pencils with broken leads, to help shape the dough. Some of the shapes needed a lot of imagination before I could see the dinosaur in them, but who was I to question the validity of the shape? If a child said it was the shape he/she wanted for their dinosaur, it was fine with me. As I sat with them, some told me about making bread at another time with their mother or grandmother. It was so easy to relate to each of them when we were doing something with our hands.
Fortunately, there was a kitchen with an oven in this preschool setting, so after the dinosaurs were placed on cookie sheets and allowed to rest for about 15 minutes, they were baked in a preheated 400° oven for approximately 15 minutes. As the children sat on the group rug for their closing time, they ate their dinosaurs. What fun for a grandma!
Dinosaur Bread
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cups flour
Place the ingredients in the pan in the order shown, select the Dough or Manual setting and push Start.
But consumers wanted square slices, and the manufacturers responded with vertical pans for square loaves. The comment then was, “The bread is delicious, but it doesn't look like a loaf of bread.” Soon, there were slightly rectangular loaf shapes. Now, the shape of many bread machine pans is the traditional loaf. You can also decide how large you want the loaf. Most machines offer 1-, 1 1/2-, and 2-pound sizes.
“Bread machines are easy to use and make great bread, but I can't always remember to start the bread early enough. It takes four hours, you know.” So we started seeing the option of shorter cycles, and now all the newer machines have a one-hour cycle. Amazing â bread made in an hour! You can make bread in the same time it takes to put a meal on the table. We still like the longer cycles best, but if you haven't planned ahead (it happens â no big deal) use the short cycle if your machine has it.
If you are the totally organized individual who does plan ahead, you'll love the timer-set feature. (All machines seem to have it.) You put all the ingredients into the pan and select the appropriate cycle. Increase the time to coincide with the time you want the bread to be ready. For example: You have everything in the pan by 8 a.m. but you want fresh, warm Italian bread to accompany the spaghetti dinner at 6 p.m. Therefore, you will probably want the Italian bread done by 5 p.m. to allow enough time for the bread to cool a bit before trying to slice it. There are nine hours between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Use the timer to increase the hours already indicated by the chosen cycle until 9:00 appears on the digital screen. Could it be simpler?
Your bread machine may also have a Quick bread cycle. Do not confuse this with a rapid or one-hour cycle. Quick breads are not yeast breads; they use baking powder and/or baking soda rather than yeast to
leaven
(rise) the bread. Chapters 16 and 17 are loaded with delicious quick breads: Apple Bread, Banana Lemon Bread, Orange Date Bread, and Pumpkin Bread, just to name a few. The process for making quick breads is completely different than that for making yeast-leavened breads. The ingredients in quick breads need only to be mixed together just long enough to thoroughly blend; no lengthy rise time is necessary because the baking powder expands the bread when it's heated. Therefore, the Quick bread cycle only has a mix time and a bake time.
The latest addition to bread machines is a cycle that only bakes. It expanded the possibilities for the use of the bread machine. You can make jam, bake meatloaf, and even boil pasta. But, this is a
bread
machine cookbook; we aren't providing you with anything more than the idea that it's possible to make other foods in a bread machine. If you happen to experience a power interruption and you have a Bake cycle on your machine, you're in luck. If the dough is already kneaded and is rising, and the power stops just long enough to make all your digital clocks blink, don't panic. Allow the dough to continue to rise until it is as high as it normally is when it begins to bake. Then select the Bake cycle and push Start. Your bread will be excellent.
For the experienced bread machine baker, there are some pretty sophisticated machines out there that not only have the cycles common to all bread machines, but also can be programmed any way you'd like. You can choose to lengthen or shorten any part of any cycle. One brand even lets you set the baking temperature. Another has a steam feature, which makes the crust crisp (like many European breads).
All bread machines make good bread. When you are making a bread machine purchase, consider the size of loaf you actually will want. Although you can keep bread fresh by freezing it (see Chapter 9), sometimes bigger isn't better. Also, think about where you will store the machine. Do you have the counter space for it or will you be putting it away between uses? The more accessible the machine, the more you will use it. If you have to put it in an out-of-the-way storage space, soon, no matter how much you've enjoyed homemade bread, it will be too inconvenient to bother getting out.
Whether you are buying the machine for yourself or giving the bread machine as a gift, be sure to keep the proof of purchase. If there is any problem with the machine, the sales receipt makes exchanges or adjustments so much easier for the sales department, as well as the consumer.