Breadmakers

[GLC1968]

If anyone is interested in the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day - check out my blog. I LOVE that book and use it all the time. I did a photo essay of sorts on one of my batches as an illustration about a month ago. Good stuff and sooo easy!

I can't tell you how many failed loaves I had prior to using this method. A house at 55F is just not conducive to raising bread dough - even my bread machine had issues with it!

Oh, and I'm definitely a fan of the bread machine for simplicity. Dump in the ingredients and walk away. It doesn't get much easier than that. I don't like the shape of the loaf that my machine makes, so I use the dough recipe most times and bake it myself in the oven. While I know that making bread by hand is simple enough, when one can barely find 30 minutes to make a home cooked meal, 2 - 3 hours spent on making bread is a true luxury. A bread machine is a great timesaver (and home made bread costs pennies and is so much healthier than store bought stuff).

Just my .02

[sgtiger]

GLC1968, I just check out your blog the other day, and the pictures of bread were mouth-watering.

BTW a few Qs about the seed starting picture where you used a rubbermaid lid as a tray..... Do the little hand-rolled containers have bottoms? What kind of paper did you use? Can the containers themselves be planted too?

[GLC1968]

Those little containers are just the center cores of paper towel rolls. I cut them into thirds, tie them with the sisal twine (to hold them or else they start to unravel when they get wet), fill them with moistened sterile potting soil and then planted my seeds. They are all sprouting (I should take a new picture) now. When they are big enough, they'll either go into the garden or into larger pots (depending on what they are and the timing in relation to our last frost date). They can be planted, core, twine and all!

The tray with the lip is so that I can water the tray and not the seedlings. This way, they develop better root systems as they grow downward to get to it. Plus, it keeps moss/mold development at the leaf end to a minimum.

[sgtiger]

Yay, yet another use for those. I have a small collection of those right now. I pitch most of them in the compost pile, but save a few for crafts. Always handy.

[MyLitespeed]

I have seen this too many times with my husband to count. He really researches something and then buys one. He either finds out it WASN'T exactly what he wanted or he becomes disinterested very shortly after getting it.

He wants to make "whole grain" bread. I'm sure once he has done it once or twice he will lose interest quickly. I have seen this happen with the wood splitter, which is sitting in the garage. A tiller which has only been used 3 times. An leg exerciser machine which was only used a few times and now has stuff piled on it. A chicken rotisserie which is sitting up in a shelf never to been seen again. Etc. Etc.

I wish I could talk him out of it but I know I can't. I guess I will just have to find a spot in the pantry to keep it once he loses interest.

[Irulan]

sounds like you might have some good stuff to sell on Craig's List.

[GLC1968]

sounds like you might have some good stuff to sell on Craig's List.

I was thinking the same thing!

Were are you located? We could certainly use a wood splitter and a tiller!

[gnat23]

sounds like you might have some good stuff to sell on Craig's List.

Speaking of, I bought my breadmaker off craigslist for $10. Looked up the manual online, which included recipes. I use it about once a month, and I have a large tupperware that fits the loaf perfectly and then can go in the fridge to keep the bread from spoiling.

How many features does one really need? A timer, a few different buttons (french, wheat, dough, light to dark crust) and a sturdy mixing blade seems to do the trick OK for me! And I'm only out $10 if I break it.

-- gnat!