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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 205 responses total. |
gelinas
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response 54 of 205:
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Nov 26 00:28 UTC 2002 |
Thank you, Mary.
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i
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response 55 of 205:
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Nov 27 02:17 UTC 2002 |
Follow-up question - does valerie now have an immersion blender?
:)
I've still got (and use and need) the microwave & bread machine.
The sub-micro "food processer" (chopper) & small hand mixer are
stuffed away somewhere. The folks got the nice toaster i never
used when their old one died. I make little things in the oven
often enough to occasionally think about a toaster oven. Recent
purchases have been of heat-proof rubber spatulas, iron fry pans,
a serving bowl, etc. - but i did buy one of those electronic
timer/thermometers with the long-enough-to-snake-into-the-roast-
in-the-oven probe. I need a soft plastic cutting board for meat.
Years of idle thoughts have not translated into a heavy-duty mixer
and the biggest lack is that my apartment lacks a dishwasher.
I could stand to unload some of the dozen little juice glasses,
extra fry pans, etc. at a garage sale, Kiwanis, Treasure Mart, or
something.
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scott
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response 56 of 205:
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Nov 27 03:03 UTC 2002 |
Let's see... I don't use the bread machine as much either, partially because
I don't need to make sandwiches for lunch everyday, and partially because I
don't eat as much carbs as I used to either. Rice cooker is rarely used.
I probably make a loaf a bread a week, and it lasts 2-3 days. Toaster gets
used on days 2 and 3 of that loaf. ;)
What else? The beer brewing stuff has seen a lot of use lately; I'm
presently sitting on about 5 cases of beer!
I've been baking more, and using my stove a fair amount.
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slynne
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response 57 of 205:
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Nov 27 17:53 UTC 2002 |
I have been thinking about getting a bread maker because I really like
fresh bread plus I want to start eating more whole grains. I figure
that having fresh whole wheat bread will be nice.
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mary
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response 58 of 205:
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Nov 27 20:15 UTC 2002 |
They are convenient. I would love waking up on Sunday mornings
to the smell of baking cinnamon raisin bread.
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i
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response 59 of 205:
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Nov 28 02:31 UTC 2002 |
The bread machine is about cost and control for me. Seriously healthy
bread (low fat/sodium/sugar, heavily fiber enriched, low refined flour,
etc.) that i can tweak for the cost of ingredients (vs. healthy=expensive
store prices).
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keesan
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response 60 of 205:
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Nov 28 18:03 UTC 2002 |
We buy bulk baking yeast - would you like some (much cheaper than the little
packets from the store)? Why are you adding fiber to unrefined flour?
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i
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response 61 of 205:
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Nov 29 14:38 UTC 2002 |
I get my yeast at By the Pound (the bulk store in the S. Main Market) and
use only 1/2 t per loaf. I don't recall the cost per pound - any idea
what you pay?
Experiments with my machine and no-bread-flour loaves never worked out.
There's more fiber in the 2C bread flour / 1C wheat bran that i'm using
now than in 3C of whole wheat flour. (I use the fine-cut bran, so it's
not mostly air in the cup.) Occasionally I see whole wheat bread flour
and use that with good results. There's also a limit to how many things
i can reasonably stock in my feeding-just-one-person-&-no-chest-freezer
pantry.
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keesan
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response 62 of 205:
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Nov 29 15:10 UTC 2002 |
So you are mixing white flour and bran? But then you don't get the germ,
which has a lot of vitamins and minerals. And most of the taste.
We get our yeast and flour through a buying club. The flour is about 40 cents
per pound. The food coop charges something like $1.35 for it. Organic whole
wheat bread flour in both cases, from the same supplier. We are sharing the
flour with three other people and we buy it fresh nearly every month now.
If you have other business in the downtown area and want to stop by with a
milk jug or other container we can sell you about 7 pounds (one gallon). I
presume our baking yeast costs about half what the coop charges. We also have
rye flour and cornmeal, both organic. They are probably fresher than
supermarket whole wheat flour, which can be pretty rancid after sitting onthe
shelves for a few months. We have also tried adding to bread part durum flour
from the Indian food store, which is yellow and claims to be 'whole'
(entiere), and is higher gluten.
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slynne
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response 63 of 205:
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Dec 1 21:25 UTC 2002 |
If a person is thinking about getting a bread machine for baking whole
wheat bread, does the brand matter?
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i
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response 64 of 205:
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Dec 1 21:59 UTC 2002 |
I dimly recall that some bread machines have a "whole wheat" setting...
which is *NOT* to say that this setting is good for anything but sales.
Brand certainly matters in the sense that it does with any gadget - some
are better performing, more reliable, cheaper, etc. than others.
Are you familiar with bread machines to know of any features that you
want to have?
I don't think they've reviewed bread machines for a while, but i recall
a suggestion or two in a recent Consumer Reports magazine that's around
here somewhere.
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slynne
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response 65 of 205:
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Dec 1 22:14 UTC 2002 |
I am totally clueless about bread machines. I do want to get one,
primarily because I want to start baking whole wheat bread so it is
important that I get one that can handle that.
What kind do you have, i?
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mary
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response 66 of 205:
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Dec 1 22:18 UTC 2002 |
I had a Panasonic (sold at Williams-Sonoma) and it did a very
good job with whole wheat bread. But that was eons ago, don't
know anything about the latest models.
Buy it from somewhere that will take it back, used, if you
don't like it.
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slynne
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response 67 of 205:
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Dec 1 22:27 UTC 2002 |
That is good advice.
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keesan
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response 68 of 205:
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Dec 1 22:41 UTC 2002 |
Ours has a whole wheat setting (also about 10 other settings such as sweet
bread) but I don't know what it does. Perhaps it allows a longer rise. I
would like one that you could program for as long a rise as you want, and
choose between 1 and 2 rises. Our first machine was only able to do one
standard setting - short rise - and the bread always came out rather heavy.
We have two machines now with timers that in theory should allow you to make
breads that require first rising the sponge and then adding the rest of the
flour (mix up the sponge, add to the machine, dump flour on top, set on a
timer to start the next morning after the sponge has risen for a while.)
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slynne
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response 69 of 205:
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Dec 1 22:42 UTC 2002 |
That sounds complicated. I dont even know what sponge is. haha.
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keesan
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response 70 of 205:
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Dec 2 15:45 UTC 2002 |
Along with whole wheat and sweet bread, it has rapid and quick breads, so I
suspect these settings are in fact only different timings. I wonder how rapid
and quick differ. Sponge is a wet dough that rises for a while and falls back
on itself and then you add more flour to get it to rise again. It supposedly
gives things a different texture and taste.
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i
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response 71 of 205:
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Dec 3 02:05 UTC 2002 |
My machine is a Regal from early '96. I bought a replacement pan & paddle
for it a year or two ago.
My impression is that many bread machines are bought with good intentions,
then fall into disuse fairly soon. Depending on your budget, it could be
good to borrow one or buy second-hand. Consumer Reports briefly lists a
few favored models in their Xmas gift issue - they go for $75 to $100 new.
It's certainly possible to make fancy stuff with a bread machine (if you
have time to burn & itchy fingers), but regular use of one with a proven
recipe pretty much amounts to (1) measure & dump stuff into machine, (2)
plug in machine & push buttons to start it, and (3) remember to remove
finished bread semi-promptly & leave it out to cool for a while.
You'll probably need to add a few standard bread ingredients to your
pantry. Yeast and bread flour almost certainly. Probably oil. Whole
wheat flour in your case. There's no need for lots of ingredients; but
somebody somewhere has found & bought & grated & measured 15 different
kinds of cheeses because they just *had* to bake 15-cheese bread.
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cmcgee
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response 72 of 205:
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Dec 3 02:13 UTC 2002 |
Item 3 has a lot of stuf about bread machines
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keesan
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response 73 of 205:
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Dec 3 02:49 UTC 2002 |
We do not put any oil in our bread, just flour, water, yeast. Jim has been
experimenting with how much rye flour can be added to the wheat before the
machine overloads and he has to take it apart and replace the thermal cutout.
He is up to about 1/4 now, I think.
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glenda
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response 74 of 205:
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Dec 3 03:40 UTC 2002 |
I used mine 2-3 times a week for almost 5 years. It is in disuse at the
moment because the power set up in this house can't handle it. As soon as
the house is repaired/remodeled it will go back into regular use.
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jmsaul
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response 75 of 205:
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Dec 3 05:05 UTC 2002 |
Re #73: That's pretty funny. How many times has he blown the cutout?
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slynne
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response 76 of 205:
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Dec 3 16:13 UTC 2002 |
I think I will try to borrow my mom's bread machine. I'll bet she cant
remember the last time she used it! :) I guess if I break it with my
whole wheat flour, I'll buy her a new one.
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keesan
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response 77 of 205:
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Dec 3 16:34 UTC 2002 |
Jim has, at present, three bread machines. The one into which he is putting
rye flour has not 'broken' yet. One of the others arrived with blown cutout,
which he replaced. First time he made bread it blew again so he tried a
smaller batch or more water. Then his housemate blew the cutout on the third
machine. So the answer is three. Some of these machines are really not well
designed for non-fluffy type bread. Another friend with another machine also
had problems with whole wheat bread - it would start moving and then stop
every time until Jim gave him an adjusted recipe. Until then he would always
take the unkneaded dough out and bake it (without waiting for it to rise) and
eat a hard lump. He does not quite understand how bread is made.
Two of the three problem machines are Wellbuilt. The one which always works
well is a Regal, so you might try a Regal for heavier breads. We actually
paid $20 for it used (at Miller Manor thrift shop). Kiwanis often has bread
machines for $10-25.
If Slynne's mother's bread machine stops working Jim will be happy to fix it.
Ask him for a recipe suggestion for whole wheat bread. He did a lot of
experimenting and discovered that it helps to preheat the pan and the water
so it will rise faster.
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scott
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response 78 of 205:
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Dec 3 16:35 UTC 2002 |
My Panasonic is a tank - I've had it for 7-8 years, and had to replace the
drive belt after 7 years. Worth the $160, certainly.
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