Bread Machines & Makers - Guides & Recipes | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

What is the best order to put ingredients in a bread machine? ›

Adding Ingredients to the Bread Machine

Manufacturers usually recommend adding the liquids first, followed by dry ingredients, with the yeast going in last. This keeps the yeast away from the liquid ingredients until kneading begins.

VERSATILITY: Your bread maker will be able to create dough only-this allows you to shape your finished bread into buns, braids, etc. Some bread makers also have a “preserves” function where you can make jam. These are the only two things you can really do with a bread machine though.

Both commercial dry yeast and instant yeast are suitable for bread machines because they are designed to be added directly to the dry ingredients, and they don't require proofing in water before use.

Making bread from a machine is marginally cheaper than buying it, as long as you eat bread frequently enough to offset the cost of the appliance. Specifically, I see this as an investment that's smart for households that go through bread quickly, like large families or homes with multiple roommates.

Bread machine yeast and rapid-rise yeast are specially formulated for the bread machine and become active more quickly than active dry yeast. You can use active dry yeast in your bread machine, but it should be dissolved in water before being used.

Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Bread Maker

Anyone who takes home baking seriously will appreciate all the features and options packed into this Zojirushi bread maker, and its performance during testing made it our best overall pick.

One disadvantage of using a bread maker as opposed to your hands is that the paddles are typically fixed, meaning they remain in the dough when baking, often leaving a hole in the middle of the loaf. Whilst this is not the biggest hinderance, it can be an annoyance to those who aim for gold standard loaves.

Some attribute the demise of the bread machine to the fact that cooks were just disappointed by their results. Lara Pizzorno, the author of Bread Machine Baking, chalked it up to food snobs who regarded the machine as “the electric equivalent of The Bridges of Madison County” in a 1996 article in The New York Times.

Most bread machine manuals and cookbooks call for bread flour rather than all-purpose flour. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, because it's higher in gluten than national brands of all-purpose flour, works perfectly in the bread machine.

Yes. For best results, add undissolved RapidRise^® or Bread Machine Yeast to dry ingredients first. Add liquids and fat heated to 120°–130°F.

Why is bread flour better for bread machines? ›

Bread flour has a higher protein content (around 13% more), which leads to more stability, form and rise in the dough, allowing it to lift and hold shape. All purpose flour has a lower protein content, resulting in lighter, shorter breads, which makes it an ideal flour for cookies, cakes and more.

Nelstrops traditional wholemeal flour is the perfect whole grain flour to use in your bread machine. Whether you are looking to bake good bread or rolls, by hand or in a bread machine, this is a perfect choice.

The more yeast in a recipe initially, the quicker it produces carbon dioxide, alcohol, and organic acids. Alcohol, being acidic, weakens the gluten in the dough, and eventually, the dough becomes “porous” and won't rise, or won't rise very well.

Yeast is a single-celled living organism, and it needs to be “alive” for it to effectively leaven breads and baked goods. To proof yeast, place yeast in a warm liquid (100 to 110 degrees F – it should be warm but not hot) with a little sugar and let it sit for a few minutes.

Be sure to put the ingredients in your machine with liquids first, flour second, then salt, then sweetener, then yeast. Remove the dough when the dough cycle is done, form it into a loaf or rolls, let rise till doubled.

It depends. Some instructions tell you to put wet ingredients in first, followed by dry ingredients. Others suggest you put the flour in, followed by salt and sugar, then wet ingredients, and finally the yeast. Almost all recipes will suggest you add the yeast last, otherwise, the dough won't rise quite as well.

In the Panasonic, the yeast goes in first, then the dry ingredients and then you pour the water into the side of the pan.

If your breadmaker has a yeast dispenser (SD-YR2550, SD-YR2540), add the yeast there. If your breadmaker has no yeast dispenser, add the yeast into your bread pan first. Then add all remaining ingredients (top-to-bottom order) into your bread pan.