<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
Thank you all for your responses. It seems the bread machine question has
been asked before :) several times I am afraid but you were all gracious to
help me out with my seemingly redundant question. I received about 25
responses from y'all and then made many phone calls and checked out
Delphiforum as was suggested by a fellow list member. Here is what I found.
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One person said:
<<Bette Hagman doesn't recommend bread machines anymore. She simply
recommends a good mixer such as Kitchen Aid. >>
This caused me to do a little more experimenting. I borrowed my
daughters bread machine. It is about 7 years old and not programmable
but I thought that I might experience what everyone was talking about
and see if I really did need a bread machine. I am not very strong and
even lifting my bosch bowl out of the machine to put the bread in the
pans is taxing for me (remember I am the grandma). I know, I
know....you can't imagine that, but....for me it is an issue. Well, I
made my bread, put it in the machine and sure enough experienced the
fact that it didn't mix my dough! I got a spatula and mixed it myself
(several of you said you do this). So I decided to mix everything the
next time before putting it into the machine as per the directions
(several of you said you do this too). Well, did I get a surprise the
next time! The dough rose so well that it went over the top of the pan
and dripped down onto the coils and my kitchen thought it was on fire.
We had to take the dough out and put it into pans (of course, it fell)
let it rise again and baked it in the oven. I was sure I had a terrible
loaf of brick bread but to our surprise it was very delicious, light and
tasty. I knew I was onto something. The next batch I cut the recipe in
half. Put my dry (including the yeast) ingredients in one bowl, my wet
in another then added the warm water to it and then added it to the dry.
I put it in the machine. Even though it had 2 rise cycles we had a very
delicious, light bread. I did notice that each time it rose it wasn't
quite as high as the first time, however. Ahhhaaa....the need for a
programmable machine to choose 1 rise! I did the same recipe in my oven
just like the machine. I mixed my ingredients by hand. Put them in the
(warm) oven to rest like the bread machine did first. Then I took it
out and mixed it with my hand mixer for a few minutes. Then I put it in
the pan, let it rise for almost an hour and what delicious bread, the
best ever!!! So, I figure that if I have a bread machine that can be
programmed just like I did that I would get a perfect loaf of bread
without having all the physical activity it took me to do it. Below are
the key issues in choosing one.
A few key issues that surfaced overall.
1. Making sure we can tolerate gluten free baked goods.
<<"You might also make sure you family can tolerate all that GF baked stuff
as well. I & many other celiacs can't tolerate any baked good, GF or not.
Makes me sick as a dog.">>
There are 11 (soon to be 12) in our family (includes daughters, son-in-laws
and grandchildren) and we all live in our own houses on 12 acres together
and out of the 11 only two so far are NOT celiac. Both my husband and
myself are, thus our children's disposition to it. And one son-in-law if
from the UK and has it. So, even if down the road some can not tolerate
gluten free baked things there are bound to be some that can. Right now
everyone is eating the bread faster than we can make it!
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2. Programmable machine is a must. In order to bake good gluten free
bread the bread needs only 1 rise cycle instead of the 2 that normally is
programmed into a bread machine. In order to accomplish that you must buy a
programmable machine. Some machines you can set to 1 rise, some you have
to baby sit and watch over so that when you get to the next rise you can
skip it. Some machines are totally not programmable and will only do the 2
(or sometimes 3) rise cycles. Thus, with gluten free baking in mind a
programmable machine is a must. Some remember the program settings that
you tell it for the next time. Some machines you have to do the program
once manually for it to remember it the next time. However, Red Star and
some manufacturers will tell you the exact program to program in so that
you get perfect bread the first time. Thus you can see the variations in
bread machines and costs. What we were looking for was a bread machine
that 1. Bake a very nice loaf of bread. 2. Not have to be baby sit to
make the programming changes. 3. Be very durable and last many years.
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3. The machine needs strong paddle or paddles that will mix our heavy
gluten free dough which is heavier than normal bread dough.
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4. Seeking more than just 1 or 1/2 lb loaf capability is important.
Some suggested calling Red Star since they have recommendations for bread
machines from first hand experience with gluten free bread usage. I did
and they gave me several models to consider. They also give you the
programing instructions for your machine if you call them. They were very
friendly, know all about gluten free baking and were quite helpful. Here
are some of their recommendations: Zojuiski V20, Breadman TR220, TR3000,
Toastmaster 1142, 1145, 1172X, 1183N, 1148X. They suggested trying
www.noveltyandmore.com but I found better pricing.
<<I called Red Star Yeast Co. to obtain programming information.>>
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Several of you also said to make sure it has a horizontal loaf.
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It is a given that your bread will have a hole in the bottom where the
paddle is.
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Now, which bread machine?
The top of the line apparently is the Zojuiski V20 (won by far, by the way,
several of you have it) which you can find on the internet for around $150
including shipping. I found it in various places but this was the most
economical price I found. It retails for around $280 or so I think. Anyone
that had this machine seemed to just love it! It was said that it always
makes perfect bread. The only draw back I could find from everywhere was
that when you open the door the machine stops. One said that opening the
door disables the timer when to add things but when I asked around that
could not be verified. King Arthur Flour (sells the machine) said they
have never had it disable the adding alert after opening the door. By the
way, they are getting ready to begin selling gluten free flour mixes!!
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The next most recommended Bread Machine for gluten free baking was
the Breadman TR 2200. That is the next machine down from the Zojuiski in
durability and popularity according to my research. There is a TR3000 also
mentioned but I was unable to locate it anywhere. This machine apparently
does a good job as well.
<<I have been using the TR2200C for about six months and have found it a
very satisfactory machine for gluten free bread making and I like the
normal loaf shape it produces. My favorite Red Star recipe uses brown rice
flour to make the pumpernickel bread. I cut back on the water to one cup. >>
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Welbilt was suggested by a few but the company is out of business and some
said they were having trouble finding replacement parts. It seems too bad
because it was a favorite of several people.
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Some of you had machines you had just picked up at Walmart and some were
happy with them, some not.
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I hope this was helpful to someone else, it sure was to me. One of our
daughters has ordered the Zo V20 (that's what everyone nicknames it I
guess) and I have ordered the grain mill. I will do the summary on that
separate since this was so lengthy. Thanks again for all your
help!! Pilgrim South
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