<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Found this. Thought it would be of interest. Be sure to see the machine comparison she has below. Don Wiss. From: Katie E Green <[log in to unmask]> Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking Subject: BREAD MACHINES TROUBLE SHOOTING Date: Wed, 6 Sep 1995 19:29:10 -0700 I thought I would pass along some of these tips and reminders for those with limited publications at hand. There are also several tips to be shared, like storing a piece of celery in the bag with your bread to keep it fresh. Has anybody tried this? Sorry I am out of time. I hope to expand this, gradually, or others are welcome to start adding their input. I also have some data rating on the different machines. See what little bit follows this small list here. PROBLEM CAUSE SOLUTION 1. Sunken Top Bread falls because Reduce liquid by 1 TBS dough is too wet or add 2 TBS of flour 2. Knotty, uneven top Not enough moisture Add 1 TBS of liquid or reduce flour by 2 TBS 3. Mushroom top Bread rises too fast Reduce yeast by 1/4 tsp and collapses 4. Slices unevenly Bread is too hot Let bread cool first 5. Top is raw Too much dough Reduce size of recipe 10% 6. Pocket of sticky Too much sugar or Add 1/4 tsp yeast or reduce dough--sweet bread too little yeast sugar by 1 TBS 7. If loaves don't Change location as machine may be sitting in draft rise Cut salt to 1/4/1/2 tsp per recipe. Salt inhibits and controls yeast Increase sugar as sugar feeds yeast/helps rise Increase water by 1 TBS so dough is not too dry (has difficulty rising. 8. If ball does not form Add flour 1 TBS at a time until ball is formed. 9. If two balls are rolling around in the machine or machine sounds like it is laboring, dough is too dry. Add 1 TBS of water at a time until single ball consistency is obtained (elastic) ********************** Comments and input, including price range are incouraged on the following, including price range. Perhaps we could get a faq started. Price range is approximate and does not allow for special sales or tax. SMALL and LIMITED BREAD MACHINE REVIEW BETTY CROCKER-- BLACK & DECKER-- DAK--see Welbilt HITACHI--only machine that lets you make the 7 oz, 14 oz, 1.5 pound loaves. Water goes in first, then dry ingredients and yeast. It also makes jam and rice. MAXIM-- Model BB I makes a 1.5 pound bread in 2 hrs 25 min. It makes whole wheat, rye, which are good but not too crusty. For a crusty loaf it is recommend to stop at end of first kneading and simply restart bread cycle. The extra kneading and rising makes an even better loaf. PANASONIC NATIONAL--The BT65P model of the Panasonic makes a 1.5 pound loaf with crisp crust and moist interior. It has 5 cycles on the machine: basic and variety--4 hrs; whole wheat--5 hours; crisp bread-- 7 hours; quick bread--1 hr. The dough cycle is 2 hrs 25 min, and makes a large quantity. This is the only machine reviewed which made a traditional rectangular loaf. There is a separate dispenser for the yeast. It is released 15 min. into the cycle at the end of the first kneading. This is also when you add any raisins or nuts. There is no beeper for these additions. RED STAR-- REGAL-- has a removable crumb tray and is the easiest machine to keep clean. Has indicators that tell y ou what stage you are at in kneading, rising, baking. There is a raisin bread cycle with a beeper and a bread cycle, each taking 3 hours plus a cool down. The cough cycle is 1 hr 15 min. This machine loads liquids, then dry ingredients and yeast last. SANYO-- has a 3 hour bread cycle with a buzzer for adding raisins, nuts and a 1 hr 15 min dough cycle. The machine distributes add-ins very well, and makes excellent variety breads. Dry ingredients are added first, then flour and yeast last. TOASTMASTER-- TRILIUM BREADMAN--is easy to clean and simple to use. It has a buzzer for adding ingredients, a small viewing window on top, a 3 yr warranty, and an instruction video. WELBILT--the smaller Welbilt is the fasted machine. It bakes a 1 pound $90 loaf in 2 hrs 15 min. Makes dough in 50 min and does a good job. There is a buzzer for adding ingredients. It loads the yeast first, dry ingredient and liquids last. The larger size machine has a glass dome for viewing and a 4 hr cycle. WESTBEND--Will make a 1 or 1.5 pound loaf on a 3 hr. rapid yeast cycle; or has a regular 3hr 45 cycle. It has a 3 hr "warmer" cycle that will keep bread moist. Machine comes with a video and is made in the U.S.A. DAK-- Is almost identical to the Welbilt. ZOJIRUSHI--has a large machine that produces an almost 8 inch high loaf in 4 hours. There is a glass top for view and a crumb tray for easy cleanup. It has in addition, a "Homemade Menu" you can program yourself. There are also raisin, French, quick, dough, cake, and jam cycles. Its give you great flexibility and produces a tall, narrow loaf. the end--for now! *:)