Best Bread Maker Machine Review

Best Bread Maker Machine Review

Archive for August, 2010

Bread Machines – Gimmick Or Valuable Kitchen Appliance

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Bread machines have been around for quite some time, and most of them make a decent loaf of simple bread for dinner, even if much of the bread does not look like a “loaf” of bread. Unfortunately…even though most of us would rather have a slice of homemade bread than the chemical-laden stuff passed off as bread in the supermarket…it is simply too time consuming to bake our own bread.

The good news, however, is that today’s machines have many more capabilities for producing a large variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors of bread…as well as cutting out much of the work.

Here is a typical step-by-step run-through of the entire process for baking a loaf of bread in a modern day bread machine:

1) Follow a Recipe. In the beginning, this is very important. As you gain more experience, you can experiment as much as you like.

2) Gather your ingredients. As with most recipes, everything goes smother and faster when you have your materials laid out. Fortunately, this does not take much time here, because bread requires very few ingredients.

3) Warm everything. It always seems to work best if everything, including ingredients, is at room temperature when you begin.

4) Measure precisely. “Baking” is much different than “cooking” in that baking requires more precision measurements. You cannot “season-to-taste” when baking.

5) Add ingredients. The instructions that came with your machine will tell you in what order to add ingredients into the machine bread pan-and the order can be different for different model machines. This is important.

6) Program your machine. Your machine instructions will give you many program settings for a large variety of breads, and for different environments, such as, high altitude, high humidity, and the like. Follow these instructions closely when setting your machine, especially until you gain some experience with it.

7) Start and leave. Push your start button and unless you will be adding fruit or nuts during the mixing, just walk away and don’t mess with your machine-let it do its work. You can even leave your house if you like, and return to the aroma of freshly baked bread.

All of these steps take very little time, because the bread machine does all the work. And the little effort it takes in the beginning is well worth it…many times over.

A couple more pointers:

Follow your machine instructions closely until you gain some experience and want to experiment with changing the program settings.
Measure your ingredients precisely. It is highly recommended that you use a food scale instead of measuring cups. Yes, I said this before, but it is important enough to repeat.

I should also mention that as you gain experience and start feeling frisky, you can experiment with making things other than loaves of bread with your bread machine. This could include rolls, hamburger buns, cakes, and even jam. A bread machine is not only a highly universal device, it is probably the only kitchen appliance you will ever have that can pay for itself in a short period of time.

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Grain Mill Flour – Top Four Questions To Ask

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

The reasons to own and use regularly a grain grinder mill are endless. Outstanding home baked artisan breads, home crafted pasta, and the nutrition received from fresh grain mill flour are just a few.

Manual or Electric?: Do you want to train for being a professional arm wrestler? Well a manual or hand crank mill will do this and more. Get in some cardio time and develop those upper body muscles and increase your family’s nutritional outlook. Manual is best for exercise. An electric powered grain mill may make the whole experience a lot easier, kind of like plug and play. Both should give to you an end result that will work for you when you want to bake bread or even make beer. Yes, I said beer, in the process the wheat needs to be cracked to add to the mix to make the beer. Both hand grain mills and electric mills can be used to get the job done.

Using it for what?: The kind of end result is a necessity in the decision making methodology. Whole wheat average grind flour, cake flour fine grind, semolina flour for pasta, and cracked to requirements for cereals and other products.

Dust and noise?: Both electric and manual home grain mill machines will produce dust. This cannot be avoided. The grain hand mill will produce less and it will stay in a localized area. Where an electric mill will infuse the air a little more with dust, both if used when needed and in small amounts will not be a problem, more of a minor nuisance than a big consideration. Hand grain mills are for the most part not that noisy. However an electric mill will be louder. The actual noise level is not high enough to cause concern, again more of a nuisance than a problem.

How much dough do I want to spend?: Hand grain mills are inexpensive and even for a high quality mill the cost can be less than a hundred dollars. Electric grain mills can range in price from $150.00 to $500.00 depending upon the make and quality. You normally get what you are willing to pay for. Now I am not saying to buy a $500.00 mill, but you can get great quality mills in the $200.00 to $300.00 range.

A home grain mill is a good investment for the home and the family’s health, but only if you use it. Happy grinding and happy fresh hot bread out of the oven.

Mary Dahlberg

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Bosch Universal Plus with Blender Model: MUM6N10UC

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Great Deal Bosch Universal Plus with Blender Model: MUM6N10UC

I have now had my Bosch for a couple of months. The model I have is a slightly more powerful (1000W) European version with the metal bowl, but otherwise it is the same. It replaces a much-loved Kitchen Aid mixer which I had in the States. I must say that as much as I loved my Kitchen Aid, this Bosch model outperforms it as well as many other mixers. My first impression of the machine upon using it to make bread was that it was way too easy. After using industry-grade Hobart machines, Kitchen Aid, Electrolux, and Kenwood for many years in work and home, I was amazed at how well and effortlessly the Bosch kneaded the dough. I have not one time need to scrape down the sides and there is no spillage.

The capacity is truly enough to make 4 loaves of bread at a time. The lid performs wonderfully, leaving no place for ingredients to escape. Further, the removable part of the lid allows the most space for adding ingredients of all home machines which I have tried. As comparisons: I use an Electrolux Assistant (same capacity bowl)at work every week to make 8 loaves of bread and pizza dough and am frustrated with every batch as the ingredients leap over the backside of the bowl nearly every time no matter how diligently I guard it. The splash guard on my Kitchen Aid I also found to be undersized for adding dry ingredients and I spilled them every time, in the end removing the guard completely. The kneading mechanism on the Bosch looks strange as it has a stationary dough blade as well as a dough hook, but it functions beautifully.

The double whisk works well to mix cake batters. The beaters fit snug in the bowl without hitting the sides. I have experienced that only minimal scraping is sometimes required for cake batters. While this has been occasional and quite optional (perfectionist), it does require that the splash-guard be removed first. I cannot yet give an opinion on its whisk ability regarding cream or eggwhites as I have not had occasion to test that yet. The beaters snap on and off of the head (much like traditional beaters) for easier cleaning and storage.

The plastic blender is of solid and sturdy material and the lid locks onto the blender bowl in addition to having a rubber seal. The blender is driven by a second rotor hidden under a removable cover on the tower part of the mixer base. It locks securely on the base and is as powerful as any free-standing blender I have used. Keep in mind that I do have a 1000W model, so your 800W experience may be slightly different.

Clean up is the only more complicated part of the process. There are not so many more parts, but the design makes it trickier to clean properly. With a tower in the middle of the mixing bowl (similar to a tube pan), it just plain takes more attention and time to clean and the angles of the dough hook makes it a bit trickier than the Kitchen Aid. The whisks are no more difficult than any balloon whisk. All this said, I am so satisfied with the machine that I actually enjoy the more complicated clean up as I get to baby it. And as the other reviewer noted, most parts are dishwasher safe.

I will edit this review as I have more information to add.

I have also attached a customer image which shows the blender attached, the dough hook placed in the bowl, and the double whisk attachment for a bit of visual information.

Enjoy your Bosch! :-)

really great stuff – Wang Weijia –
its just a little bit expensive, but i believe the price has its own reason: long-lasting quality.

Great Mixer – but possible safety concern! – Paul Tomlinson – CANTON, MI, US
I purchased this mixer for my wife two years ago and all in all she loves the unit. It does handle all of her bread and cookie making needs very well as many have written, but we have just found a possible safety concern.
If you have one of these units please carefully check your power cord (with it unplugged). We have only used this unit a handful of times and always push the cord back into the housing as it was designed to do. A few days ago my pulled the cord out and plugged it in. After noticing that she didn’t have as much free cord to move the unit around, she pulled some more cord out and received a shock. Turns out that the cord was somehow able to be pushed beyond the cord storage area internally and into the pulley / belt area where it rubbed through the cord insulation exposing the copper wiring.
Bosch’s customer service suggested that they have never heard of such a problem, and that may be the case. However it is hard to believe that we have the only unit that has, or could potentially have this safety concern.
At this point, Bosch wants me to send it in and pay to have it fixed. Not real impressed with their lack of concern or offer to correct the problem. All they would have had to do was offer to replace the cord and I would have been fine with that.

UPDATE: Good news / bad news. Bad news is I received a call back from Bosch(the 800 number in the manual), and they really didn’t care about my problem or the concern that it could possibly be a safety issue for others.
Good news, my sister had me contact Shar’s in Gilbert Arizona, a dealer that she has purchased Bosch products from in the past. They were very sympathetic to my situation and although they did not have to, they were willing to make the repair without question. I was happy to have them send me a new cord, which they were willing to do, and I’ll put it in myself. If you are in the market for a Bosch kitchen appliance or repair, I can’t say enough good things about Shar’s in Gilbert Arizona. Wonderful people.

Rating : 4.5

Price on Aug 26, 2010 19:25:13 :



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Bosch Universal Plus with Blender Model: MUM6N10UC Features

  • 800 Watts
  • 6 quart bow
  • Blender
  • 4 speed settings + momentary switch
  • Suction feet for a secure standing

Bosch Universal Plus with Blender Model: MUM6N10UC Overviews

Features: . 800 Watts . 6 quart bowl . Blender . 4 speed settings + momentary switch . Cord storage . Suction feet for a secure standing . Wide range of optional accessories . Overload and start motor protection . 3 year motor / transmission warranty Selling Features: . BOSCH quality – making mixers for decades . The most powerful motor in its class . Unique and modern design . Large mixing bowl will handle up to 15 lbs of dough . Ergonomic and easy handling with rim at top of bowl . Works perfect whether small or large quantities (as little as one egg white) . Endless possibilities with optional accessories . Removable drive shaft is easy to clean . Whisk holder is dishwasher safe . Splash ring allows for easy adding of ingredients . Dough hook is designed to replicate hand kneading – 100% gluten development in minimal time Benefits: . BOSCH quality – higher than average lifetime for mixers in its class . High customer satisfaction . BOSCH has sold this series of mixer since the 1950′s. . Long term proven quality and performance . Easy to clean

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