Automatic Bread Machines --

[Galley_Wench]

My biggest challenge with baking at high altitutde, at least high altitude in Arizona was the dryness. Everything, flour, etc. is dryer and I'd try to follow a recipe and it just didn't work. Through trial, and lots of errors, I did find that more liquid is needed! Guess it was good education . . . sea level 6 months and 7,000 the next. But sure made for a few "bricks' for awhile! DH use to joke about using them for aircraft choks . . the things they put in front of airplane wheels to keep them from rollling.

[racrgal]

It is dry up here as well. Last week I made my great aunt's recipe for old fashioned white wedding cake. The frosting was perfect and the cake LOOKED beautiful. Looks were deceiving. Darned thing was sawdust dry. I love that cake and now I am going to have to mess with the recipe to get the moisture "up".

[HeatherFeather]

I got a question about these machines.

I don't have one. But my SIL does and we have tried 2 recipes in it and both were bad....really bad.

Now I read a recipe that stated AMB yeast.
We used regular yeast. (I think one might have been rapid rise, not sure though.)

Neither recipe rose, they were like hockey pucks and we finally gave up. One was a bread that we let the machine bake, the other was for a sweet dough and we made cinnamon rolls that didn't rise and were pretty bad! Now she has used it before, but bought a boxed mix and used that. She had never used it for a from scratch recipe. She doesn't have the directions anymore either....

So is there a "special" yeast to use in it? And should we be activating the yeast first? She said no, just dump it in. Well since, neither recipe rose, I am assuming she is wrong!

HELP!!!!

I wrote a guide over on food.com ages ago that was stickied - to help people using any bread machine (including people who lost their instructions) use their bread machines easily.

You do need to add the ingredients in the correct order and things do need to be at the correct temperature or else the machine won't work properly. It really isn't hard to do that at all once you know what to do. I'll find the link if it is still up over there and post it here.

[HeatherFeather]

Since I wrote this information myself, I am reposting it here:

Here is info that is for any type of bread machine:

1) Measure precisely - no rounded teaspoons or mounded flour cups. The machine only will work well with accurate measurements.

A special note about your ingredients: altering ingredients, especially liquids, sugars, or leavening agents can often have a dramatic effect on your bread when using a machine. Ingredients should be at room temperature unless your machine has a warming cycle before mixing begins (if your machine doesn't start mixing for the first 30 minutes after hitting the start button, your machine has a warming cycle.) Water should usually be lukewarm (around 110F) - too cold and your yeast won't activate, too hot (higher than 120F) and your yeast will die.

2) Remove the pan from the machine when you want to add your ingredients (this way you don't spill in the machine). Return the pan to the machine and start the cycle.

3)Add ingredients this way (for any bread machine recipe except quick breads or cakes):

DRY FIRST METHOD:
First add yeast, then all dry ingredients except salt & chunky items (raisins, nuts etc)
Next add wet ingredients and salt
Add chunky items (raisins, etc) when the machine beeps (known as a raisin beep) or is starting its second mixing (without a manual, you'll have to pay attention and just jot down the time for future reference).

OR
WET FIRST METHOD:
Salt and all wet ingredients first
Next all dry ingredients (except yeast and chunky items)
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and drop yeast into the well.
Add chunky items at the beep or at the beginning of the second mixing cycle.

Does your machine have any buttons for quick breads (like banana bread? )If so, mix your ingredients together in a bowl first, then pour into the machine and use the quick breads setting - it will only do a quick stir and then bake (no kneading or rising). Don't confuse this button with a Rapid cycle, which is for regular yeast breads made with quick yeast or rapid rise yeast - which will bake a traditional yeast bread in a 1 hour instead of 3.

4.) You also have to find out what size capacity your machine is - usually it says 1 pound, 1.5 pounds or 2 pounds or more somewhere - if your machine can handle a bigger capacity, you can still use a recipe for a smaller capacity machine, but you cannot use a large size capacity recipe for a smaller machine or it will overflow.

5) Another big tip: Always check you machine about 5 minutes into the mixing process - don't be afraid to lift the lid and peek inside briefly. If the mixture looks too dry, you will add to need a little water (a spoonful at a time), let it mix and jab at any stuck corners of dry flour with spatula if needed. If the mixture looks too wet, you may need to add a few spoonfuls of flour to the pan instead. The same recipe will produce different results depending upon the humidity of the day, so don't be surprised if one day it needs more flour, the next day more liquid.

[Misa]

Can I nose in and ask if you were using recipes that came with the machine or not? The recipes that came with my Sunbeam weren't the best. I've been using some I found online or in the Bread Machine Magic book - those have all turned out better than the included recipes!

[HeatherFeather]

Can I nose in and ask if you were using recipes that came with the machine or not? The recipes that came with my Sunbeam weren't the best. I've been using some I found online or in the Bread Machine Magic book - those have all turned out better than the included recipes!

Good Point Misa! I have that book too - lots of good recipes in there

A way I test bread machines (especially if I found one at a yard sale or something) is to use a box bread machine mix from the grocery store. The directions are very clear and you don't have to measure, so there is very little user error. You can find out if your machine can actually bake bread of if there is a defect that way. If the mix works, then try out a recipe and see if you can get good results.

I have used this brand before and found it in many grocery stores across the US:
http://www.krusteaz.com/bread-mixes-products-94

It sells for around $1.99 a box in my local store.

[Dissie]

Thank you so much Heather! That is wonderful advice that we are going to need to keep referring back to!

Misa: No one was a recipe from f.com that was for ABM and the other was an attempt to use a normal recipe but adapted for the ABM. Didn't work! Wont try that again!

[Dissie]

My sil doesn't know where the book is, she said the recipes weren't good, so she never worried about it. Put up the machine and hasn't used it in a while. She didn't use warm water, I asked her about that. She said, I remember you asking if the machine warmed up the ingredients to activate the yeast and I didn't know.....So no, it was our fault for using cold tap water.....

[HeatherFeather]

Thank you so much Heather! That is wonderful advice that we are going to need to keep referring back to!

Misa: No one was a recipe from f.com that was for ABM and the other was an attempt to use a normal recipe but adapted for the ABM. Didn't work! Wont try that again!

You're welcome I use the heck out of my machine - it is just so easy once you get the hang of it.

[Galley_Wench]

Wow, so much great information . . . LOVE IT!!!