- Bread machine
A bread machine or breadmaker is a
home appliance forbaking bread . It consists of abread pan with a paddle mounted in the center, in a small special-purpose oven, with a control panel. While most bread machines have different cycles for different kinds of dough (including straight white bread, whole grain, European-style (sometimes labeled "French"), and dough-only forpizza dough and shaped loaves baked in the oven), many also have a timer to allow the bread machine to activate without operator attendance, and some high-end models allow the user to program a custom cycle.History
The first breadmaker was released in
Japan in 1986. A decade later they had become popular in theUnited Kingdom and theUnited States . While not viable for commercial use due to the fixed loaf shape and the limited duty cycle, bread machines often produce the best results when dealing with kneaded doughs [TheKing Arthur Flour test kitchen uses bread machines extensively in their recipe testing; for more details, see "King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion", Countryman Press, 2003.] .Use and features
To create a loaf of bread, ingredients are measured into the bread pan in a specified order (usually liquids first, with solid ingredients layered on top) and the pan is then placed in the breadmaker. The order of ingredients is important because the instant yeast used in breadmakers is activated by contact with water, so the yeast and the water must be kept apart until the program starts.
The machine takes a few hours to make a loaf of bread, first by turning the ingredients into
dough using the paddle, then baking the loaf. Once the bread has been baked, the pan is extracted from the breadmaker and the bread freed from the pan. The paddle, now at the bottom of the loaf, is removed, leaving a small paddle-shaped indentation or hole. The shape of the finished loaf is often considered unusual, with many early bread machines producing a vertically-oriented, square or cylindrical loaf very different from commercial breads; however, more recent units generally have a more traditional-appearing horizontal pan.Bread machine recipes are often somewhat smaller than standard bread recipes, and are sometimes standardized based on the capacity of the machine's pan; most common in the United States market are 1.5lb/700g units, and the majority of recipes are written for that capacity; however, 2lb/900g units are not uncommon as well. Packaged bread mixes are available, specifically designed for breadmakers, containing premeasured ingredients including flour and yeast, as well as flavorings and occasionally dough conditioners. Only water usually needs to be added. Bread machines generally do not deal well with non-wheat flours, so any recipe that requires a substantial addition of a grain such as
rye orcorn that lacksgluten will prove difficult at best in a bread machine, as will any dough with unusually large amounts of liquid (such asciabatta ).Generally, homemade bread goes stale faster than bread from a commercial baker because the former does not include
preservative s. However, it is possible (though rather difficult) to use a natural leaven or apre-ferment in breadmaker dough recipes if the starter is sufficiently fast to rise.Sourdough contains a symbiotic culture of yeast and lactobacteria; the yeast provides some flavor as well ascarbon dioxide to provide lift, whilelactic acid produced by sourdough's lactobacteria greatly preserves bread, as well as enhancing its flavor, while pre-ferments provide some of the same benefits as a sourdough culture with the greater predictability of domesticated baker's yeast.Breadmakers are often equipped with a
timer to control when the breadmaking begins. This allows them, for example, to be loaded in the evening but only begin baking early in the morning, to produce a freshly-baked loaf for breakfast. They can also be set only to make dough, for instance to be used to makepizza . Some can also be set to make other things besides bread, such asjam ,pasta dough,udon or mochi, a kind ofJapan eserice cake . One of the most recent innovations is the facility to add nuts and fruit during the kneading process automatically from a tray.Selected manufacturers of bread machines
*
Funai
*Black & Decker
*Breville
*Cuisinart
*DAK Industries
*DeLonghi
*Kenwood Limited
*Hamilton Beach Company
*Hitachi, Ltd.
*Morphy Richards
*Panasonic
*Salton Inc. (Trades as Russell Hobbs in UK)
*Sunbeam Products
* Toastmaster
*West Bend Company
*Zojirushi Corporation ee also
*
Convenience cooking External links
* [http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?s_type=%2Frecipes.php&q=bread+machine&Search=Search&Searcht Large archive of bread machine recipes]
* [http://breadmakerrecipes.blogspot.com Breadmaker Recipes]
* [http://www.sankey.ws/bread.html Canadian bread maker recipes]
* [http://www.free-recipes.co.uk/cook-book/b-recipes/free-bread-machine-recipes UK bread maker recipes]
* [http://www.diet-recipes-to-go.co.uk/Breadmaker.htm Diet bread maker recipes]
* [http://www.recipes.eu.com/recipes30subcat265 Large breadmaker recipe archive]
* [http://www.recipe-ideas.co.uk/bread-machine-recipes.htm Comprehensive breadmaker recipe archive]
* [http://www.time2changeuk.com/recipes/breadmakerrecipes.html British breadmaker recipe archive]
* [http://www.carrsbreadmaker.info/recipes/index.html Carr's flour -- breadmaker recipes]
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