Why I Ditched my Bread Machine

Homemade Artisan Bread - without a Machine!

I used to love my bread machine. It could make a beautiful loaf of homemade bread start-to-finish in under an hour! And it only required the measuring of a few ingredients, plugging in, and pushing a button! What's not to like?

Well, one day, my bread didn't turn out. I tried again, and it failed again. I didn't know why. Perhaps my yeast was expired? Maybe the thermostat wasn't working right? Maybe I had used the wrong temperature of water? I wasn't sure what had gone wrong. I put the machine on the shelf in our storage area, planning to troubleshoot on a day when I had more time.

Well, while I was procrastinating, I went to the library, and saw Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day sitting on a display shelf in the "New Release" area (yes, this was a few years ago). I checked it out. I read it - cover to cover! I started baking, and I turned out beautiful loaves with lovely shapes, a wonderful crust texture, and a perfect taste. What was truly amazing was that I could mix the ingredients for FOUR loaves in the time it took me to measure one loaf into my bread machine. No kneading, and no work! And shaping and baking them was not only a breeze, it was FUN! And, I could keep the dough in the fridge to use whenever I wanted to! And I could make ANY shape - including pizza! : )

I thought of my bread machine, languishing in our storage room. I thought of its oddly shaped cubical loaves with the little blade -hole in the middle. The Wonder-Bread-Worthy crusts. The HUGE amount of kitchen-counter real estate required to store it.

I thought, "Why on earth would I troubleshoot my bread machine? I wouldn't EVER want to use it again! This bread is SO MUCH better - and easier, too!"

So, I gave my machine away.

Now, I bake 4 loaves of bread at a time, in about the same hands-on time it used to take me to make one loaf of bread in the bread machine. Never once have I wished to go back to my machine.

So - if you love bread - really good bread- check out  Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

And, check out my bread posts that are inspired by their wonderful method:

From Homemade Yeast Bread (their recipe)
       Vegan Holiday Appetizers
       Whole Wheat Naan
       Pizza
       Turnovers, Calzones, or Empanadas
       Spinach & Mushroom Calzones

From Stuffedveggies Vegan No Knead Brioche Dough (my own recipe, inspired by theirs)
       Challah, Easy, No Knead, Vegan
       Crescent Rolls, Easy, No Knead, Vegan  
       Dinner Rolls, Vegan, Soft & Fluffy, No Knead, Refrigerator 
       Vasilopita, Easy, No Knead, Vegan 


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