From: rolf@geoserv (Rolf Wilson)
Subject: Re: Bread makers: recommendations?
Reply-To: rolf@geoserv.isgs.uiuc.edu
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 20:50:20 GMT

aem@symbiosis.ahp.com (a.e.mossberg) writes:

>jtt@tct.com (John Tombs) writes:
>>Would any bread maker owners out there care to let me know their views?
>>Surprisingly, Consumer Reports doesn't seem to have tested them.

Actually, CR reported briefly on them in a sidebar in 1988. They mostly
considered them to be gimmicks. Another consumer magazine compared several
brands, but it was only a features comparison, not a "run-em for months
and see if they break" torture test like those we love from CR.

>aem@symbiosis.ahp.com replies:
>How often do you go out and buy speciality (i.e. non-sandwich) breads?
>Think about how many times you can do that before you match the purchase
>price of the bread machine, let alone operating costs. And will you stop
>buying bread outside once you have a bread machine?

  I use my bread machine to make my sandwich bread. I also like to
have a non-sandwich style bread around at all times. Yes, I never
buy bread anywhere now. The bread costs much less than at the store,
and you have a wider choice.

>Like most appliances, bread machines tend to gather dust after a few
>months of activity.

  I have been using mine at least 3 times a week for over a year. (Except
for times when my old DAK/Welbilt models were broken - I went through
FOUR of them! I really missed my machine at those times.)

>The bread will not taste the same as that from a bakery. Sure you can
>make special breads that you can't buy, but you can do that now unless
>you are disabled, and perhaps even then.

   I like the bread better than what I can get anywhere else, mainly 
because it is REALLY fresh. Ok, I suppose that bread hot out of the
oven at a good bakery might be better. But my bakery is open 24
hours a day. And if you are comparing against a grocery store (not
everyone has a good bakery nearby) then there is no comparison.

>For about the same price as a bread machine, you can buy a food
>processor that is powerful enough to knead dough, which is the only real
>"advantage" of a bread machine. You certainly don't need another oven, 
>particularly one that can only be used for a single purpose.  Do you
>have two square feet of kitchen counter space begging for use?

   I have a food processor. The bread machine has other advantages.
There is almost nothing to clean up. It takes only minutes to do, and
that is a major advantage when you have a couple of small children
running around your feet. It can bake on a timer, so you can have it
ready at times when you would not be able to if you had to be there
every 45 to 60 minutes to punch it down or put it in the oven. It is
better than my oven, because it takes much less electricity. The
breadmaker can be run on a hot summer day without making the kitchen
unpleasant to be in. As for counter space, I use it for the most
useful things, and the breadmaker is near the top of the list. 
Actually, with my Panasonic (unlike the R2D2 models) everything goes
into a little metal bucket with a handle. If you really wanted to,
you could put the ingredients into the bucket in the kitchen, and then
carry it to the breadmaker anywhere else in the house!

>FYI, I have a bread machine. Three friends bought theirs on the basis of
>seeing mine. I know another eight people with bread machines. That's
>twelve bread machines in all. Among those twelve probably only one is in
>use during any given week.  When I use mine now, I use it solely to
>knead the dough. 

   Then I don't understand why you bought it. I consider it the most
amazing gadget I have seen in years. Maybe your friends can find someone
to sell their machines to.
-- 
Rolf Wilson     Illinois State Geological Survey    rolf@geoserv.isgs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.consumers