Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, I may receive compensation at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support.
Why does a bread machine make baking homemade bread easier? It’s hands-off. You don’t have to plan for rising, resting, and kneading while working around your busy schedule. Nothing is better than returning home after a busy day, smelling freshly baked bread, and curling up with a book from my cookbook collection.
Measure out ingredients in the order your machine requires right in the basket (liquid either goes first or last), press a button, and let the machine do its thing. Your bread machine proofs, mixes, lets your dough rest at the right times, and then bakes the bread — so you don’t have to mess with it.
Bake the loaf of bread from start to finish in your bread machine or use the dough setting for the kneading and rising portion to then shape and bake your bread yourself. It’s a great function if you want to make rolls, shape a loaf of Italian or French bread, or like messing with a not-quite-finished product.
Fortunately, the trickiest part of using a bread machine is deciding what to bake first. That’s where bread machine cookbooks come into play. Read on for advice on how to use your automatic electric bread maker — and what to do if trouble arises.
Table of Contents
- Bread Machine Cookbooks
- What Do You Need to Bake Bread in a Bread Machine?
- What Order Do I Put Ingredients in My Bread Machine?
- What Is the Loaf Size of Bread Machine Bread?
- How Do I Choose a Crust Color?
- What Are the Differences Between the Bread Cycles?
- What’s the Best Yeast to Use in a Bread Machine?
- What Kind of Flour Do You Use in a Bread Machine?
- Do Room Temperature Ingredients Matter?
- How Do You Add Butter to Your Bread Machine?
- Speaking of Liquids, What Is a Scant Cup of Water?
- Other Bread Machine Questions
- When Good Bread Machine Recipes Go Bad
- Common Bread Machine Bread Issues
- Considering A New Bread Machine?
- Related Bread Machine Resources
- Related Recipes
Bread Machine Cookbooks
With so many bread machine cookbooks out there, where do you begin? I devoted an entire article to bread machine cookbooks. This is another example of why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. It really is what’s inside that counts.
Here’s a tiny preview of what you’ll find on the other page. Seriously, I shared a heap of bread machine books with you. Find new favorites, no problem. Click that link, and it’ll open in a new window.
The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook: A Master Baker’s 300 Favorite Recipes (2000) by Beth Hensperger
The Bread Machine Cookbook (2005)
by Donna Rathmell German
Bread Machine Magic: 139 Exciting New Recipes (1992) by Linda Rehberg and Lois Conway
The Complete Guide to Bread Machine Baking (1999) by Better Homes & Gardens
What Do You Need to Bake Bread in a Bread Machine?
Just like handmade bread, four common ingredients typically begin your bread-baking adventure. You probably have them on hand, so you don’t have to wait to start a simple recipe.
- Yeast
- Flour
- Salt (don’t skip the salt! Salt not only adds flavor, but it helps control the rising process)
- Liquid (water or milk, sometimes water with nonfat dry milk powder)
Baking bread in your machine is simple. Keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked with the following basics and you can have freshly made bread anytime — without a run to the grocery store.
To make bread machine bread, most recipes use some of the following ingredients:
- Bread Flour
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Olive Oil
- Vegetable Oil
- Milk
- Buttermilk
- Baking Soda
- Honey
- Eggs
- Unsalted Butter
You can make fresh sandwich bread, of course, but your machine can handle more than basic white bread. Your bread machine could churn out pizza dough, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and even desserts with minimal effort on your part.
It really is easy to use.
If you go beyond a basic loaf of bread, you’ll need other ingredients on hand. These could include:
- Nonfat Dry Milk Powder
- Grated Cheese, such as Parmesan or Asiago
- Lemon Juice
- Vinegar
- Yogurt
- Sour Cream
- Cream Cheese
- Chocolate Chips
- Shredded Coconut
- Dry Mashed Potato Flakes
- Cornmeal
- Wheat Germ
- Wheat Bran
- Millet
- Barley Malt Syrup
- Quick-Cooking Oats
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Rye Flour Blend or White Rye Flour
- Semolina Flour
- High-Gluten Flour
- Vital Wheat Gluten or Wheat Gluten (same thing, different name)
- Fruit Jams
- Vanilla Extract or other Extracts, Such as Almond Extract or Rum Extract
- Herbs and Spices, including Cinnamon, Dill Weed, Garlic Powder, Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Fennel Seed, Minced Onion, or Oregano
What Order Do I Put Ingredients in My Bread Machine?
Some bread machines prefer adding liquid ingredients first (like mine) while other machines prefer adding liquid ingredients last. Follow the directions in your instruction manual.
Keep the yeast away from the salt and sugar no matter what machine you have. Early interaction affects the rise of your loaf.
What Is the Loaf Size of Bread Machine Bread?
Decide how big a loaf of bread you want. Some cookbooks for bread machines use terms such as small, medium, or large loaves.
A bread machine typically makes:
- 1 pound loaves
- 1.5-pound loaves
- 2 pound loaves.
Your bread cycle will affect how long the bread takes to bake. A small loaf will take less time than a large loaf. I sometimes made a small one-pound loaf when it was too close to dinner. Now, I usually make a small loaf so I can bake fresh bread more often.
How Do I Choose a Crust Color?
I love crusty bread and darker crusts, but my sons love soft bread with lighter crusts. So, I compromise and choose medium crusts so no one would be happy. I’m just kidding. But if you want a soft, light crust, go with the light option.
The crust setting will only affect the exterior portion of your finished product. The darker the crust, the crispier (aka drier) it will be, too.
Try the French bread setting on your bread machine for a crisped-up crust and switch out the milk for water, King Arthur Flour suggested.
If your recipe will make sweet bread, one which includes more sugar, skip the dark crust option. Your bread recipe will likely brown pretty fast as it is because of the sugar involved.
What Are the Differences Between the Bread Cycles?
Choose the right cycle for the job. If you aren’t sure, “basic” is always a good idea. Depending on your machine’s model, brand, and age, you may have more or less bread cycles. Manufacturers use different wording for the same thing, such as Ultra Fast or Rapid White cycles. Same idea, different brand.
Bread machines may have the following cycles:
- Basic Cycle
- Sweet Cycle
- White
- Whole Wheat
- European or French
- Fruit and Nut Cycle or Mix-In Cycle
- Multigrain
- Gluten-Free
- Salt Free
- Sugar Free
- Vegan
- Ultra Fast, Rapid White, or Rapid Whole Wheat
- Dough or Artisan Dough
- Pasta Dough
- Sourdough Starter
- Packaged Mix
- Bake Only
- Cake
- Jam
Bread machine cycles explained. Ready? Each bread cycle provides different timing for kneading (or mixing), resting, proofing (or rising), and baking time and temperature. Click around on your machine to notice how your baking time changes. Go with the setting your recipe recommends. If you aren’t sure, “basic,” is a good default.
Basic Cycle
Bread machine recipes list the cycle you should use. Each cycle handles the bread-baking process differently. For example, a cycle may have a longer rise and bake time.
Dough Cycle
The dough cycle cuts down your hands-on bread-making time.
One way to think of your bread machine is as a temperature-controlled mixing and baking chamber with optional presets, which I hope broadens the way you think about its uses.
Because while I do often make a loaf of bread start-to-finish in my machine, frequently I override certain settings, or isolate only the Dough or Bake functions, forcing the machine to adapt to my recipe and my schedule.
This is particularly helpful if you’d like to lengthen the dough’s first rise while baking naturally leavened bread, for instance.
For example, you can mix and knead your dough in your bread machine for 10 to 15 minutes, until it’s soft and elastic. Then stop the machine, cover the pan with plastic wrap or a bowl cover, then transfer it to the refrigerator for a long, slow overnight rise.
The next day, you’ll shape the loaf for your pan, return it to the bread machine baking chamber, shut the lid, and proof the loaf a second time in the machine while it’s turned off.
When it’s time to bake, select a “Homemade” custom setting on the Zojirushi and set it to “Bake” for about an hour, and you can finish cooking the loaf directly in the machine where it proofed.
(This may seem like a long time to bake, but because of the relatively low temperature of the machine — between 325°F and 350°F — and the large size of bread machine loaves, baking in them usually takes longer than in the home oven.)
Lukas Volger, You know one way to use a bread machine. Here are even more., King Arthur Baking Company, October 23, 2023, Accessed September 18, 2024.
Sweet Cycle
Sweet breads contain higher sugar, protein, and gluten amounts than a regular loaf of bread. All the sweetness can darken the crust a bit faster than usual. The sweet cycle takes that fact into account.
What’s the Best Yeast to Use in a Bread Machine?
First, what is yeast? “Yeast feeds on the starches in flour, producing carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide expands the gluten proteins in the flour and causes the dough to expand and rise,” Fleischmann’s Bread World shared.
There are two types of yeast (and variations within the subgroups):
- Fresh yeast
- Dry yeast
Fresh yeast expires faster and needs constant refrigeration. It’s not easy to find, so don’t worry about it.
Dry yeast is the type you are likely already familiar with. It lasts longer and has a “best by” date on the package. Freshness dates vary. Freeze or refrigerate opened packages according to the package directions.
Dry yeast subcategories include active dry yeast and instant yeast. Rapid-rise, bread machine yeast, and quick-rise yeasts are in the instant yeast family.
As you can see above, I have an assortment of yeast. Envelope yeast is best if you travel (yes, I brought my KitchenAid stand mixer and an envelope of yeast so I could easily make bread on a trip with my run club). I prefer the cost effectiveness of a big thing of yeast. SAF Red Instant Yeast hasn’t let me down.
I store it in the 3-Cup Yeast Airtight Canister (also from King Arthur Baking Co.).
My jarred yeast is from the grocery store. It’s great in a pinch. But SAF Red Instant Yeast is my preferred go-to choice.
Active Dry Yeast Versus Instant Yeast
Active dry yeast is not interchangeable in recipes calling for instant yeast. Why? Active dry yeast is slower. If you make pizza dough in a bread machine, you won’t have the expected result. This yeast is formulated for pizza and doesn’t require a rise time.
Active dry yeast is not a good option for quick, one-hour bread recipes or express bread machine cycles. Here’s why:
Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water to be activated — a process called proofing — before it can be added to your dry baking ingredients.
Instant dry yeast particles are smaller, and therefore do not need to be proofed before being added to dry ingredients. Instant yeast also releases more carbon dioxide than its counterpart, prompting a bigger rise in baked goods.
Kelly Vaughan and Randi Gollin; The Difference Between Active Dry Yeast and Instant Yeast, Explained; MArtha Stewart; Updated on November 17, 2023; Accessed September 20, 2024.
If you are using a jar of dry yeast from your fridge, allow time to bring it to room temperature. Skipping this step will not prevent your bread from turning out, but it may not turn out as well as it could.
Now, what about rapid-rise yeast? How about using rapid-rise yeast in a bread machine?
We don’t recommend rapid-rise yeast, as it goes against one of the tenets of good bread making: the longer the rise (and fermentation process), the better the flavor.
As we mentioned before, this fermentation is creating acidity (or sourness) that, if carried to the extreme, would yield sourdough bread.
Bread dough that rises quickly has no time to develop flavor, and will be noticeably inferior, in taste, to bread that is given a longer rising time.
In other words: unless you are in a tremendous hurry, ignore the “rapid-bake” cycle on your machine.
Bread Machines, King Arthur Baking Company, Accessed September 20, 2024.
What Is Bread Machine Yeast? What If I Don’t Have Bread Machine Yeast?
No problem. Bread machine yeast is an instant yeast, meaning you don’t have to proof the yeast (add it to liquid) before you use it. Using bread machine yeast saves a step but keep it away from sugar and salt to avoid decreasing its activity (unless you are using sugar as part of proofing).
The general rule is to use 1/2 cup of warm water with 1 teaspoon sugar and no more than 3 teaspoons of yeast. Let it hang out for five minutes until it foams.
If you do dissolve your yeast, you’ll have to do the math to avoid adding too much liquid to your bread machine basket. Subtract that 1/2 cup of water.
How Do I Know My Yeast Is Fresh?
Yeast is an important part of the whole shebang. Did you find that jar of yeast in the cabinet or discover an opened jar in the fridge? Bread needs fresh yeast like my cat needs a diet.
How can you tell if your yeast is going to work? Dissolve it.
Proofing or proving (sometimes seen in old cookbooks) the yeast is simply testing it for freshness by adding 1/4 cup of water and 1 teaspoon sugar to the yeast (the directions are on the back of your yeast packet).
Don’t stress over liquid temperatures! If the liquid is comfortably warm for you to touch, you will not kill the yeast. Yeast begins producing CO2 as soon as it is activated and continues until the dough is baked in the oven.
When the dough reaches 140˚F in the first few minutes of baking, yeast activity ceases.
Baking with Yeast, Red Star Yeast Company, Accessed September 20, 2024.
The yeast takes the sugar and changes the sugar into carbon dioxide, producing bubbles in the process. It’s visual evidence of healthy little yeasties. Aren’t they precious?
It’s also the process occurring during rising only this time the yeast creates those pockets in the dough.
If you don’t see bubbles during proofing (proving) within five-ten minutes, your yeast is dead. You’ll need new yeast. Long live the yeast!
Yeast within the “best by” date doesn’t need proofing. An unopened jar of active dry or instant yeast can last for six months. You only need to proof yeast you aren’t sure about and active dry yeast.
How Much Yeast Is in Those Little Envelopes Anyway?
Some recipes may be less than specific. If you have a recipe stating to use a packet of yeast or two packets of yeast, the equivalent in teaspoons will help:
1 packet of yeast = 2¼ teaspoons
2 packets of yeast = 4½ teaspoons
3 packets of yeast = 6¾ teaspoons
Yeast 101, Fleischmann’s Yeast, Accessed September 20, 2024.
You’ll find 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast in the envelopes. A four-ounce jar of yeast holds fourteen tablespoons. If you are getting into baking your own bread, get two jars of yeast. Use one jar out of the fridge, while the other will keep in a cool, dark place for when you need it.
There is nothing worse than thinking there is plenty of yeast left in the fridge jar, but there isn’t even close to enough. That’s where the backup container comes in handy.
What If I Don’t Have the Exact Amount of Yeast Needed in a Recipe?
A little less yeast likely won’t be a problem. Remember, your yeast will multiply faster than a hutch of rabbits. Just don’t over add yeast. It will not help your finished product. Too much yeast could smell bad, create air bubbles and air pockets, and not taste like you intended.
What Kind of Flour Do You Use in a Bread Machine?
Bread flour, also called bread machine flour, has more gluten than all-purpose flour. Bread flour has more protein in it too. Protein, what? I know. It’s shocking.
The protein content of AP flours are standardized during processing to between 9% and 11%, depending on the brand and type of wheat used.
The amount of protein corresponds to how much gluten is formed when flour comes into contact with water.
By Claire Saffitz; What’s the Difference Between Bread Flour, All-Purpose Flour, Cake Flour, and Pastry Flour? (Phew!); Bon Appetit; August 3, 2017; Accessed March 20, 2019.
You can sub in all-purpose for the bread flour and still achieve good results. How do I know? It’s how I roll (a little bread humor there). If I run out of bread flour, I make the swap. But of course, if you have it, use it.
Your recipe will tell you what type of flour to use. There are other flours beyond basic all-purpose or bread flour. Follow the recipe for the best result.
Can I Substitute Cake Flour for All-Purpose Flour or Bread Flour?
If you are curious about subbing in cake flour, don’t do it. Cake flour has 9% protein. Cake flour has less gluten than all-purpose flour and will not achieve the desired bread result. Compare that percentage to the 11%-13% protein found in bread flour and you can see how there could be a problem.
But the protein percentage mimics all-purpose flour, so why can’t you switch them? It’s all about the type of wheat used to create the flour.
Think about cake. Now think about bread. Those are some different textures.
Cake isn’t chewy or heavy. Only use cake flour if it is requested by the recipe. Go with all-purpose flour or bread flour for your bread machine bread instead of cake flour or pastry flour (which has less protein than cake flour does). FYI: You may have better luck with some brands over others.
Why Do Some Recipes Include a Range of Flour?
A recipe could require 2-2 1/2 cups of bread flour. It’s not a typo. Flour sucks up moisture. In the summer, humidity can affect your bread so you may need to use more flour. In the winter, when everything is dry, dry, dry, you can get by using less flour.
Do Room Temperature Ingredients Matter?
Most bread machine cookbooks and manufacturers recommend bringing liquids, including eggs, to room temperature. The Betty Crocker website states, “Use ingredients that are at room temperature, except for refrigerated items such as milk, sour cream, and eggs.”
You don’t want bacteria to grow and risk giving your family and friends food poisoning.
Most bread machine makers agree to skip the delayed setting when milk or other dairy products (except butter) are involved.
How Do You Add Butter to Your Bread Machine?
My mom’s motto is “butter makes it better.” I agree.
I always use butter when a recipe calls for butter or margarine. If you are avoiding dairy, feel free to switch the butter out with margarine, but don’t use a tub of margarine spread. Tub margarine is not the same thing. You need that butter fat for good bread.
Whether you use butter or margarine, don’t throw the whole thing into the bread machine basket. Chunk it up first so the fat is better distributed throughout the dough (especially if you, like me, don’t always (or ever) take the time to bring ingredients up to room temperature first).
Shortening, olive oil, and vegetable oil are also found in bread machine recipes. You can use vegetable oil interchangeably with canola oil. No worries.
Speaking of Liquids, What Is a Scant Cup of Water?
In older bread machine cookbooks, you may come across the term “scant,” such as a scant cup of milk or scant cup of water. A “scant” means you will measure out a teensy bit less than a cup.
Other Bread Machine Questions
You have questions. These are (hopefully) the answers.
Can I Make Any Bread Recipe Using a Bread Machine?
Yes and no.
Yes, you can use a bread recipe not formulated for your bread machine in your machine, but it’s uncertain how it will turn out. If you understand the flour-to-water ratio, the amount of flour your machine can handle, and how to tweak recipes, dig in.
Use your dough cycle and make the rest of the recipe after that step.
Or, take a look at the formula provided by the West Bend Company to (amazing author) Lora Brody and Millie Apter:
For each cup of flour in the original recipe use:
- 3 ounces liquid
- 1/2 Tablespoon fat
- Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Tablespoon sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
Do not use more than 3 1/2 cups flour for the 1 1/2 pound machine, or 2 1/2 cups for the small (1-pound) machine.
Lora Brody and Millie Apter, Completely Revised and Updated Bread Machine Baking: Perfect Every Time (1996), Page 16.
It will likely take a bit of experimentation to get the results you want. Write it down. Make your notes. Tweak, tweak, tweak — and have fun with it.
How Long Will a Loaf of Bread Last?
In our house, a loaf of fresh bread lasts no more than twenty-four hours. I’m not even joking. Yes, it is mostly because of me. Did your day take a turn? If you suddenly lack the time to mess with your bread dough, you can store it.
If it is not convenient to bake bread dough immediately you can store it in an oiled bowl that has been covered with plastic wrap, or seal it in a plastic bag.
Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days if it container butter, milk, or eggs, and up to four days if no perishable ingredients are included. Keep an eye on the dough and punch it down occasionally.
When you are ready to use the dough, bring it back to room temperature, then shape, prove, and bake it in the normal way.
Jennie Shapter, The cook’s Encyclopedia of Bread Machine Baking (2001), Page 17.
What happens when you have a completed loaf of bread you want to store? Bob’s Red Mill Blog shared the facts about bread machine bread:
“You can still enjoy your bread for about a week after making it (depending on variety and exact ingredients,) and you can always go for our favorite option, freezing the dough! Frozen homemade bread dough will last for up to 6 months in the freezer!”
Making Bread with a Bread Machine, Bob’s Red Mill, March 5, 2018, Access
How Do I Bake Bread at a High Altitude?
Successful bread machine baking can be yours — even at a high altitude. Some recipes offer suggestions for high-altitude bread machine baking (look at the beginning pages of a cookbook, too).
The University of Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station (Department of Home Economics in the College of Agriculture) Rhonda Schantz, the Assistant Professor of Food and Nutrition, published this handy PDF, Bread Machine Baking at High Altitude, back in 1994.
The team suggests the following course of action for shoddy bread machine baking:
- Fallen loaf (over-rises, then falls; has a mushroom appearance): too much yeast, reduce by 1/4 teaspoon per three cups flour; too much sugar, reduce by 1/2 the amount per three cups flour; too little salt, increase by 1/8 teaspoon per three cups flour.
- Sunken loaf (sinks from the beginning of baking; has a caved-in appearance): too much water, decrease by 1/8 cup per three cups flour.
- Uneven top (gnarled top; looks very rugged): not enough water, increase by 1/8 cup per three cups flour.
As with all baking, test one thing at a time. Note your change and try, try again.
How Can You Make Your Homemade Bread Loaf Pretty?
You know how you pull the bread machine paddle out of the bottom of your loaf of bread before you can slice it? Guess what? You don’t have to.
Hate those holes in the bottom of your bread? They don’t have to exist.
Just before the bread enters the “final rise” phase, you’ll hear the bread machine start pounding down the dough. Use that as your cue to open the lid, push the dough to the side of the bucket, and carefully lift out the paddles.
Karla Walsh, 7 Bread Machine Mistakes That Could Wreck Your Loaf, Better Homes and Gardens, Updated on July 13, 2022, Accessed September 19, 2024.
I just saw the same info in the instructions for my bread machine. How funny. Use an oven mitt before grabbing the hot handle and hot paddle.
To serve a lovely slice of bread, use an electric knife. Yes, that same electric knife you use once a year to carve the Thanksgiving turkey does a phenomenal job slicing homemade bread. Unlike a bread knife, the electric knife slices cleanly without ripping or tearing the bread. You can see what I mean by viewing any of my images on this page.
How Can You Get Creative With Your Bread Machine?
Bread machines don’t have to limit your creativity. No, it isn’t hands-on like handmade bread. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fiddle with it.
- Add in herbs and seasonings.
- Switch out water for the milk for a richer-tasting bread.
- Add in grated cheese. Cheese counts as a wet ingredient so make other adjustments as necessary, such as adding a little more liquid if the dough looks and feels too thick.
Write down your adjustments. I like to write in my cookbooks along with the date when I first made the recipe. I can’t rely on my brain to remember.
When Good Bread Machine Recipes Go Bad
It isn’t that bread machine bread (or any bread, for that matter) is necessarily hard to make. It’s more that things can and do go wrong. Unless you keep tabs on the sounds from your bread machine, peek in the window or lift the lid, you won’t always know there is a problem until it’s too late.
You might open the lid to what you think is a lovely loaf of bread and discover a squat, dense loaf. Ugh! Some flours, like rye and whole wheat flour, are going to make heavier bread anyway. If you get overzealous with the flour, it’s no wonder the loaf didn’t rise.
But there are other explanations for when good bread goes rogue.
When you physically make bread, you get a sense of what the bread needs. You can feel what it’s lacking and compensate for that by adding a little more flour or a touch more liquid. But with a bread machine, you lose that tactile ability.
Constant vigilance.
Okay, that’s not always possible. We can’t all be Barney Fife.
But there are some things you can do to help prevent a breadastrophe. Don’t let bad bread happen to you.
Common Bread Machine Bread Issues
The way a bread machine works is simple. It doesn’t matter if your loaf of bread has a sunken top, if it rose too much, or if it has a super-thick crust. Troubleshooting these deficiencies is the same.
It could be too much or too little yeast, dead yeast or liquid measurement temperatures off so much it didn’t activate the yeast or destroyed the yeast entirely, or poor measuring. Even the weather can factor into a poor yield.
If you cram flour into the cup and pack it down or tap the measuring cup after you measure to settle the flour so you can add more, you won’t like your heavy and dense result. It’s too much flour.
Use a scale for precise measurements (especially on humid days):
- A cup of white bread flour weighs 5 ounces or 140 grams.
- A cup of whole wheat flour weighs 4 ounces or 120 grams.
- A cup of butter weighs about 230 grams.
When your bread doesn’t bake in the center, it could be that your bread machine is dying or that you’ve added too much liquid. Or, again, that your yeast wasn’t quite up to snuff.
If it is gummy, you may have used the wrong setting or your bread pan isn’t big enough for the recipe. Your instruction manual may list your bread pan’s capacity.
What Is the Capacity of a Bread Machine?
Because some of our recipes produce exceptionally tall, beautiful loaves, it is important to note whether your bread machine pan is large enough to accommodate these loaves.
Such recipes include the note “For the 1 1/2-pound loaf, the bread machine pan must have a capacity of 10 cups or more.
For the 2-pound loaf, the bread machine pan must have a capacity of 12 cups or more.”
If you owner’s manual doesn’t list your machine’s pan capacity, simply measure the volume of your pan. To do this, remove the pan from the bread machine. Keeping track of the total amount of water added to the pan, use a liquid measuring cup to fill the pan with water until it is filled to the brim.
For reference, note the capacity in your owner’s manual.
Better Homes and Gardens Bread Machine Cookbook (2001), Page 5.
Let’s take a closer look at capacity, or how much your machine can hold, and how to know the capacity of your machine.
A machine with a 1-lb. (500 gram) capacity can process up to 2 1/2 cups (625 mL) of flour, which makes a loaf of bread that will yield about 8 slices.
A machine with a 1 1/2-lb. (750 gram) capacity can process up to 3 cups 750 mL) of flour, which makes a loaf of bread that will yield about 12 slices.
A machine with a 2-lb. (1 kg) capacity can process up to 4 1/2 cups (1.125 L) of flour, which makes a loaf of bread that will yield about 16 slices.
A machine with a 2 1/2-lb. (1.25 kg) capacity can process up to 6 cups (1.5 mL) of flour, which makes a loaf of bread that will yield about 20 slices.
A machine with a 3-lb. (1.5 kg) capacity can process up to 2 7 cups (1.75 L) of flour, which makes a loaf of bread that will yield about 24 slices.
Judith M. Fertig, The Artisan Bread Machine (2011), Size Matters, Page 11.
There is nothing worse than opening the lid of your bread machine and viewing a crater of dough with sticky strands clinging to the sides. There are several causes for this common bread machine problem.
Liquid ingredients may have been too hot. You could have added too much liquid or skimped on the salt. Did you add too much yeast? Too much yeast can cause air pockets, bubbles, or a mushroom. Or, do you have the dreaded bread machine mushroom?
One of the main concerns about using too much flour is overflowing the sides of the pan. Usually you will end up with a mushroom — the dough may cook onto the lid of the pan or perhaps the dough does not cook properly at the top.
. . .
It is wise to check the dough during the second rise. If it looks too high, use a bamboo skewer (or similar) and pierce deep into the dough to deflate it. Do not use metal objects which could scratch the pan.
If you have absolutely used the wrong size recipe and it is starting to overflow, remove a portion of the dough. This enables you to at least salvage something!
Donna Rathmell German, The Bread Machine Cookbook V (1994), Page 40.
Sometimes, your bread just plain collapses. It could be an issue with using too little salt, too much yeast, a recipe too large for the bread pan, or your dough’s consistency missed the mark.
Maybe your bread machine bread is crumbly. You may see white streaks of flour. The issue could be that you are not using enough liquid, chose the wrong setting, or added in an excess of flour. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything you can do to save a loaf that baked into a crumbly mess.
But you can prevent this from happening in the future.
It’s okay to open the lid of your bread machine as it kneads. Nothing will explode. Listen and take a peek. If it sounds as though it is struggling, it needs more liquid. If it looks like it isn’t coming together, add more liquid. By “add liquid” or “add flour,” you’ll use 1 to 2 teaspoons to get it where it needs to be.
Test a recipe one tweak at a time to see where things went wrong. If you continually have issues, remember it could be the recipe. Not every recipe is made equal (cookbook misprints happen). Or it could be your machine dying a slow death (I’ve had that happen, too).
What If I Lost My Bread Machine’s Instruction Manual?
Read your manufacturer’s instructions. If your bread machine is a hand-me-down and you don’t have the instructions, see if you can find what you need below:
- AICOK Bread Machine Instructions
- Breadman Instruction Manuals
- Hamilton Beach Manual
- Kenmore Bread Machine Manual
- Oster Bread Machine Instruction Manuals
- Panasonic Manual
- Proctor Silex Care Guides
- Regal Ware Guides
- Sunbeam Breadmaker Manual
- T-fal Breadmaker Manual
- Welbilt Bread Machine Manual (not the company site but I found them here)
- WestBend User Manual
- Williams Sonoma Manual
- Zojirushi Bread Machine Instruction Manual
Some bread machine company websites are challenging to use because they require a product number or may not offer the manual for your machine. Welbilt, Magic Chef, Westinghouse, and Toastmaster bread machine manuals are unavailable from the original manufacturers.
If that’s the case, you can try a site like Manuals Lib or Manuals Online to look for the original manual online. If you are still having trouble finding your manual, look at the images. Some bread machines are copies of other bread machines, just slapped with a different brand’s label. You may be able to track down your instructions that way too.
What Do I Do if I Need a Replacement Part?
Did something break? Did you throw away the paddle attachment? Been there, done that. No matter what happened, you can see if the manufacturer offers parts for sale.
For older models, you can still go that route. If it leads to a dead end, look to sites like eBay for replacement parts. In that case, it helps to know your product and model number so you can be sure you are ordering exactly what you need. You may be able to find the piece you need with a quick Google search. Small appliance shops are everywhere.
Considering A New Bread Machine?
Some bread machines are so fancy, you can do more than make different types of breads. Yes, there are bread machine uses for things other than bread, such as jams, cake, or mochi. Some include a menu option for sourdough bread.
If you can’t find a replacement part, if your old machine died, or if it’s time for an upgrade, check out a few of the amazing models below.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Bread Machine
from: King Arthur Baking
from: King Arthur Baking
from: King Arthur Baking
from: King Arthur Baking
If you don’t own a bread machine, make sure the model you’re considering has a removable paddle blade.
My mom gave me my first bread machine. While I appreciated the hand-me-down, the paddle wasn’t removable, so cleaning it was a chore. When my machine died after several more years of use, I made sure my new bread machine had removable parts. I’m on my fourth bread machine and it is a match.
Bread Machine Related Resources
Related Recipes
