A bread maker is a home appliance that has revolutionized the
process of making breads. First manufactured in 1986 in Japan,
breadmaker since then moved its way to homes in the United
States and United Kingdom. By means of a breadmaker, automatic
baking has become possible and more convenient.
As with ordinary baking, ingredients must first be measured
according to the recipe. The mixture is then poured into the
bread pan that is placed in the machine. The breadmaker will
then take some hours to bake the bread by first turning the
mixture into dough and eventually baking it. The process of
making dough is helped by a built-in paddle. Once the baking is
done and has been allowed to cool down, the bread is then freed
from the bread pan. The paddle at the bottom of the loaf should
be removed from its place.
Breadmaker breads are much
easier to get spoiled as compared with the commercial breads due
to the absence of additives. However, it is possible that
sourdough starter may be added to the ingredients to prolong the
shelf life of the breads.
Breadmakers have built-in
timers that may be set for easier baking. Other machines can be
programmed to only prepare the dough and not to bake the bread
later, in this case the dough is baked in an oven. Breadmakers
have other uses as well. They may be set to make jams, pizza
bases, wheat-free loaf, cakes, and pasta and in some instances,
mochi- a Japanese rice bread.
Considerations in choosing
a breadmaker:
- the over-all capacity of baking loafs
- the quality of bread produced
- the duration of time it
takes to make one loaf
- the featured programs
- type: may
either be single loaf breadmaker or multi loaf breadmaker
However, like with normal baking there may arise several
problems concerning the quality of the bread produced. These may
either be caused by the process of baking or the quality of
breadmaker itself.
Doughy loaf
This problem
basically concerns the temperature of the breadmaker. The
built-in thermometer must read 190 F. Once the baking is over
and the loaf is still doughy, you may choose to continue baking
it in a conventional oven or wait till the breadmaker cools down
and start the whole process over.
Small bread
Lack of liquid added to the dough. The problem starts with the
dissolving of the yeast. If too little liquid is used, the yeast
may not be stimulated to produce the necessary carbon dioxide,
which is instrumental in making the dough rise. Without this,
the loaf may become dense and will be much smaller.
Collapsed or flat-topped bread
Collapsing is mainly
due to too much addition of liquid to the dough. The yeast in
this case is overly stimulated, producing more gluten than the
dough may withhold. This leads to the collapsing of loaf
structure.
Bread sticking in the breadmaker pan
This can be resolved by brushing the breadmaker pan with oil
before adding the water into the dough. This works well in the
majority of conventional ovens as well.
Too much
rising of the loaf
This problem may be controlled
with the use of salt. Adding one half teaspoon of salt may be
sufficient to keep the rising of the bread in balance.
One need not be an Einstein to run a simple machine such as
the breadmaker. For more instruction and self-help tips, users
may check the manual of the machine.
About the Author:
Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino,
California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines
and provides breadmaker resources on
www.your-breadmaker.info
