Bread Machines

[Steve]

I am seriously thinking of buying our own bread making machine as we like certain types of bread and it is impossible to buy around here.. We live in the country and perhaps it is one of the things we should look into.....
We don't eat much bread but we do like a few slices daily..

We like the multi grain, pumpernickel, dk. rye, buckwheat, just to name a few...
We don't have a grocery store in our village which means buying bread for the week when we shop and freezing it.. NEVER do we buy white sliced bread or whole wheat !!!
We don't like the pre-sliced bread but rather like the whole loaf..

I was reading the reports on many machines and found that most are problematic and not recommended..
Sears, Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, and other type of stores all have them but there again, they all have bad reviews..
Some the paddle comes off during mixing..
Some leave a black oily stain in the bottom of the bread..
Some don't mix properly..
Some don't bake properly..
Some the bread won't come out of the pot and the paddle won't come out without a big hole..
Some burn the bread so bad you need a chain saw to cut it..

I don't know which model is the best...
The other thing is I will most likely have to buy it online as there aren't any BIG stores near here..

Can someone please guide me and give me some advice on this?????
What kind of bread machine do you have and is it a good one ???

We are only 2 of us so we don't need a large machine that makes large loaves...

 

[Diwundrin]

I was at the point of buying one until my cousin's wife brought hers up for a demonstration. The bread was okay, barely, but it had this whopping great hole up the middle of it from cooking around the mixing doover.
I don't want bread with a hole in it! It wasn't much better than the rubbish I can make myself and throw in the oven when I'm desperate so I didn't buy one. Besides I need the exercise of kneading the dough.

Do they all make a great gaping hole in it???

 

[SeaBreeze]

We have an old Admiral brand bread machine, a small one we bought a loooong time ago. Honestly, we used it very little, but no complaints, it seemed to work fine. It's been buried in a kitchen cabinet, I need to take it out and use it once in awhile. There is only two of us, and most breads we desire are available in stores, bakeries, delis, etc.

 

[That Guy]

 

[TICA]

I have one that I used a whole lot when I first bought it. It's a Black and Decker but yes, it does leave a small hole where the mixer goes but I haven't had any of the issues you are talking about. It works great still and years old - great for making pizza dough too. The only thing I didn't like is that the bread goes stale quickly, which I suppose is a good thing in a way because it the bread doesn't have preservatives.

I still pull it out once in a while but not very often.