Bread Machine

I have knocked my bread machine for 2+ years now. I have a zojirushi bread maker. I've always been thankful for it, but regretted buying it because it wouldn't bake my wheat bread well. It wouldn't let it rise long enough and I haven't had enough time to figure out a custom cycle.

This weekend I discovered that my bread maker may not have been such a bad purchase after all. A gal I know uses her Oster bread maker for whole grain wheat bread, but she has to use the bread cycle and stop it before it bakes because the dough cycle doesn't mix it enough. My zojirushi has 2 paddles which helps mix the wheat dough easily. So, with my Zojirushi, I'm able to use the dough cycle and when it's done I put the dough in two loaf pans and let it rise for an hour or so. Then, I bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Someone gave me a great tip once that when the internal temperature of bread is 200 degrees, then it's done!

My bread machine is now 4 years old now and still going strong when the average lifespan of a bread machine is a year. I think I may have to rethink my regrets!