Ive read many threads about indulgences such as a fine cigar or a superb brandy, but for me one of the greatest pleasures in life is the simple comfort of a homemade loaf of bread.
When I was a kid I remember visiting one of those Pioneer living history villages with my family. We used to visit one a few times a year, just because it was so well kept and enjoyable. There was always something new to see as well as some old favourites, such as the bread house where workers baked fresh bread in a stone oven just like the pioneers. Visitors could watch and ask questions, and if you got there early enough you could reserve a loaf to bring home.
I remember the smell of that place and the taste of that bread even now. There was something so real about it, something that I find completely absent in store-bought bread. Perhaps the flaw rests with the cellophane packaging, or the preservatives they use to keep it soft and moist a week after baking, or the mass production quotas that force the producers to use the cheapest ingredients possible... or a combination of them all. I dont know. All I know is that nothing beats the taste and smell of real homemade bread.
Sadly, it is a laborious process that can take several hours. Few people have the time to devote to it these days, between work and family and other obligations. Fortunately, technology has advanced to a point of brining us a viable alternative.
Bread Machines have been around since the 80s, but it has not been until recently that theyve advanced to a point of becoming appealing to the average user. In previous generations the bread was baked in an upright cylinder, and although it came out smelling like bread, it often looking like a semi-square tube of brown stuff. Even the texture seemed a little off due to the bubbles rising toward the ends rather than the top. These types of bread machines are still available, and Im sure many do a better job than their ancestors, but many companies have answered the challenge to create a bread machine that is easy to use, simple to clean and produces bread that looks and tastes like bread... real, authentic, home-style bread.
Last Mothers Day I bought my mom a Zojirushi bread machine (Japanese, which is appropriate since they invented the bread machine!). Ive been treated to its confections on a few occasions and have always enjoyed the result. The look, taste, smell and even feel of the bread is truly authentic and rapidly brings me back to the days spent at Pioneer Village watching the workers take loafs from the stone oven.
While enjoying Fathers Day Dinner with the folks I again had chance to sample some of the bread machines skills. This time I enjoyed a wonderful whole-wheat bread, with a taste and texture that brought me back for seconds. I enjoyed it so much that Ive resolved to buy myself a Zojirushi, too!
Many of the higher-end machines dont stop with bread. They can make jams, marmalades, dough for pizza, hotdog and hamburger buns, bagels, speciality breads, and more.
Using them is dead simple, unlike many machines of the past. Mix up the ingredients (which can take all of 5-10 minutes), drop them in, press start, and thats it. The machine does the rest. It mixes, kneeds, rises and bakes. All you have to do is take out the finished loaf! Cleanup is a snap thanks to the Teflon coated pan and mixing blades. All-in-all it takes about 2 ½-3 hours for a 2lb loaf. The ingredients can be bought at any bulk food/baking center for next to nothing. Heck, you can even put the ingredients in, set a timer, and enjoy hot fresh bread when you get home from work or wake up in the morning.
Some devoted enthusiasts (and there are a lot of them, enough to write dozens of recipe books especially for bread machines!) only use their machines to bake bread. Such would be my dream! But even if I only use it once in a while, Id still consider the price a pittance for such a thoroughly enjoyable indulgence. It saddens me to think of an entire generation of kids growing up only knowing what plastic wrapped preservative drenched bread tastes like. After having fresh homemade bread there really is no comparison.
I hope youve enjoyed reading a little bit about one of my simple indulgences. You can check out some reviews of various bread machines by clicking here.
When I was a kid I remember visiting one of those Pioneer living history villages with my family. We used to visit one a few times a year, just because it was so well kept and enjoyable. There was always something new to see as well as some old favourites, such as the bread house where workers baked fresh bread in a stone oven just like the pioneers. Visitors could watch and ask questions, and if you got there early enough you could reserve a loaf to bring home.
I remember the smell of that place and the taste of that bread even now. There was something so real about it, something that I find completely absent in store-bought bread. Perhaps the flaw rests with the cellophane packaging, or the preservatives they use to keep it soft and moist a week after baking, or the mass production quotas that force the producers to use the cheapest ingredients possible... or a combination of them all. I dont know. All I know is that nothing beats the taste and smell of real homemade bread.
Sadly, it is a laborious process that can take several hours. Few people have the time to devote to it these days, between work and family and other obligations. Fortunately, technology has advanced to a point of brining us a viable alternative.
Bread Machines have been around since the 80s, but it has not been until recently that theyve advanced to a point of becoming appealing to the average user. In previous generations the bread was baked in an upright cylinder, and although it came out smelling like bread, it often looking like a semi-square tube of brown stuff. Even the texture seemed a little off due to the bubbles rising toward the ends rather than the top. These types of bread machines are still available, and Im sure many do a better job than their ancestors, but many companies have answered the challenge to create a bread machine that is easy to use, simple to clean and produces bread that looks and tastes like bread... real, authentic, home-style bread.
Last Mothers Day I bought my mom a Zojirushi bread machine (Japanese, which is appropriate since they invented the bread machine!). Ive been treated to its confections on a few occasions and have always enjoyed the result. The look, taste, smell and even feel of the bread is truly authentic and rapidly brings me back to the days spent at Pioneer Village watching the workers take loafs from the stone oven.
While enjoying Fathers Day Dinner with the folks I again had chance to sample some of the bread machines skills. This time I enjoyed a wonderful whole-wheat bread, with a taste and texture that brought me back for seconds. I enjoyed it so much that Ive resolved to buy myself a Zojirushi, too!
Many of the higher-end machines dont stop with bread. They can make jams, marmalades, dough for pizza, hotdog and hamburger buns, bagels, speciality breads, and more.
Using them is dead simple, unlike many machines of the past. Mix up the ingredients (which can take all of 5-10 minutes), drop them in, press start, and thats it. The machine does the rest. It mixes, kneeds, rises and bakes. All you have to do is take out the finished loaf! Cleanup is a snap thanks to the Teflon coated pan and mixing blades. All-in-all it takes about 2 ½-3 hours for a 2lb loaf. The ingredients can be bought at any bulk food/baking center for next to nothing. Heck, you can even put the ingredients in, set a timer, and enjoy hot fresh bread when you get home from work or wake up in the morning.
Some devoted enthusiasts (and there are a lot of them, enough to write dozens of recipe books especially for bread machines!) only use their machines to bake bread. Such would be my dream! But even if I only use it once in a while, Id still consider the price a pittance for such a thoroughly enjoyable indulgence. It saddens me to think of an entire generation of kids growing up only knowing what plastic wrapped preservative drenched bread tastes like. After having fresh homemade bread there really is no comparison.
I hope youve enjoyed reading a little bit about one of my simple indulgences. You can check out some reviews of various bread machines by clicking here.
OR just take the dough spread it out like a pizza rub a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with coarse sea salt, a few THIN slices of red onion, a bit of garlic, and topped by some basil that you chiffonade. Ohhhhhh it's way too late at night to think about this!
