Bread is a staple in most of our kitchens. That’s why it’s always a good thing if one at home can make it from scratch. But, if you don’t have the time, skill or patience to go through the long, tedious bread-making process, there’s always a nifty appliance to do it for you.
The question is, “do I need a bread machine”? To help you reach a decision, here are the list of bread maker benefits:
1. Convenient for busy bread lovers
The way to delicious, freshly baked bread is not easy. You need to prep the ingredients, knead your dough, let it double in size, then shape and bake it before you can finally enjoy a slice. Not everyone has the time and energy after work or over the weekend to do all that.
But if you’re a busy person and want your bread homemade, you’ll enjoy the convenience a bread maker machine provides. With this on your benchtop, all you need is to dump in your ingredients, select the right programme settings and wait for the mouth-watering aroma to fill your kitchen.
Aside from having a handy timer, bread makers come with different automated features for the busy you. For instance, some models have an automatic fruit and nut dispenser to add mix-ins into your dough at the right time.
Their most convenient feature of all, however, is the delay timer. With this feature, you can set the bread machine to bake at a specific time, so you can enjoy freshly made bread right when you want it. You can learn more about this appliance and its other convenient features from this bread maker review.
2. Simple for the minimalists
Bread making can bring out the obsessive and compulsive in you. You need to bring out all these baking tools, prepare a greased pan or bowl, find a suitable cover and look for a place warm enough for your dough to rise.
Some people are easily confused with multiple baking steps that they end up not trying at all. With a bread maker, things are more straightforward: dump, set and go! Its user-friendly control panel makes it easier for you to remember the procedures and stay on the right track, too.
3. Stress-free for everybody
The physical effort that goes into making a loaf of bread can easily count as a workout session. It’s a good exercise, but kneading the dough by hand can be a little too much work for some. Cleaning up all that bread flour dust and scraping bread dough stuck on our benchtop can be tiring as well.
Time, fatigue, age, physical disabilities and medical conditions can interfere with our homemade bread goals. Getting past bread-making stress is one of the many bread machine benefits you get to enjoy. This appliance can do the kneading part for you, and with everything mixed and baked in one unit, clean-up is a breeze.
4. Reassuring for first-time bread makers
Skill is also an essential ingredient in baking fresh bread at home. You need to be able to tell when the dough is mixed and kneaded enough. You have to shape it right, bake it at the proper temperature and know when it’s cooked all the way through. For first-time bakers, these procedures can be complicated and slightly overwhelming.
Making bread takes time and needs some practice to perfect. But the lack of experience shouldn’t stop you from trying it out. A bread machine makes bread-making quick, simple and doable. Working with your bread machine will also make you confident to try other recipes or perhaps give kneading by hand a chance!
5. Delicious for the health conscious
One of the best bread maker benefits you get from a bread machine is the ability to make delicious bread for everyone, including those on special diets. You can make whole wheat bread to increase your fibre intake or gluten-free loaves for people with coeliac disease.
With a bread maker, it’s easier to add healthier ingredients, like oats and flax seeds, or take out some, like eggs and milk, to manage allergies and intolerances. Store-bought bread typically contains preservatives to make it last longer. With homemade bread, you get the best-tasting sandwich or toast without the nasties.
6. Economic for large families
A high-quality bread maker can be quite an investment at first, which can make you think twice before getting one. But if you’re in a large household full of bread lovers, a bread machine is worth buying. It can even help you cut cost in the long run.
Good quality, specialty and artisanal bread products are not cheap. But you can easily recreate these with inexpensive ingredients using your bread maker. In terms of power consumption, bread makers are generally more energy-efficient than ovens. So, you can go on a bread baking frenzy without worrying about your electricity bill, or reserve your oven for cooking meals. Durable bread makers also last for a long time and can make many years’ worth of tasty bread to share.
7. Versatile for all-around cooks and bakers
If you like multipurpose appliances as much as I do, then a bread maker deserves a spot on your benchtop. This smart machine can do more than fix your bread craving. Most bread maker models come with a jam-making function so you can make your bread and its accompanying fruit spread in one machine. Other bread machines even include a yoghurt-making option.
In case your stovetop is busy slow-cooking, a bread maker can step in and do your other cooking tasks. It can make cakes, simple rice dishes or casseroles, homemade soups and sauces or scrambled eggs. It can also double as your pizza-making assistant, where you can use a bread machine to prepare your dough then let the oven take charge of the baking. Some bread makers may appear too bulky, but they can easily do the role of your other appliances to save money and kitchen space.
Undoubtedly, this intuitive appliance is pack full of bread maker benefits. And when used properly, the advantages of using a bread maker extend to every type of home-based bread baker!
