The Day the Breadmaker Died

I think I am one of the few people who actually use their bread maker to bake bread. Most people I know that have bread makers use them more to decorate their kitchen counters than to bake bread.

As soon as I got my bread maker I put it to use. Husband and I performed at the Ohio Renaissance Festival on summer weekends. I brought bread each day for the court to eat during The Queen’s Feast.

 I made our costumes from the hats on down and skin out with the exception 

of my shawl. Mother in Law made it for me as a gift.

One of my favorite winter meals is a homemade stew or 15 bean soup paired with homemade dark bread. So filling and so satisfying I want to roll on the ground and make happy tummy sounds after dinner.

 Get my Russian Black Bread recipe here

One of my whoops! I need to bring something to a family dinner/potluck and didn't put it on the grocery list items is braided cardamom bread. I set the bread maker on the dough setting, divide the dough into three parts, braid it, and pop it in the oven. Big bang, big taste, little work involved on my part.

Homemade whole wheat pizza dough is another weekend time and effort saver. Do you believe this this spinach, onion, garlic, shrimp,  cheddar and mozzarella cheese pizza was a clean out the fridge meal? 

It only took me 14 years of having a bread maker to realize I could use it to make more than dinner bread. Last year I tried making our sandwich bread instead of buying it as a One Small Green Change. It was one of our favorite changes. It’s added variety to our diet because I bake whatever strikes us. I usually stick with pumpernickel, wheat, and rye breads although I sometimes experiment based with what ingredients we have on hand, like tossing our toasted Halloween pumpkin seeds into a batch of wheat bread. WIN!

It is with a sad heart I tell you after 15 years of loyal service, my bread maker took a dirt nap. The ball bearings in the paddle mechanism wore out. It. Won’t. Move.

I can’t repair it either. I tried.

Buying a replacement bread pan is almost as much as buying a new bread maker. I might as buy a replacement that has the horizontal bread pan I wish my current bread maker had.

This would have to happen the right before I planned on making the breadmaker version of whole wheat pretzel roll hotdogs for Memorial Day. Rats!

Since we’re in money saving mode due to Blitzkrieg's chemo treatments, I’m going to scout eBay and thrift stores for a used breadmaker. I’m sure it won’t take long to find one that’s in good shape since most people buy them and end up not using them.

I want my new breadmaker to have a horizontal loaf pan, a dough setting, and if possible a separate fruit and nut dispenser. Other than that, I don’t know what features would be helpful and which ones are not. .

Do you have a bread maker recommendation?  What features do you like? What features are more flash than substance?

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