Still loving amazon prime. Got my new bread maker today (free shipping) and I have it all loaded up for fresh bread in the morning. It has a timer which is nice. It also bakes a normal shaped loaf which is a feature my wife requested. I'll post tomorrow to say how it worked out. It is a Zojirushi BBCCX20.

Hey!
My Dad and I just pitched in to buy one of those for my Mom!

I look forward to a review when you get it going

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

if the bread doesn't come out fine, don't give up!

I used Gold Medal Better for Bread flour for a while and it worked great, suddenly the loafs came out small and ugly. I checked quantities again, changed yeast, same thing, Until I tried a different brand of flour. Voila, nice loafs again. I think I got a bad batch of flour. Since then I bought Gold Medal Better for Bread again and it works fine. It was only those 4 bags I got on sale that were bad.

also, for reference, see these 2 older threads

[forums.macresource.com]

[forums.macresource.com]

and King arthur flour for yeast (buy in bulk) and lots of recipe and gadgets

[www.kingarthurflour.com]

Mine went to Goodwill last year.

Went on a diet.

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A man who is of "sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
(Paul Valery)

you'll dig that machine. I use mine for 5 years and then moved on.
Bread baking is fun and delicious.
If you haven't already been.

[www.thefreshloaf.com]

I want a brick oven.

Nice for pizza, too.

How much weight do you need to gain?

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A man who is of "sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
(Paul Valery)

I made the "basic wheat" recipe from the instruction book and it turned out quite nice. I had a slice this morning with yakima honey and it was delicious.

I'd like to make one loaf per week. Is there any advantage in keeping active yeast? If so, how would I go about it?

Just use active dry yeast. Keep it in a sealed container in the freezer, and it'll be fine to use for up to a year or so. We buy active dry yeast at costco in the 1 lb vacuum sealed packs, and they work well for us. If you're making a loaf a week, you might even go through it quicker.

I buy the big bags of yeast from Costco, and keep the opened bag in a ziploc in the freezer, and keep a working portion in a small french canning jar in the freezer as well. You could use a jelly jar as well.

Two words man....

Sourdough Starter.

It's kinda like having a pet... you have to "feed" the sourdough starter in it's crock in the fridge every so often, and use a cup or so for every loaf of bread you make...

But DAMN does it make for tasty bread from a bread machine!

Been a long time since I've done it... but it's well worth googling.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
----
Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
--

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Eureka, CA

I use instant yeast, also known as "bread machine yeast", even though I do not have a bread machine.

It's much better than active dry yeast.

I forget to say why instant yeast is better than active dry yeast.

It's because it does not need to be hydrated with water before it's used. In fact, the best way to use instant yeast is to directly add it to your dry flour.

Instant yeast also contains far less dead yeast than active dry yeast, so you need less of it.

When I set the bread machine with the timer, maybe 10 hours ahead, can I still use the active yeast or will it die in that time?

It will be fine. Just make sure to use powdered milk, or powdered buttermilk and water instead of regular milk or buttermilk, and make sure that the salt doesn't come near the yeast until the machine starts up.

Letting dairy sit out like that would be bad. Butter would be OK though.

yea, sourdough starter.
I recommend the Nancy Silverton organic grape starter.
I've had one for 10 years or so.

Thanks for the reminder. Ordered the sane machine for Mrs Markintosh today.

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“Live your life, love your life, don’t regret…live, learn and move forward positively.” – CR Johnson
Loving life in Lake Tahoe, CA