Bread Machines

[GRB]

Good Morning all!

I want to make my own bread and am new to bread machines. Do any of you have suggestions on make and model? I have been reading that gluten free baking requires some special operations for the rise(?) and that Breadman has a glutenfree setting which is handy. I am having trouble deciding on that unit because it makes a 2pd loaf and I'm single. I was hoping to find something smaller or one that will bake different size loafs.

Any suggestions short of "do it by hand" would be welcome lol.

Thanks.

ps...I did a search and it came up so many posts I can't read all of them. I hope you don't mind me just asking for suggestions and experience. Thx again.

[MBombardier]

I have an old Zojirushi that I bought used off eBay. Zojirushi has excellent reviews, and my father, a widower, is very pleased with his, so that's why I bought it. It makes a 2-lb. loaf, but as quickly as homemade bread (with no preservatives) grows mold, it has to go in the freezer right away. The larger loaf, in my opinion, would just mean that you have to make bread less often.

[Linda in BC]

I just used our regular old breadmaker (I don't even know what kind it is) and used the 80 minute or 50 minute express cycles because I figured GF bread doesn't need kneading, just mixing basically. The way I see it is that kneading is to develop the gluten in regular bread and of course our flours don't have gluten.

If you want small loaves you can let the bread mixer mix it up and then take it out before the bake cycle, divide the dough into loaves and put into the size of loaf pans you want and let it rise, then bake in the oven like regular homemade bread. I have done this and it works well. Just be sure to put it in a nice warm place to rise and not forget it!

Linda