home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: misc.consumers
- Path: sparky!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!news.cso.uiuc.edu!geoserv!rolf
- From: rolf@geoserv (Rolf Wilson)
- Subject: Re: Bread makers: recommendations?
- References: <C0CzIn.AKq@tct.com> <1ic7qgINNbca@symbi1.symbiosis.ahp.com>
- Message-ID: <C0I4K0.C1G@news.cso.uiuc.edu>
- Sender: usenet@news.cso.uiuc.edu (Net Noise owner)
- Reply-To: rolf@geoserv.isgs.uiuc.edu
- Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
- Distribution: na
- Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 20:50:20 GMT
- Lines: 71
-
- aem@symbiosis.ahp.com (a.e.mossberg) writes:
-
- >jtt@tct.com (John Tombs) writes:
- >>Would any bread maker owners out there care to let me know their views?
- >>Surprisingly, Consumer Reports doesn't seem to have tested them.
-
- Actually, CR reported briefly on them in a sidebar in 1988. They mostly
- considered them to be gimmicks. Another consumer magazine compared several
- brands, but it was only a features comparison, not a "run-em for months
- and see if they break" torture test like those we love from CR.
-
- >aem@symbiosis.ahp.com replies:
- >How often do you go out and buy speciality (i.e. non-sandwich) breads?
- >Think about how many times you can do that before you match the purchase
- >price of the bread machine, let alone operating costs. And will you stop
- >buying bread outside once you have a bread machine?
-
- I use my bread machine to make my sandwich bread. I also like to
- have a non-sandwich style bread around at all times. Yes, I never
- buy bread anywhere now. The bread costs much less than at the store,
- and you have a wider choice.
-
- >Like most appliances, bread machines tend to gather dust after a few
- >months of activity.
-
- I have been using mine at least 3 times a week for over a year. (Except
- for times when my old DAK/Welbilt models were broken - I went through
- FOUR of them! I really missed my machine at those times.)
-
- >The bread will not taste the same as that from a bakery. Sure you can
- >make special breads that you can't buy, but you can do that now unless
- >you are disabled, and perhaps even then.
-
- I like the bread better than what I can get anywhere else, mainly
- because it is REALLY fresh. Ok, I suppose that bread hot out of the
- oven at a good bakery might be better. But my bakery is open 24
- hours a day. And if you are comparing against a grocery store (not
- everyone has a good bakery nearby) then there is no comparison.
-
- >For about the same price as a bread machine, you can buy a food
- >processor that is powerful enough to knead dough, which is the only real
- >"advantage" of a bread machine. You certainly don't need another oven,
- >particularly one that can only be used for a single purpose. Do you
- >have two square feet of kitchen counter space begging for use?
-
- I have a food processor. The bread machine has other advantages.
- There is almost nothing to clean up. It takes only minutes to do, and
- that is a major advantage when you have a couple of small children
- running around your feet. It can bake on a timer, so you can have it
- ready at times when you would not be able to if you had to be there
- every 45 to 60 minutes to punch it down or put it in the oven. It is
- better than my oven, because it takes much less electricity. The
- breadmaker can be run on a hot summer day without making the kitchen
- unpleasant to be in. As for counter space, I use it for the most
- useful things, and the breadmaker is near the top of the list.
- Actually, with my Panasonic (unlike the R2D2 models) everything goes
- into a little metal bucket with a handle. If you really wanted to,
- you could put the ingredients into the bucket in the kitchen, and then
- carry it to the breadmaker anywhere else in the house!
-
- >FYI, I have a bread machine. Three friends bought theirs on the basis of
- >seeing mine. I know another eight people with bread machines. That's
- >twelve bread machines in all. Among those twelve probably only one is in
- >use during any given week. When I use mine now, I use it solely to
- >knead the dough.
-
- Then I don't understand why you bought it. I consider it the most
- amazing gadget I have seen in years. Maybe your friends can find someone
- to sell their machines to.
- --
- Rolf Wilson Illinois State Geological Survey rolf@geoserv.isgs.uiuc.edu
-