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Whether you are on a new diet or just interested in making more sustainable choices in the kitchen, there are plenty of good reasons to make your own bread. As more and more people embrace a traditional lifestyle, breadmaking has begun coming back.
If you are considering making your own bread, whether you use the oven or a breadmaker, you are in for a treat. It may take some time to learn the different recipes, and you may have dozens of questions like “why is my sourdough not rising”, but the process will be a culinary adventure. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of making your own bread.
Healthier Ingredients
Making your bread can give you almost complete control over what goes into it. The ratio of ingredients will determine whether your bread comes out functional, but beyond that, you can use just about anything to flavor and create your bread.
Loaves of bread can be made with alternative flours, plant-based kinds of milk, egg substitutes, and other accommodations that can be made to suit almost any diet.
Savings
A significant advantage of making your own bread is saving money throughout your bread machine’s life. There can be a price difference of several dollars per loaf of bread, even more, if you have it specially made. Bread machines are expensive, but each loaf of bread they produce costs less than a dollar.
Creative Control
You could spend hours going from the bakery to grocery stores to find the perfect loaf for your special occasion. When you make bread at home, you have the luxury of trying out new designs and recipes. There are endless combinations of ingredients to try and enjoy with your friends and family.
Superior Taste
Your perfect recipe may take some time to develop. As soon as you do, you’ll discover how much better homemade bread tastes than store-bought bread. The taste of homemade bread always seems superior to store-bought bread, whether made from scratch or with a bread machine.
Freshness
It is impossible to know when each loaf of bread was made, no matter where you buy it from. Although stores are required to put dates on bread, that doesn’t mean that it is fresh. Making your own bread lets you know exactly how fresh the ingredients that go into it are.
Breadmaker Vs. Oven
Automatic bread makers have made it easier to bake your own bread at home. Can a bread maker really beat an oven? Check out the pros and cons of a bread maker vs. an oven.
Pros of an Oven
Creative Control
Baking bread yourself gives you endless options and allows you to tailor it to your tastes. Experimenting with different ingredients and flavors is under your control.
Cooking Control
With an oven, you have complete control. The perfect loaf of bread can be achieved by making adjustments. While kneading, add a bit more water if your dough is too dense. Or, you can add more flour if your dough is too moist.
Rewarding
It is much more rewarding to bake bread in the oven than to simply put the ingredients in a machine. The effort you put into making that bread shows when you take it out of the oven.
Cons of an Oven
Time Consuming
This issue largely dominates the bread machine vs. oven debate. Using a bread machine is faster and easier than making bread in the oven.
Perfect Final Product
If you measure everything out and add the ingredients correctly, your bread will turn out fine in a bread machine. Things can quickly go wrong when cooking bread in an oven.
Pros of a Bread Machine
Kneading Paddle Holes
Mixing and forming the dough requires the kneading paddle. It can cause your bread to be misshapen or have an air pocket at the bottom as the dough bakes.
Cons of a Bread Machine
Inconsistency
The heating element is at the bottom of the bread machines. There will be a thick crust on the bottom and sides of the loaf. However, other parts of your loaf may feel soggy.
Noisy
A bread machine tends to be louder than an oven. Using the delayed timer in the morning can be a nuisance. It might wake everyone up when the bread is kneaded.
Misshaped Loaves
There is a slight rounding to bread machine loaves. You might encounter this problem when making sandwich bread and want sharp corners.
There are valid pros and cons to both automatic bread machines and using your traditional oven. What can’t be denied is the benefits that baking your own bread brings to the table, including superior taste and healthier ingredients.
