There’s nothing better than the aroma of fresh bread to cut through stress from a buys week. Different bakers take varied approaches on how to make bread at home, though. Many prefer to make bread by hand, others use a bread machine, and still more prefer to have a little mechanical help, but do the majority of the work themselves. Baking from scratch by hand, using your bread maker, dividing tasks between the bread maker and yourself, or even using appliances like a food processor to help all have their pros and cons. Read on for more info on each.
From scratch, and by hand
The feel of crafting bread by hand, kneading it, knocking it back, and knowing the goodness that comes from homemade foods can be truly relaxing and rewarding. If you love hands-on work, that’s even more true. Unfortunately, it has its drawbacks. You can’t, after all, leave your bread alone to knead itself.
Pros
The type A in you might love controlling every step of the bread making process carefully. You can craft complex shapes and designs, including everything from classic loaves to full bushels of fresh cut wheat. Artisan craftsmanship is the mark of from scratch baking. Little kids often love to help out with from scratch baking, and there is quite a bit that they can do to help.
Cons
If you hate messes, this might not be the best method for you. Flour tends to get everywhere, and you’ll be left with quite a few dishes to wash. If you don’t get your temperatures right, your loaves won’t come out right, either. Beginning bakers might prefer simpler methods.
Man and machine
Maybe you want to use an appliance or two to help the process along. Most often, you can get a little benefit out of letting your machines do the dirty work of mixing, kneading, and knocking. You’ll be able to limit the number of dishes you have to wash, but you can still shape an elegant loaf.
Pros
Think of mixing your hard work with machines as the best of both worlds. You’ll get the texture and taste of from-scratch bread, and you can shape wonderful and impressive loaves. You’ll also have less mess to clean up. Many machines can set temperatures correctly to assist in baking, too, so you don’t have to worry about that step, either. You can even walk away from your bread while it is being mixed and kneaded.
Cons
Despite the simplicity of this method, there is one major drawback. By removing all the mixing and kneading steps, you also prevent little ones from getting involved in the baking process. You may need to prep and wash loaf pans and counters depending on the type and shape of loaf you choose to prepare, too.
Fully automated
When a bread machine takes over, you really don’t have anything to do. In fact, you just pop the ingredients in a pan, and walk away. A few hours later, a fresh loaf is ready for you. That said, there are some negatives to just using the machine.
Pros
The luxury of modern living – fresh bread with no effort. You can leave most bread machines unattended, so that going to work or running errands while bread bakes can let you come home to the smell of a hot, fresh loaf. It’s almost always a cheaper option than buying bread from a local bakery, and clean up is a breeze, too.
Cons
One of the best parts about making bread at home is being able to shape the loaf. Baking is also a great family activity. Using a bread machine to do all the work won’t let you share these activities with your little one, though. Loaf pan sizes also vary, so the fact that you used a machine is rather apparent. Storage, as a result of the unique loaf pan shape, can also be a challenge.
What about food processors?
There are home bakers who swear by the use of food processors in the baking process. They allow you to add fun ingredients like rice, potato, chickpeas, and nut meal into the dough, and guarantee the thorough incorporation of these ingredients. There are some pros and cons to the use of these appliances in bread-making that you should know before you get started.
Pros
Clean up can be easy when you use a food processor. You can mix everything in the food processor, and even add extra ingredients that make your bread truly unique.
Cons
Food processor blades are very sharp and cleaning them can be dangerous. Young children can’t really do much to help with bread making when a food processor is used. Temperatures can be tricky using these appliances. Overall, however, this method isn’t much different than using a bread machine to mix the dough.
Conclusion
Baking is a pleasurable pass time, and there isn’t one right way to do it. Think about the parts o bread making you enjoy the most, and decide what appliances to use based on the parts of the process you enjoy. If you like mixing the ingredients and carefully kneading, knocking and molding a loaf, do it all by hand. If you just like fresh bread, use the machine. If making fun designs is your favorite part, you could use a machine on the dough cycle, or a food-processor. The choice is up to you. However you bake, enjoy!