Any Breadmaker Users Out There?

So here’s something else about me:

I love to cook… and bake, and grill, and fry, and… you get the idea.

I should note that I’m not actually very good at it, and I’m much more comfortable with recipes than being on my own. I have entertained the idea of cooking school in the past, and sometimes I still think about it… one day… when I have more time and money… but I don’t think I’m all that great.

I have come up with my own recipes (which I’m going to start sharing on this blog), but they’re all relatively simple.

But anyways…

This post is to all those who use breadmakers. I want suggestions on what breadmakers I should look in to.

Here’s what I’m looking for:

The necessities:
1. Dispenser. Preferably two; one for yeast and one for other stuff, like fruits, chocolate chips (heh), olives, mushrooms, and so on (I don’t like nuts, so I’ll never make a nut bread). But if there’s no such thing as a breadmaker with both dispensers, then the yeast dispenser is the priority.

2. The more cycles and cooking styles, the better. I generally make dough more often than not, but I will also cook in it at times.

3. Timer. It should turn itself off when it’s done. I don’t want to set it to make a bread, leave, then come back 30 minutes too late to a giant loaf of accidental croutons.

4. The quieter, the better. It would be great to be able to set it the night before (so back to that timer thing) and have it go off at a specific time. It would be amazing to wake up to the smell of fresh-baked bread. So it needs to be quiet. I don’t want to be woken up by loud noises in the middle of the night.

And now, the superfluous-but-do-wants:
1. The ability to make other things, like non-yeast bread, sweet breads & cakes, and jams.

2. Rectangular pan with two blades as opposed to the upright one (to make bread that can be sliced and put in a toaster).

3. Tips for baking breads at different levels of humidity. I’ve lived in South Florida since 2009. Before that, I lived in Georgia. While there, I used to make this exceptional challah called Cool Cats challah that was always warm and fluffy.

But here in Florida, the one time I made it, it was overly dense. It was still good as far as the taste goes, but the texture was just too dense… not light and fluffy as it was in Georgia. Originally I thought this was due to sea-level, but have since learned it’s more likely due to the differences in humidity. I could use tips for baking bread in the humid conditions of a place like South Florida. So if the manual comes with such tips, that would be amazing.

As for budget…

As of this moment, I don’t care about price so much. If you do suggest a specific breadmaker, make sure the price is included. I’m moving out on my own finally, but not until June at the earliest. So I have a little time to save up, because I know that with breadmakers, you get what you pay for, and at the moment I’m looking for options and quality over price.

That does not, of course, mean that cost is of no consequence. I’m a rather poor college student surviving on about $600 a month and student loans. I largely get by because I don’t have to worry about rent, but unless my dad lands his dream, I’ll be paying rent soon. However, as of this moment, I’m more interested in seeing what’s out there at every level. I’ll start narrowing down by price later when I’m ready to start purchasing stuff like this.

So don’t worry about price right now. Just include it.

So…

Anyone?

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Any info?

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Anything?

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Please?

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