Anyone use a bread machine?

Beautiful. I may need to pull my gifted machine back out and try again. I had better success with the oven than the machine. The not heating the house is definitely a good reason of many to try again.

We make a loaf a day in a thrift-store $10 Hitachi "automatic Home Bakery III".

In the bread machine pan:
1 cup water water
3/4 c. sourdough starter
1 Tbsp yeast (instant)
1 Tbsp sugar (or honey)
Stir...wait to autolyse 15 minutes....

Add:
3 c. Flour
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 tsp salt

Press start! Always satisfies our need for sandwich bread or toast! So easy and reliable!

I've been borrowing a bread machine from a friend. They don't use it much and I mentioned that I was thinking about buying one. We all agreed borrowing one and trying it out for a while was a really good idea. After using it a few times I definitely think I will buy one in the future, but I'm not sure when. One problem is as soon as I bake a loaf of bread... it is consumed within minutes. Another problem is it's really hard to slice neatly.

One feature I haven't tried but want to before I give it back is using it just for prepping and proofing dough, for baking rolls or pizza or whatnot. I have a really hard time getting dough to proof here for some reason, and the machine seems to do it perfectly.

We have a Zojirushi and use it 3-5 times per week.  I love. It needing to turn on the oven. We do from scratch and I recently found prepared pantry bead mixes which are great!

Since started making traditional bread in an oven, we find ourselves still using our bread machine for making basic breads we can turn into croutons or breadcrumbs. It’s also good for making jam.

I love my Hitachi so much I bought 2.  After 30 years they still work.  There are plenty of recipes on line.     The link below has great ones.  

Watch your machine as it kneads the bread.  After a while you'll now what it's supposed to look like.  That enables you to correct problems before they ruin the finished product AND enables you to invent new recipes and alter old.  Try some rosemary in the cheddar cheese bread.  Saffron bread is delicious!

Don't worry if the paddle is stuck.  You can use it as is or soak the pan with vinegar.

https://cookeatshare.com/recipes?keywords=Dak+bread+machine

I have used a Nutrimill for the past 16 years. I read another post that complained about the mess and the noise...she might have been complaining about my mill but I have just gotten used to it. I am seriously thinking of getting a hand grinder....for the day when off-grid is important. There's a Wondermill that does oily seeds so you can grind the grain, bake bread and then make peanut butter to go with. A perfect combo!!

I prefer the classic loaf shape, but still like the machine for mixing/kneading
When I bake bread, I have a hybrid bread-baking approach.  Three loaves in a session.
The bread machine mixes the dough, 1st rise in a separate bowl, then shape, then 2nd rise in loaf pan and then bake 3 loaves at once in the oven
One for eating now, one for the freezer, and one for sharing
Yum