Bread machines

[Sweet Melissa]

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with long-term use of their bread maker. I finally broke down and bought one last week because good store bought bread is so darn expensive, and I don't consistently have the time to make bread the "old-fashioned" way.

I plan on using it maybe 3 or 4 times a week, and am really curious how long it will stand up to that kind of use. Seems like they were the "must-have" item about 10 years ago, but like the home espresso machines and the juicers, you now see them pretty regularly at Goodwill.

The one I purchased is a brand-new Oster, if that makes a difference.

[pdxkevin]

We bought a nice Oster around 5 years ago... it lasted almost 6 months. We sold it because the bread never lasted more than 10 minutes after being baked.... hmmm that made some good bread... too good... we had to sell it or I would still be looking for larger clothing.

[dairycreek]

About two I was in the market for a bread machine and did some research. My conclusion was that the maker by Zojirushi was about as good as you could do. I have really used mine hard in the last two years and it has never failed me. A bit spendy but well worth it.

[GFISH1]

We had a bread maker...my step daughter was making bread one day, and mind you, she is not all that good with common sense. Ater hearing this horrible grinding noise, and seeing it wasn't getting better I asked her if she followed the directions. She said yes. A few moments later, when I could tell something was wrong, I asked again, if she followed directions. She said yes she did, but does it matter if I didn't put a 1/4 cup of the water in. I said....um, yes, I think that does matter. Dry ingredients with just a bit of water means a burnt out motor!! So, two morals to the story:

-Follow recipe directions
-Don't let your kids come close to the machine!