Bread maker story and review.

So last year I bought a bread maker, it was a bit on an impulse buy. I really still am not sure why I bought it when I did. I had zero intention of making my own bread. In fact the thought of it seemed really outrageous to me. Make my own bread?! Yeah right. Well the stupid thing sat in my guest closet for about a year mocking me every time I went in there to put something else in there to get it out of my way. My guest closet is kind of like what most people use their linen closet for but we do not have one of those. So a month ago while I was in there it laughed at me. I swear I heard it. So I took the box and put it on my kitchen counter and stared at it some more. Then I decided I could do it, I could make my own loaf of bread. And I would show that stinkin bread machine who was boss!

So I opened it and surprisingly only needed to clean one part. I liked that. I hate cleaning a bunch of stuff just to use something. Got it all ready and decided to read some recipes so I could begin my adventure. The manual it came with had a bunch of recipes so I started there. This is one of the only negatives I have about this machine. Most of the recipes called for yogurt, sour cream, all sorts of stuff not normally found in bread. It was strange to me so I went to the internet because nothing on there ever leads you wrong. I was able to find a simple recipe for white bread. No yogurt necessary. I poured in all my ingredients pushed a button and watched through the little window on top. Nothing interesting was happening so I walked away. Then three hours later the machine began beeping, it was time to see if all my hard work had paid off. Okay it was not hard it was actually very easy. I opened the lid, got the bread out, and after it cooled I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was! I had done it, I had made my very own edible loaf of bread! Although it was to awkwardly big to make sandwiches out of, I still was excited! Dexter actually liked it too. Since then I have made a dozen loafs of bread, three of them turned out bad but the rest were great.

It was so easy that my great husband had been making loafs of bread as well. Yesterday while I was out he decided that he was going to try something new. He had been wanting some honey wheat bread. So he found a good recipe and began making his bread. Well his loaf did not turn out good, it was hard, salty, burnt, stinky, pretty much everything you don't want a loaf of bread to be. Disappointed he gave up on his idea that he to would bake honey wheat bread. Then today,  I went to bake cookies with Dexter and could not find the baking soda. After looking around I found it on the stove, that was odd I thought. Why was the baking soda on the counter, then I remembered earlier today he asked me if what was in one container was regular flour or bread flour. I told him it must be regular because the only bread flour we had was still in a bag and I had not yet poured it into its container. Then it all made sense. My husband had baked a loaf of bread using two cups of baking soda and a half cup of whole wheat. I don't think he will make that mistake again. I laughed at him to much. Oh and the first picture above was  a loaf he made!

So here is the review:

Food Network Food Network Programmable Bread maker

This Food Network programmable bread maker delivers hot, fresh loaves of golden-brown bread straight to your table. This versatile bread maker has eight different settings, including a jam setting that allows you to easily make homemade jams and preserves.

Keep warm function and 13-hour programmable timer means fresh bread when you wake up, or right before your evening meal.

Eight digital settings, including a jam setting, and adjustable crust control provide versatility.

Nonstick PFOA-free bread pan keeps loaves from sticking to the pan.

Non-skid, non-marring feet ensure a safe grip on counter tops.

Details:

2-lb. loaf capacity

Includes: kneading blade & bread pan

Wipe clean

What I like about the bread maker:

It is super easy to use

Cleaning is quick and easy.

Easy to use settings.

Programmable timer.

Lots of options.

Smells great.

Instruction manual was easy to follow

Cons:

I wish the window was bigger so I could look in more.

I also wish the window also was fog free, I hate that its foggy most of the time

I don't like the recipes that come with it.

Its loud.

The bread pan is hard to get out and I burned myself once because it got stuck.

Would I recommend this product to a friend?? Yes!

The small window and all the buttons. Ignore my messy kitchen.