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Are bread machine mixes any good? Yes, some of them are, but the problem with all bread machine mixes is that they limit your choice and discourage your creative talents. That may sound a little harsh, but think about it for a minute. If you rely on bread machine mixes you can only make the bread for which you can find a bread machine mix and you can only put the bread machine mix in the bowl and switch the bread making machine on. You are not encouraged to alter the bread machine mix for fear that it won’t work.

OK, what is the alternative? Well, the old-fashioned recipe book, of course! Not just any old recipe book, but a special bread making machine recipe book. Bread making is a very easy, but very tiresome process. The ingredients are ubiquitous, everyday, household items: water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oil. You most certainly have those items in your kitchen with the possible exception of yeast, which can be bought in any super store for very little money and it keeps for ages.

And I’m sure you already know what happens when you cook following a recipe, don’t you? You have already read the recipe through and you know you have everything in the kitchen, but when the recipe calls for, let’s say, sultanas, you open the cupboard door and see that you don’t have any sultanas – they were currants! Oh, well you think, they’ll do. You make do. You try things out. And that means that you are developing your talents and creativity. Bread making mixes cannot and will not do that for you.

A good bread making machine cookbook will have well over 100 recipes originating from a number of different countries and you will become really enthusiastic about trying out the various ones. Have you ever tried Welsh bread – Bara Brith? Or Amish bread? Cajun bread or banana bread? Cranberry bread is lovely too, but one of my all time favourites is Brazil Nut Bread – absolutely delicious.

The fact is that you may not find recipes for all these breads in one recipe book, but if you have a safe starting point, like a bread recipe cookbook, you can begin by using previously tried and tested gourmet bread recipes and gradually develop your own – oftentimes because you have to.

I once made a fantastic loaf by adding all the left-over vegetables from my Sunday lunch. It was lovely, but I could never quite reproduce it, because I did not write down the weights and measures. I could only remember that it had green beans, potatoes and sweet corn in it!

Bread machine mixes will never ever provide that, will they? Furthermore, bread machine mixes are fairly expensive compared to the cost of 10 pounds of flour. I usually vary the ingredients too: honey instead of sugar, milk instead of water, olive oil or butter instead of just corn oil. Rock salt instead of sea salt or visa versa. I’m sure you see what I mean.

Bread machine mixes are not only limited but limiting too. A bread making machine is a great way to use up leftovers. I have even added meat and fruit in my gourmet bread. My guiding principle is: if it’ll go in a sandwich it’ll go in the dough – like an Indian stuffed paratha or stuffed naan bread.

Stop buying bread machine mixes – they are a waste of money. Instead be creative with a bread machine recipes cookbook.

If you have been using bread machine mixes visit http://bread-machine-mixes.the-real-way.com to see what delicious loaves you’re missing.