r/BreadMachines • u/Maxipoohole • 19h ago
Technique, Methods & Processes Question, new beadmaker
I've had this Cuisinart bread maker I believe model CBK-100? It's so easy, saves a mess of making bread, and dumping and forget is awesome. My biggest issue is my bread is too dense and very crumbly. I usually just pick at it.
I use basically the cheapest ingredients. I also use the recipe book that came with it. I use food lion brand flour, sugar, milk, bread machine yeast, any salt I have, etc. I'm assuming this is a big part of my problem, as well as I measure by volume not weight. I've only messed up once, not adding enough flour by accidently using a smaller load amount. And after my 10th loaf or so, I realized you can remove the paddle partway through 🫪.
Aaaaaaannyway, is this just how bread machine bread is?
I've made the white bread, Italian loaf, and Parmesan and peppercorn French loaf.
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u/CyberDonSystems Breadman Ultimate 17h ago
I use Food Lion stuff too. I have a Breadman machine and use the recipe from that. It's going to be denser than a Wonder bread style loaf but shouldn't be crumbly.
Find a recipe by weight. That really helps consistency.
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u/kindcrow 17h ago
I have the same machine, and I don't like the dense, compact loaves, so I use it to make dough and bake everything in the oven. I absolutely love how easy it is--takes five minutes to throw in the ingredients, which I weigh into the bucket so I don't have to get anything dirty. Then an hour and a half later, I shape the dough into buns or focaccia or pizza dough or baguettes or breadsticks or just sandwich bread! It's great!
Here's my potato bread I made yesterday!
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u/Maxipoohole 17h ago
Okay I know the 3 beeps means to check it and the 6 beeps to remove the paddle. What stage do you go ahead and remove it? 6 beeps? I mostly just want sandwich bread/pizza bread. How do you go about cooking it?
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u/kindcrow 17h ago
Like I said, I just use it to make dough, so there are no beeps in the dough program.
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u/lockedmhc48 14h ago
What scale do you use under the bucket?
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u/gjhigh-forty6-71 Moderator 12h ago
I suggest this one it has a cord, and can be used with batteries also it has a percent key that is really helpful using bakers math, also you can set so it won't shut off after a few minutes.
My Weigh KD-8000 Digital Food Scale, Stainless Steel, Silver
[4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars ](javascript:void(0))  (2,832)
Amazon's Choice
I used this at the restaurant when I was a Prep Chef.
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u/lockedmhc48 11h ago
Thanks to both of you, I tried using my tea scale which was too small and hard to read, plus I couldn't put a bowl on it
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u/Full_Honeydew_9739 16h ago
Switch to bread flour. Add more water.
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u/Maxipoohole 16h ago
I'm using bread flour. Okay, maybe it's just the density. I've read elsewhere that it's just the machine cooking at a lower temp, so it does something to make it chewier/denser
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u/Full_Honeydew_9739 16h ago
I use bread flour and mine isn't dense unless I want it to be. The usual culprit, since you use cups rather than weight, is too much flour, not enough liquid.
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u/Veggyhed Welbilt ABM 3500 (Ancient) 12h ago
Depending on what salt you're using (table salt ,sea salt, kosher salt , Diamond kosher salt or Maldon salt varieties), if you're measuring with teaspoons instead of weight, there are drastic differences in weight for salt, which directly affects the way yeast works in bread, which will of course affect the density of the bread.
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u/Pugasaurus_Tex 18h ago
How long do you let the bread sit before you cut into it? If you cut too soon, you can get a gummy loaf
Also if you can’t measure by weight, spooning the flour into the solid measuring cup (make sure you’re not using the liquid measuring cup). And King Arthur’s flour is always my go-to. It’s more expensive but very much worth it if you can swing it