Alternatives for automatic breadmakers

mouse

I just got an automatic bread maker, and I'm wondering what alternatives I have for making healthy breads. For instance - most of the recipes that were included list sugar as one of the ingredients. Is an artificial sweetener such as Splenda or Equal an alternative, or is real sugar integral to the baking process? Same with eggs - can egg beaters be substituted sucessfully?

Any other suggestions you may have for making a healthier loaf of bread? Thanks!

ea4sc

Try this article, which has several recipes at the bottom of the page!

Lowfat Breads

reeni

I make bread 3-4 times a week. I love my bread machine! I'm not an expert, but I'm prety sure that the yeast needs the sugar in order to activate it. The little bit of sugar in the bread isn't "not healthy". In fact ,sugar is better for you than artifical sweetners.As for the egg beaters, there shouldn't be a problem, but you might have to adjust the flour or water by a tablespon or two. God luck and have fun!

CurlyLauren

Use whole grain flours instead of white flour. Cut down or eliminate the sugar. I use egg whites instead of whole eggs and I'm sure you could use egg beaters.

mouse

Thank you for the suggestions all! I will try it out this weekend and let you know how it goes.

Do any of you have a bread maker that makes jams too? The one I got does, but it only came with one recipe.

disneychick

ditto on the whole wheat flours! I find the grocery store brands of wheat flours to be way too gritty, so I use whole wheat pastry flour that Im sure you could find at any health food store (usually in bins). It is much much finer and tricks me into thinking I'm using the regular old stuff.

I also think that the Splenda would probably be fine in a bread machine...even though the yeast needs the sugar, the Splenda is made from sugar so I would assume that it would have nearly the same effect that natural sugar would. Dont quote me on that though!

One more thing, if you ever need a substitute butter, try using the Parkay spray to bake with. The squeeze variety is awful but the spray is fabulous to use with baking! No funky taste and it has hardly any calories and no fat--always a plus!

reeni

I have three recipes for jam.. Strawberry jam,Orange Mmarmalade and Frozen Berry Jam . Would you like them? Also , I found a book at B&N called "The Best Bread Mmachine Cookbok Ever" by Madge Rosenberg. Iit has some really great recipes in it. Have fun.
edited to add: I agree with using the whole wheat flour from the bins at the health food section. Also, unbleached white flour seems to make a better bread.

[ March 21, 2002: Message edited by: reeni ]

mouse

Yeah, reeni, that'd be great if you could share those recipes! I'll have to look for that book at Borders this weekend. And thank you both for the flour recommendations.

reeni

Sounds like my famous sunken herb, cheese bread. lol Every time I make it it falls. Aanyway, last time i made it I used 4 cups of flour instead of 3 & it turned out OK. Is it humid where you live? That has a LOT to do with it. I always have to add more flour to my bread than the recipe calls for cuz it's do damp here. I found that if I heap the mesuring cup instead of leveling it off that it's the right amount of flour. It takes some trial & error but even the misteaks taste good!

mouse

Ok, I tried my breadmaker out over the weekend. Last night to be exact. I made a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread with mized results. Everthing went fine until the baking stage.

The top of the bread collapsed during baking and the loaf came out very dense with a very hard cust on the sides and bottom. It tastes fine, but is a little chewy, and of course the crust is hard but not burned.

The troubleshooting guide said that it might have been a result of using too much liquid, but I thought I had measured everything very carefully. I did make two substitutions to the recipe - egg beaters for the egg it called for, and brown sugar instead of regular sugar.

I'm going to get a new set of measuring cups tonight or tomorrow and try again. Any ideas or suggestions you have to avoid a repeat with my next loaf (cheese bread) would be appreciated.