One of my favorite things to do is to dive deeply into a topic to gain a broader understanding of it. My fascination may last a day, a week, or sometimes decades. Eventually, I’ll feel that I have learned enough, and I’ll move on to another topic.  However, it is not uncommon for me to return to an area of former interest years later, and so it is with bread makers.

I became interested in bread makers sometime in the 1990s, and that interest lasted for quite a few years. I was fascinated that someone had developed a home appliance that could automate the laborious process of bread-making using a simple, consumer-oriented machine. I was intrigued not only by the process of making the bread, but also by the mechanics of the bread makers, as well as how they differed from each other. As a result, I had an extensive collection, most of which I purchased used or on closeout. I also requested and received some premium machines as Christmas and birthday gifts. Over time, I gave away most of the bread makers, but saved a few on a basement shelf where they sat for over a decade, only to be rediscovered about a year ago.  

During that interim, I continued to make bread but did so using a high-end mixer, often baking six loaves at a time.  Now retired, with most of my kids out of the house, that industrial-level operation is no longer needed, and the single-loaf abilities of a bread machine once again are interesting to me.

I was pleased that my old machines worked, and so I am back on a bread machine baking journey.  Along the way, I have had to rely on my old knowledge as well as new skills to optimize my loaves.  This post is to share some of that knowledge with you.

Are some brands of machines better than others?

The top 4 high-end brands, in my opinion, are Panasonic, Breadman (now discontinued?), Brevelle, and Zijurushi.  I have extensively used all but the Brevelle brand, and I am very familiar with them. I have also used more cost-friendly machines from Oster, Toastmaster, and Regal, among others.  

The expensive brands are first to innovate features and may offer a better build. I have examined the bread made from both high-end and cost-friendly machines, and the costly machines produce a better loaf, but the difference is minor.  However, their overall build quality and innovative features may be enough to sway you to pay a higher price. Note that premium features often migrate to cost-friendly brands over time. For instance, you can now find fruit and nut dispensers, end-user programming, and twin paddle loaf pans on a number of breadmakers in the $100 range.

The bottom line is, if you have a cost-friendly brand, fear not, you can still get it to produce a very nice loaf of bread.

Does the shape of the loaf pan matter?

Early bread machines had a vertical “skyscraper” pan that produced a rectangular loaf with slices similar to sandwich bread or a Pullman loaf. They kneaded the dough well, as the shape of the pan kept the dough in contact with the kneading paddle. These machines yielded bread with uniform slices, but the bread, being square, had more of an industrial look.

Single paddle horizontal loaves were then introduced and are the most popular form factor today. The bread from these machines resembled a traditional loaf, which made it more appealing.  However, the loaves were often very tall, necessitating the end-user to cut the bread in half so it could fit in a toaster. 

I first saw a twin paddle horizontal loaf pan on a Zojirushi machine.  This design produces a loaf that most closely approximates the standard loaf that you would buy at a bakery, as it is both horizontal and the correct height. The downside of this machine is that it creates two holes in the bottom of your bread instead of one due to its twin paddles. Also,  it is more likely to make bread with an uneven top (in my opinion).

None of the above problems impacts the deliciousness of the final product. Your choice of pan is strictly a matter of preference.

How many programs do you need on your machine?

Breadmakers have gained an ever-expanding number of programs, some for specialty breads and others that do tasks ranging from making jam to cooking rice. Most specialty bread programs are not significantly different from standard programs and may be unnecessary. Additionally, I have no plans to stir-fry or make jam in my breadmaker.  The three essential programs that every machine should have are basic (white bread), whole grain/multi-grain, and dough. Some may want a program for gluten-free bread, if that is the reason they are buying a machine. I have made many different bread types using the standard settings on multiple bread makers with success. Some of the extra programs seem more gimmicky than anything else to me.

Additional stuff

Bread makers sometimes have convenience features that you may want.  Some Breadman, Panasonic, and other brands feature an automatic seed and fruit bin that drops these ingredients into the bread dough at just the right time.  Other bread makers, like many of the Zojirushi units, can be programmed to the user’s baking specifications.  Many machines have crust darkness controls, delay timers, warming features, fast bread cycles, and other options that some may find desirable.

My problem

When I returned to bread maker bread making, I had a few clinkers, but most of my loaves were delicious.  However, they often seemed much shorter than the ones I saw on YouTube. This led me to dig deeper into the topic once again, and I have come up with some solutions. 

But first acceptance!

Realize that a bread made from freshly ground whole wheat will never rise as high as a bread made from commercially milled white bread flour. The same can be said of bread loaded with seeds, cheese, or other weighty additions.  Yeast can only do so much heavy lifting.  However, it is possible to optimize these breads so that they can be the best that they can be.

Use the right recipe source

Your machine will come with a variety of recipes that have been tested with that machine.  Start there, as you are likely to have the greatest success, and you will gain an understanding of how dough performs in your bread maker.  I have used recipes submitted by others on the internet with good results, as well as recipes from known sources, like Better Homes and Gardens or a flour or yeast company’s website.  Remember, you can download instruction/recipe manuals for many bread makers by searching for them online. 

Recent cookbooks (published in 2024 and 2025) on Amazon from unknown sources may be problematic, as some are now created with AI, and the recipes may not have been thoroughly tested. Make sure that you read the book’s reviews carefully when buying a newly published book. Likewise, you may have to do some trial and error, adapting Grandma’s famous bread recipe. 

About flour

Flour is simply a vegetable product made from milling a vegetable down into a fine powder.  Most often, the vegetable is a grain of some sort.  There are many different types of flour, with common ones being wheat (of various kinds), buckwheat, and rye.  However, flours can be made from other grains, like spelt, and even nuts, like almonds. Each of these flours will have its own unique characteristics. 

Wheat flour is often categorized by the amount of gluten that it has.  Bread flour contains around 13% gluten, AP flour has around 11% gluten, and cake flour has around 8% gluten. Gluten is what gives bread its remarkable chewy tenderness.  This characteristic is excellent for bread; not so good for cake, as no one wants a chewy cake.  Hence, less gluten in cake flour.

Some folks have gluten allergies and can’t eat breads made from flours that contain gluten.  They eat breads made using more complicated gluten-free recipes, which are a compromise as they don’t have the same bready characteristics as gluten-containing breads. 

You can make gluten-free bread using a bread maker’s basic cycle, but because the bread doesn’t contain gluten, it doesn’t require all the kneading that develops the gluten in traditional bread. A gluten-free bread program reduces the kneading times, which may result in a better gluten-free loaf.  If you have Celiac disease and are primarily making bread to produce gluten-free bread, you may want a machine with a gluten-free bread program. 

The chemistry

Bread making has existed for thousands of years and has been the staff of life and main calorie source for many different cultures.  Flour is mixed with water and yeast and kneaded.  The kneading process alters several proteins in the bread, specifically gluten and gliadin. This results in an elastic dough and a deliciously chewy and spongy baked bread. 

The yeast, being a live organism, utilizes the sugars and starches in the dough and produces carbon dioxide, a harmless gas.  This gas causes bubbles in the dough, making the bread rise and expand. Baking the bread kills the yeast, leaving us with a delicious, light loaf of bread. 

Other ingredients can be added to the bread to modify it.  Salt adds flavor and controls yeast growth, while sugar adds sweetness and helps fuel the yeast. Eggs and milk add richness and can alter the texture of the bread. Butter and oils add richness, flavor, and tenderness. Spices add flavor, and seeds and nuts contribute texture.  

If you understand how yeast grows and how ingredients impact yeast, you can solve most of your bread maker problems.

Common bread machine bread issues

-The clinker.  In this example, the bread never seemed to rise and is a hard, horrible baked mess. Causes: This is often caused by using bad yeast, forgetting to add yeast, improper mixing, leaving the paddle out of the machine, or insufficient liquid.

-The collapse.  In this example, the bread seems to rise rapidly, but then collapses during the baking process. Causes: This is often caused by excessive yeast, or too warm a proofing temperature, overproofing,  or dough that is too slack.

-The shorty. In this example, the bread does rise, but not to an expected level. Causes: Insufficient or poor-quality yeast, inadequate liquid in the dough, insufficient proofing time, inadequate gluten development, insufficient kneading time, or unfavorable baking conditions.

-The uneven top.  In this example, the bread’s top is uneven or bumpy. Causes: This is common in bread machine bread, especially bread from those machines with two paddles.  You can smooth out the dough before the final rise, or do what I do, which is nothing. On dual paddle machines, some say that pointing the paddles in the same direction at the start of baking solves this problem, but Zojirushi says it doesn’t make a difference. 

-The paddle holes.  Causes: The kneading paddles create holes in the bottom of the bread.  You can remove the paddles at the start of the last rise to minimize the holes, or do nothing.  I do nothing; it is not a big deal.

-The yuck.  In this example, something went terribly wrong.  The bread is too salty, bland, or otherwise disgusting. Causes: Bad ingredients, spoiled ingredients, or user error.

The good news is that we know that the machine is doing what it does correctly, so the above problems are most likely due to user error or, rarely, environmental issues.

Yeast issues

Yeast is a living microscoping organism. The dried yeast that we buy is a cultivated strain of yeast known to produce a flavorful bread product.  Yeast manufacturers carefully grow yeast in a solution and then remove the water by dehydration.  The yeast is ground into a fine powder.  Dried yeast is still alive, but in a suspended state.  Adding water will hydrate the yeast and revive it. Provide a bit of sugar in the water, and the yeast will start to metabolize the sugar and produce carbon dioxide bubbles. 

Yeast will eventually die in a suspended state, but you can lengthen the time before its demise by refrigerating the yeast or, better yet, freezing it. You can take it directly out of the freezer and use it in your recipe.  

Yeast exists everywhere, and it is floating around the room that you are sitting in right now.  Sourdough is bread made from this natural yeast that is allowed to grow in a solution of flour and water.  Making sourdough is an art, but the result is a delicious, crusty, slightly sour bread.  

You can buy commercial yeast in soft “cakes,” but these are now hard to find.  Dried yeast is readily available in packets, jars, and “bricks.” The bricks are substantially less expensive than individual packets.  Yeast comes in two forms: Active and Instant.  Instant yeast is sometimes rebranded as Rapid-Rise or Bread Maker Yeast. 

Bread-making machines will specify which type (Active or Instant) to use.  Typically, active yeast must be activated in water before use, but it can be added without activation in a bread maker.  Instant Yeast does not have to be activated to be used in baking.  The main difference between the two yeasts is that Instant yeast is pulverized into smaller granules.  

These two forms of yeast products have become more similar over the years, and some home bread makers directly substitute one for the other.  However, others are more strict and use different amounts when switching from one type to the other, and some avoid substituting altogether. 

Dead yeast is the most common reason why your bread will not rise properly, and this is easily testable.  Add a small amount of yeast to warm (not hot) water that has a pinch of sugar in it.  Wait a bit, if your mixture starts to have bubbles, it is good.  No bubbles, and the yeast is dead and useless. Yeast within its expiration date can still be bad if stored in a hot place in your home, a store, or in a warehouse. 

The measurement issue

Another widespread end-user problem when bread-making is measurement error. 

In the US, it is common to measure by the volume of ingredients using a measuring cup. This is especially error-prone when measuring flour, which can be packed fluffy or solid in a cup, significantly changing the amount of flour added to a recipe.  Additionally, flour can attract water in a humid environment or lose water in a dry climate, which impacts its volume. Add other errors, such as not leveling the cup, and it is easy to understand why this method is less than ideal. 

A much better way to measure is by weight, in grams.  This is also a more straightforward method, as you can place your baking pan on a digital kitchen scale and then tare the scale, which sets the display at zero.  Add the amount of flour in grams for a more accurate measurement. 

I now weigh almost all my ingredients, including liquids. Not only is it more accurate, but there is less cleanup.  I simply tare the scale and add ingredient one, then tare the scale back to zero and weigh the next ingredient, and so forth.  

I have an older scale that can bounce back and forth a few grams, so I still use volume measurements when weighing anything less than 20 grams.  Therefore, when measuring my salt and yeast, I still use measuring spoons. For everything else, I use the scale, and it has definitely resulted in better bakes in my bread machine.

You can find many volume-to-weight conversion tables on the internet.  Here are some common ones:

Bread flour 1 cup = 120 grams

AP flour 1 cup = 120 grams

Water 1 cup = 227 grams

Milk 1 cup = 227 grams

Butter ½ cup = 113 grams

Sugar 1 cup = 198 grams

Yeast 2 ¼ tsp = 7 grams

Salt 1 T = 8-18 grams, depending on the salt type

Ingredient temperature issues

Only a few bread makers have an ingredient warming feature. Yeast, being a living organism, is sensitive to temperature fluctuations. Too hot, and you kill the yeast.  Too cold, and you slow its growth.  The ideal temperature range for yeast is between 80° F and 90° F (27° C and 32° C); however, going up to 110 ° F (43 ° C) is typically OK, and some dry yeasts may prefer this slightly warmer environment.  If the temperature is too hot for you to put your finger in a liquid, it is too hot for the yeast.  Conversely, if you are adding cold milk and butter to your mix, don’t expect the yeast to be happy. Try to have ingredients at room temperature or a bit warmer when making bread.

Environmental issue

If your environment is too hot or too cold, or if your machine is placed next to something too hot or cold, it will impact your rise.  This is usually an easy problem to solve using common sense.

An additional measuring issue

You can measure everything correctly and still be off. Many bread machine bakers will check their machine after 5-10 minutes of initial kneading.  If the dough ball looks too liquidy, with the dough not completely incorporated into a ball, or too dry, with a ratty-looking ball or a lot of raw flour present, this is the time to fix it. For liquidy dough, add a tablespoon of flour and wait 30 seconds; if the dough doesn’t all form into a ball, repeat until it does.  Do the same if the dough is too dry, but add a tablespoon of water in place of the flour every 30 seconds until the ball is smooth and roundish. Once you achieve a smooth ball, you can close the lid and go about your business.  The machine will do the rest of the work on its own.

If you see a lot of flour stuck to the sides of the pan, you can use a silicone spatula to knock it down into the pan at the same time.

Wrong setting issues

I already stated that most of us only need a few program settings on our machines.  However, you still need to use the right setting.  Whole wheat bread needs different kneading and rising times compared to white bread.  If you try to make whole wheat bread using the “basic” setting, you will likely be disappointed with your results. 

Bread flour vs. All Purpose (AP) flour

Bread flour has a bit more gluten, and this will give you a better product and a better rise.  Many recipes will ask you to use bread flour for this reason.  However, I have often used regular AP flour even when the recipe calls for bread flour.  Would my bread have been better with bread flour?  Probably, but it was still excellent with AP flour. 

Ingredient concerns

We already talked about bad yeast, but it is possible that another ingredient that you are using is not up to standard.  This is most common with flour. It is easy to try a different brand or batch of flour if you are concerned about this.

I have a problem with my city water, and I’m guessing that the water treatment chemicals inhibit yeast growth.  To compensate, I very slightly increase my yeast and very slightly reduce my salt, which is yeast-inhibiting, in my recipes. If a recipe calls for two teaspoons of yeast and 2.5 teaspoons of salt, I may change that to 2.25 teaspoons of yeast and 2.25 teaspoons of salt. Another option that I could try would be to use distilled or filtered water.  

Salt issues

Salt adds flavor, but it also inhibits yeast growth.  Because it can inhibit yeast, it is also used to modulate yeast growth.  Too little and the yeast will overgrow, too much and the yeast is inhibited or dies. All salts (table, Kosher, sea salt, etc) are the same chemical, sodium chloride.  However, the granular sizes of different salts vary significantly.  A tablespoon of one type of salt may have more or less actual salt than another.  For instance, table salt is finer and therefore more concentrated than Kosher salt.  If a recipe calls for one teaspoon of Kosher salt, the conversion is to use around ½ of a teaspoon of table salt.  Doing a one-to-one conversion will lead to too much salt, and this could inhibit the bread from rising. Conversely, going in the opposite direction can lead to overproofing and having a loaf collapse.

It is essential to separate the dry salt and yeast when loading your bread maker.  I put the salt on one edge of the pan and place the yeast in a little depression in the middle of the pan.  If they touch when they start mixing, the strong initial concentration of the salt could kill the yeast. Separating the two dry ingredients prevents that from happening. 

Order ingredient concerns

Bread makers require that you add ingredients in the order listed. Some of this is because some delayed recipes can sit for hours before baking.  You don’t want your yeast bubbling away or your powdered milk going sour.  Develop good baking habits and add the ingredients in the order listed.

Adding extras

There are products called dough enhancers designed to improve your bake.  These are a combination of ingredients that may contain several ingredients like Vital Wheat Gluten, Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid), lecithin, yeast nutrients, and diastatic malt.  However, you can use these additions separately if you wish.  I sometimes add a tiny bit (less than 1/8th of a teaspoon) of ascorbic acid, which helps my rise.  Additionally, Vital Wheat Gluten (VWG) added at 1 tablespoon/2 cups AP flour can turn AP flour into bread flour.  VWG can also help with the rise of breads made with 100% whole wheat flour. Diastatic malt can aid in rise and texture.  Lecithin can assist in the texture and tenderness of the bread.  All of these are optional, but one or several may help if you have tried more conservative options and you are still not getting the results that you want. 

Adding fruits and nuts

If you add fruits and nuts at the beginning of your baking, the paddle will chop them up too much.  Some machines can drop them in at the right time, and others will beep to tell you that it is time to add them.  This is usually towards the end of kneading.  

If your fruits and nuts are clumping towards the bottom of your finished loaves, toss them in a bit of flour before adding them to your dough.  This is especially useful for sticky ingredients like raisins. 

Dealing with an uneven top

This can happen with any machine, but the dual paddle ones are more susceptible.  Honestly, an uneven top doesn’t bother me a bit.  However, if it bothers you, you can smooth the top of the bread at the start of the final rise. 

Soggy bread issues

Leaving your bread in the machine after it is baked or immediately sticking hot bread in a plastic wrapper will result in a soggy loaf.  It is best to cool it out of the pan on a rack if you want a crisp crust.  I often leave it in the pan for 5-10 minutes first, which causes less tearing at the paddle site. If you like a softer crust, wrap the bread in a clean dish towel to cool.

Mold and stale bread issues

I have found 3-week-old store-bought bread at the bottom of our bread basket that was perfectly edible. That is scary. Homemade bread is fresh and natural and doesn’t have preservatives.  When stored properly, expect 3-4 days before you need to turn the bread into bread crumbs, French toast, or bread pudding. 

The best way to store bread is in a cool, dry place in a container with some ventilation to prevent mold growth. There are many options, including a bread box, a bread bag, or wrapping the bread in a clean kitchen towel.  I use a cake cover that has a vent hole on its top. If the bread looks good at the 5-day mark, I may still eat it, but I’ll toast it first to make it more palatable. 

If the bread is thoroughly cooled, you can store it in a plastic bag or Tupperware container; however, this will soften the crust, and your chances of getting moldy bread will increase. 

Another way to preserve bread is to freeze it or freeze half of it.  Thawing on the counter will give you bread nearly as fresh as when it was baked. 

Cutting the entire loaf into slices will hasten its demise as you have more surface area to dry out.  However, I do that as my family won’t eat it unless it is convenient.  It is a compromise that I have to make.

There you have it – a collection of tips to turn you into bread machine experts.

Happy bread baking!

Mike