Tried and true bread maker for challah

amother

Azalea

Mon, Dec 05 2022, 10:12 pm

To bake or just mix the dough for you? If you just need it to prep the dough, any machine is fine, get the cheapest you can find. Ideally a 3 lb machine - something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/West-Be.....2LJ4Q

You can usually get away with making a 6-cup dough in a 4-cup machine (the breadpan is large enough for mixing the dough, it just can't bake that large a loaf). Personally I like the smaller machines better because they take up less room and mix a little more consistently (they have a single blade - less room for error in inserting than the double blade machines) but if you always want larger batches then go with a larger machine.

The bells and whistles on the fancier machines are not worth it if you're primarily using the dough cycle and/or baking basic bread.
(I bake challah weekly using a bread machine and frequently make pizza dough or bake a loaf of bread for dinner, and I NEVER use the nonbasic settings aside from the timer)

amother

Mon, Dec 05 2022, 10:23 pm

amother Azalea wrote:

Thank you! Do you have the one you linked? I would probably only want it for mixing the dough. I guess I would take it out to braid and rise. I’m sure I would try out the baking feature too at some point but I I’m really looking for something to replace my bulky machine since I’ve been making small batches of dough lately. Also, do you get the same results with your challah as in a Bosch or something similar?

amother

Azalea

Mon, Dec 05 2022, 11:37 pm

amother OP wrote:

I used to have a Black and Decker 3 lb machine very similar to the one linked - the one I had is not currently available: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DKXZK2W/
Right now I have an Oster 2 lb machine (my fourth - they last me 2-3 years each). 3 loaves per Shabbos is enough for my family these days, and on a big Shabbos it's easy to put up a second round (literally takes me five minutes to start the dough - and once the mixing part of the cycle is done you can take it out and let it rise in a bowl to start another batch more quickly - you don't need to let it stay in the machine for the full 1.5 hours).
I've never had a Bosch but the challah is (in my obviously biased opinion) excellent - light and fluffy, and very popular with guests old and young. The consistency of the dough is reliable so I almost never have to add extra flour when shaping it, which makes clean up very fast as well since the table doesn't get sticky. One trick: Let it rise a very long time after braiding (2-3 hours) even though the recipes call for 30 min. Also - check the consistency 5 min after the mixing starts in case it is too dry (rare, but sometimes happens when the weather changes).