Bread Machine Baking is Messy, Hilarious & Absolutely Worth It

I never thought I would say this but we got a Cuisinart Compact Automatic Bread Maker for the holidays last year. Well, I suppose I should say “Future Mr. Trip Side did” – but since what’s his will soon be mine and mine will soon be his… “we” got a bread machine. 😅

This makes me smile because it brought back so many memories. My parents had a bread machine and I remember my mom experimenting with it all throughout the 90s. Honestly, I don’t remember the taste of the bread as much as I remember the smell. It was the most wonderful scent in the world and I know it saved my family money. I have so much respect for my parents for trying to control their ingredients and keep preservatives minimal in our food. It could not have been easy!

So it feels wonderfully full circle to be gifted one, specifically from them. 💕

We are having the best time trying different recipes and making them our own. It’s been a comical journey so far. Let’s start with the funny stuff, shall we?

Table of Contents

The Failed Loaves… and Why We Ate Them Anyway

We have a rule in our house: no waste.

Which has made bread machine experiments absolutely hysterical, especially when we’re left to our own devices or measure an ingredient incorrectly. Our first blunder was a loaf where half the flour was semolina with a ton of seeds and nuts added during the “add-ins” cycle. It definitely should have been added at the beginning. The loaf was so tough we ended up using it almost like croutons in our soup.

The second blunder? We somehow made a loaf that was shockingly sweet. I know, wild! But it’s true. We ate a lot of peanut butter with that one.

Then there was the cranberry loaf. We forgot the cranberries entirely and wondered why it tasted so plain. The cranberries were sitting right on the counter. 😅

We’ve also been battling sinking loaves which apparently is a very common bread machine struggle. Too much liquid, too much yeast, not enough flour, the list of culprits is long. We’re still figuring that one out honestly.

If you’ve conquered the sinking loaf problem, please, I am begging you, leave a comment below!

The High Protein Experiment

We’ve been experimenting with high protein ingredients trying to land on a quality bread with around 16g of protein per slice. The higher the better, in Ad’s case. Person, I just want good tasting bread!

We’ve almost reached a compromise though.

We’ve attempted quite a few variations: silken tofu (which I did not love the taste of), a whole wheat with farro and seeds, and now a fun blend of protein powder, whole wheat, semolina, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds.

Okay But I Really Just Miss Sourdough

We’ve had a few successful batches including a honey whole wheat that is my favorite so far, and one mixed loaf! But honestly?

I just miss sourdough.

Basic, I know! But with summer on the horizon there are so many flavors I’m excited to try.

What I love about this bread machine is that it’s a built in proofer for sourdough.. You still need a sourdough starter but it does the rest of the hard work, the kneading, the waiting, all of it! 💕 All you need to do is remember to add your flavors, preheat your oven, and you’re practically done.

Garden to Table Bread Dreams

With planning the backyard for Spring I have so many items I am dying to pull from it (if they’re successful).

Rosemary & Olive Oil Sourdough (with rosemary from the garden!)
Summer Blueberry Herb Loaf (blueberries AND herbs from the garden!)
Thyme & Cheddar Sourdough (thyme from the garden!)

I know bread takes a lot of work and love. I think it still does! It’s intentional for us, watching what goes into every loaf, reducing preservatives and processing, just like my parents did. It’s the creativity and doing something together that makes it really special, even when we forget the yeast. 😅 Honestly, our Cuisinart has made our kitchen so much more fun. 💕

Does anyone else have or use a bread machine? What’s your favorite loaf? Have you been experimenting too? I need to know!