Table of Contents
Bread makers are incredibly versatile machines. Despite its name, bread is only one of the dozens of things you can make using this multifunctional appliance. Even with the most basic machine, home bakers can take advantage of the various settings and functions to make an assortment of foods, from homemade bread and dough for pizza and pasta to jam, cake, and even meatloaf.
Let’s find out what you can make using a bread machine.
Types of Bread To Make With A Bread Machine
Bread Machine White Bread Recipe
Most popular as sandwich bread, white bread is one of the easy recipes you can make as a beginner. All you need is a few simple ingredients and 3 hours:
- Add bread flour, salt, bread machine yeast, milk, sugar, and butter to your bread pan according to your bread maker’s instructions
- Select the white bread setting on your machine and press start
- Wait for the mixing, rising, kneading, and baking cycles to finish, then enjoy!
For whole wheat bread, use whole wheat flour instead.
Bread Machine French Bread Recipe
Making French bread in a bread machine is as easy as adding olive oil to your white bread recipe and using the French bread setting on your bread maker. If you want a baguette-style bread instead of a loaf, use the dough setting first before removing the dough, cutting it in half, and rolling it into two baguette shapes, and baking them in the oven.
Specialty Bread
Beyond the standard loaves, you can take baking bread to the next level by making a variety of custom and specialty bread such as:
- Cinnamon raisin bread
- Milk and honey bread
- Peanut butter bread
- Chocolate chip brioche
- Cheese bread
- Sourdough bread
- Gluten-free bread
- Vegan bread
- Focaccia bread
Other Foods That Can be Made With a Bread Maker
With the thousands of yummy bread machine recipes out there, you truly have unlimited options for making the most of your bread machine. Here’s everything you can make with some of the best bread machine recipes:
Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Each recipe is different, but you’ll most likely need some all-purpose flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, quick-rise yeast, egg, butter, and vanilla extract for the dough, icing, and filling. You’ll need to add the ingredients for the dough into your bread machine in the order recommended by your model’s manual.
Then, start the dough setting, which can take up to 90 minutes. Once finished, split the dough into two halves. Now you can prepare your cinnamon rolls like normal and bake them on a cookie sheet. Using your bread maker for the dough process saves a lot of manual labour.
Bread Machine Pizza Dough
Making pizza dough in a bread machine is very simple. You’ll need bread flour or all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, yeast, salt, and a little bit of water. Add the ingredients into the bread maker in the proper order and then start the dough cycle.
Bread Machine Banana Bread
Banana bread in a bread machine is the best method of making this sweet bread loaf. You’ll need a bread maker that has a sweet bread setting. The ingredients are a little more complicated for this recipe: unsalted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, ripe bananas, light brown sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and chocolate chips or nuts if desired.
Add all ingredients to the bread pan in the proper order (dry ingredients second) and put it back in the bread machine. Start the sweet bread cycle and wait! If adding a mixin like chocolate chips, add them to the automatic dispenser on your bread maker before you start.
Bread Machine Pasta
Making pasta dough in a bread machine is one of the most popular uses for this appliance. All you need is eggs, flour, salt, and olive oil. Add in your ingredients and start the dough cycle on your bread machine. It will mix, knead, and rise your dough for you.
Bread Machine Cranberry Sauce
Believe it or not, you can even make cranberry sauce in a bread machine using the jam setting. To make this popular Thanksgiving side dish, you’ll need cranberries, sugar, cranberry juice, vanilla extract, and orange zest. First, combine your ingredients in an adequately sized bowl. Then, use the jam setting on your bread machine. That’s it!
Bread Machine Bagels
If your family likes a variety of bread products, why not make your own bagels from scratch? You’ll need water, bread flour, egg white, salt, white sugar, active dry yeast, and cornmeal. Add the water, flour, salt, sugar, and yeast to the bread machine and run a dough cycle. Once completed, take out your dough and make 9 equal bagel-shaped pieces with a hole in the middle. They will need to rest covered for 10 minutes before you boil them for 1 minute, flipping halfway through. Drain briefly and then bake on a cookie sheet with cornmeal. Don’t forget to glaze with the eggwhite and add seeds or toppings for extra flavour, such as poppy seeds or cheese.
Bread Machine Pretzels
Making your own pretzels is a fun activity when you have a dough setting to take care of the manual labour. For the dough, you’ll need water, butter, sugar, salt, flour, and dry active yeast. Add these ingredients to your bread machine and run the dough setting – this may take an hour and a half. Then divide the dough into 6 equal portions and shape into pretzels before briefly boiling and baking in the oven.
Bread Machine Rolls
If you’re craving fresh, soft dinner rolls or larger buns, it’s possible to make them in a bread maker. Here’s how:
- Add egg, flour, warm water, butter, yeast, and sugar to the bread maker and run a dough cycle
- Once finished, roll the dough into 16 balls
- Place in a baking dish at least one inch apart, brush tops with melted butter, and bake
Bread Machine Doughnuts
Doughnuts are one of the easiest foods to make at home with a bread machine since all you need is milk, butter, water, egg, sugar, yeast, and flour. Add your ingredients and make the dough using the dough setting on your bread machine. Shape the finished dough into doughnut shapes and let rise another 40 minutes or so. Then, fry them up in a deep fryer or in a pan using vegetable oil. Don’t forget to top with powdered sugar, melted chocolate, or any other yummy topping!
Bread Machine Meatloaf
For meatloaf, you’ll need bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper, ground beef, onion, and egg. For the sauce, you’ll need pasta sauce, brown sugar, dried mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Combine all ingredients (starting with the spices) and add to the bread maker after removing the paddle. Press the mixture gently down with your hands, then run the bake cycle for about 40 minutes. Top with the homemade sauce tomato sauce and enjoy.
There is so much more that can be made with your bread machine, from cake to cornbread to rice dishes to scrambled eggs and so much more. These are only a handful of examples.
Tips For Cooking with Your Bread Machine
- Pay attention to the order of ingredients when making a loaf of bread – it’s more important than you think!
- Start simple as a beginner
- Let the appliance cool fully between each cook cycle if making multiple recipes in a row
- Prepare all wet and dry ingredients before anything else
- Be cautious when making substitutions
- Invest in quality accessories and bakeware from Amazon or the brand’s website
- Don’t be afraid to open the lid after 10-15 minutes to make sure everything is running smoothly
