Customer Reviews

The Bread Machine Cookbook

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've had excellent results using Melissa Clark's book...the bread flavors are really creative and the loaves delicious. I particularly love the golden bread, using golden syrup, which makes the most excellent french toast, and also the potato bread, which is moist and just a little bit sweet. I agree that the book could use an index, but otherwise think it's an excellent tool if you have a bread machine. The person who had trouble must not have been following the directions carefully...

I have made quite a few of the breads from this book (my favorite is the Garlic Parmesan) and have generally had wonderful luck. The book shows how many different things can be done with the bread machine. A few of the breads are so-so but it could be due to my tastes. My one complaint is the book needs and index.

Melissa Clark includes numerous creative and delectable sounding recipes in her book, but of the dozen recipes I've tried, not one has made a nice loaf of bread! The ratio of liquid ingredients to dry ingredients is too high, resulting in a small, heavy loaf. My most recent attempt was the Oreo Cookie Bread, in which I had to stand by my breadmaker and add over eight heaping tablespoons of bread flour beyond the amount called for in the recipe.

In comparison to Better Homes and Gardens Best Bread Machine Recipes, I would recommend the latter, not only because it is more user friendly, but because I have never made a bad loaf of bread from the recipes. Unlike The Bread Machine Cookbook, Best Bread Machine Recipes contains an index, nutrition information for each recipe, and a troubleshooting section. Melissa Clark's book does, however, contain many more bread recipes. I would not recommend this book to novice breadmakers, but rather to more experienced breadmakers that could take ideas from this book instead of using entire recipes.

This is the fourth or fifth copy I have ordered--keep giving them to friends/family who have bread machines. Best bread machine cookbook ever, and the first part of the book which deals with the why and how of breadmaking is great.

I have had great success with the recipes from this book. My family especially likes the sweet and fruit breads for breakfast and snacks, like orange marmalade, coconut almond, Mexican chocolate, cinnamon banana oat, and honey lemon. There are some weird flavors (borscht??? watercress-pea??? date with jalapenos???) that you may never be interested in making but so many more delicious creative ideas that you may wish you had more than one bread machine so you won't have to wait 3 hours before you can make another loaf!! I highly recommend this book-- it is fantastic, and as a bonus it is the cheapest cookbook I have ever bought!

This is a very excellent book for the money. This book covers it all and has many many recipes of all different kinds of breads. My favorite one is the Peanut butter oatmeal and honey bread. Melissa Clark has really done her home work and explains the ins and outs of bread making. She gives a brief history and her thoughts on each of the recipes which gives you a special insite on the bread that you are making. A must have book for the first time or experienced bread machine person.