Customer Reviews

Bread Machine Magic: 139 Exciting New Recipes Created Especially for Use in All Types of Bread Machines

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is absolutely the best book on baking with bread machines--bar none! I've had a bread machine for years--I love the homebaked flavor and texture and aroma, but not the time it takes to do it all by hand--and have purchased many books with recipes for bread machines. None of them could even begin to live up to this one. Besides the basics, there are recipes for filled breads, sweet breads and pastries--like the scrumptious recipe for cinnamon rolls. I live in Europe but found that this book works well here--all I needed was a set of American measuring cups and spoons and the recipes were perfectly adaptable. I used to make all of my bread "by hand" and welcomed the advent of the bread machine. Now things have improved by leaps and bounds with the arrival of this book. I really can't praise it highly enough. I'd give it ten stars if I could!

I love my bread machine and have enjoyed using it for several years without a cookbook, but when Cook's Illustrated, which is generally scornful of breadmakers, recommended Lois Conway, I decided to pick up this book and her more recent "More Bread Machine Magic."

Though I've found four or five recipes in "Bread Machine Magic" that I will continue to make, I have to warn users that it is very dated. Most of the models listed are no longer made (or, if they are, are radically different) so few of the suggestions for use have any meaning. It also means that these recipes were not tested on the new, more high tech breadmakers of today, requiring slight adjustments in almost all the amounts and rendering the "advice" and "how to cook" chapters all but irrelevant. A big drawback is that 2 lb. recipes are nonexistent, as 2 lb. machines didn't exist when this book was written.

This isn't necessarily a bad book, but if you're looking for a good bread machine cookbook I'd recommend skipping this outdated volume and instead choosing "More Bread Machine Magic," which was released in 1999.

I have had a bread machine for many years. Have gone through many machines and accumulated many books for bread machines. Always felt that there could be something better. Well I tried this book and let me tell you there is none better. Have tried many of the recipes and every single one of them is wonderful. And if you are looking for a Cinnamon Roll recipe you must get this book and try the recipe on page 128. Have convinced many others to purchase this book by giving a little taste.

... I certainly couldn't! After getting the first "Magic" title, I quickly added the other two. I've never even glanced at another bread machine book since - to do so would seem almost disloyal.

Oh, the three books are not perfect - in the recipes, the fractions are often hard to read, and the "Hints" book rather annoyingly repeats several recipes from the first book, but those are the ONLY gripes I can come up with.

Having had my bread machine for only 100 days, you might think me unqualified to write a review. Not so! In those 100 days, I have made at least 100 loaves or batches of dough. I bake so many loaves and pies that I have to give them away, to surprised and very grateful recipients.

I bought this book after my very first loaf was a disaster. It then took ninety-plus batches to get to my second disaster, when I didn't take time for the all-important "dough check." Actually, the "dough check" text didn't find its way into every recipe until "More Bread Machine Magic" -- a good enough reason to buy that book first. Other reasons for buying "More" first are that it includes recipes for 2 lb machines, and also has the best and prettiest recipe of all: "Jim's Torta Rustica." Bake it with a pie bird peeking out of the middle, and the top brushed with a little egg yolk/heavy cream wash. Be prepared for gasps when you take it out of the oven, followed shortly by demands for second helpings.

If you like the filled bread recipes, and wish there were more, I would recommend Donna German's "Edible Pockets for Every Meal," but be warned: having the "Bread Magic" and "Edible Pockets" books together in your kitchen can be addictive, and can cause a near-permanent change to your eating habits.

I've had this book, as well as More Bread Machine Magic, for several months now and have tried about a dozen of the recipes in both books. Not one has been a disappointment yet. Every bread I've made has been wonderful! The authors must have spent a lot of time perfecting the recipes. The variety of recipes is terrific. I'm sure popular at gatherings now when I bring bread!

Shortly after receiving a bread machine as a gift, I was invited to a friends for dinner. She made homemade pizza that was out of this world. I asked her for the recipe and she gave me the bookto look through. I started writing down several recipes I wanted to save and realized there were too many to copy! They all sounded so wonderful. I went to the nearest bookstore and purchased my own copy of this cookbook. I have a couple of other bread machine cookbooks, and have scanned through almost all of them on the market--none compares with this. I never use my other bread machine cookbooks, but time and time again use this book. If you were to buy only one bread machine cookbook--this would be the one to buy

A great basic bread cookbook, this doesn't have a lot of tips, techniques, and nutritional information that other books do, but makes up for it by having a wealth of tasty recipes. My personal favorite is the Sweet Oatmeal Bread. They also have recipes for herb breads, rye, pumpernickel, rolls, and much more.

The recipes are all delicious, and work wonderfully. A lot of work must have been done testing and perfecting each one. With separate recipes for 1 and 1 1/2 pound loaves, this book should work well with whatever bread machine you use.

Definitely grab a copy and begin experimenting!

I've tried many bread machine cook books & this is by far the best. Ingredients are readily available, and the breads turn out great.

This book isn't the most beautiful bread machine cookbook, nor is it among the newest, but it remains unparalleled in recipe quality. If I were allowed to have only one bread machine cookbook, this is the one I would keep.

I have owned the same bread machine for four plus years. My machine has gotten more of a workout in the last six months than in the previous three and a half years combined. It's all thanks to this wonderful book. These recipes put to shame the blah ones that came with my machine. I wish I could say I've tried every recipe in this book and that they are all wonderful, but I can't. I can say that I have tried several recipes from various categories - all with great results. The only MINOR dissapointment was the pizza dough recipe I tried. I emphasize minor because it was a fine crust - just not the "perfect" crust I have been in search of. I did however find that "perfect" crust in the follow-up book - "More Bread Machine Magic". There are recipes in this book for everthing from rye bread to wheat bread to bread with sunflower seeds to dinner rolls all the way up to cinnamon rolls. One of the greatest treasures of this book is Dennis's Blarney-Stone Bread. Why? My husband does not care for wheat bread. He prefers white and I want to put something a bit more nutritious on our plates. DBSB looks, tastes and feels just like plain ol' white bread but contains a whole cup of rolled oats (oatmeal). He didn't even notice the difference. If you fall in love with this book like I did, you'll have bread on the counter and in the freezer all the while waiting for it to disappear so you can go on to try out the next interesting recipe.