Anybody want to buy a used Zojirushi? I about ready to throw this machine out
the door onto the sidewalk! We received a Zoj for a wedding present about a
year and a half ago. I suspect this may be an older model machine because it
only has the four basic cycles - no crust adjustment or quick bread cycle. I
have never seen my machine's model in any store or catalog where they sell this
brand of bread machine.
Anyway, the bread that I have made has *never* been what I would consider
superior to even store bought loaf bread, hand-made bread or even other
people's machine bread. The bread my machine produces comes out tasting all
ready like it is three day's old - pretty dry and crumbly. In addition, for
the past year or so, the loaves have only rarely risen satisfactorily. Most
loaves are dense and heavy. When I first used the machine, I got loaves rising
up to the lid (but still dry), but they are short and stumpy now. I have used
different yeast (brands and freshness). I thought the answer was that I needed
to bring everything to room temp but that yields no improvement. In addition,
it seems that no matter what 'flavor' of bread that I make, they all have the
same "taste". I've changed flours but they still all have the similar
"background flavor". Is this normal?
I stopped baking as frequently as I used to when I realized that I was trying
to convince myself that this was good bread because, of course, it was fresh
and hot, etc. but I finally admitted to myself "No, this is, in fact, not good
bread." When I first tried some bread from a friend's machine, I was shocked
at how moist, and flavorful it was - and it was just a basic wheat bread
recipe.
Remedies that I have tried include: increase water about a teaspoon or so (only
little improvement), different recipes from different sources, extreme accuracy
in measurement (not by weight, by volume only), bringing ingredients to room
temp., new yeast, different yeast, various other tips that I have read about on
this list.
What else can I try to get out of my breadmachine blues? Thanks in advance.
DeAnn Holden