Everyone loves fresh bread, but not the time it takes to make it. Bread machines are hot items in the kitchen because they take the work out of making homemade bread. Even better, Betty Crocker takes the mystery out of the bread machine and brings you easy-to-use recipes for both 1 1/2-pound and 2-pound loaves that work for all the popular bread machine models. We've packed this book with over 100 recipes to tempt your tastebuds. There are delicious bread recipes for classic favorites, rustic breads, sweet doughs, coffeecakes and buns. Betty Crocker's Bread Machine Cookbook also offers a host of recipes for doughs to mix, then shape and bake in a conventional oven -- such as foccacia, breadsticks and pizza doughs -- with easy-to-follow illustrations on how to shape and trim the loaves. Best of all, you can trust these recipes will work in your bread machine because the Betty Crocker kitchens have tested the recipes in several different machines to ensure success at home. We've also loaded up this book to include information on bread machine ingredients; glossary of bread machine ingredients, techniques, and terms; and a breakdown of the various features found on different models of machines and how to use them. There's nothing better than the taste of homemade bread -- and no one brings it to you better than Betty Crocker.
Old-fashioned bread the new-fashioned way, Betty calls it. Easy, convenient, modern. There's no knead for loafing. Not with that fabulous combination in the kitchen: Betty Crocker and the bread machine.

The construction of this book, first of all, is wonderful. The cover is hard and the binding is heavy, enameled spiral. Each page lays flat on the counter, or you can hold the book open on one arm while doing something with the other hand. This suggests that Betty Crocker wrote her bread-baking cookbook with serious use in mind. She certainly tested her recipes. A variety of bread machines were used, which means that each recipe was tested a number of different times. Betty tells you exactly what kind of flour she used, as well as salt, size of eggs, kind of yeast, etc. She leaves nothing to chance.

Bread machine baking has its own peculiarities, and Betty addresses all these right up front, the hows and how-tos (as well as the whys and wherefores) of getting the perfect loaf every time. There's a troubleshooting section, as well as a frequently asked question section. Then it's right into the recipes, all 130 of them.

There are Good and Savory Loaves (Cheese Onion Bread) and Wholesome Grain Loaves (Toasted Almond Whole Wheat Bread), Fruit and Vegetable Harvest Loaves (Dried Apricot Bread), Smaller Can Be Just Right Loaves (these are one-and-a-half-pound loaves), and then several chapters on breads you start in the bread machine, but finish in the oven. These include braided sweet breads, pizza dough, rustic-style breads, and coffeecakes.

Any bread machine owner is going to love to loaf with Betty Crocker. --Schuyler Ingle

Customer Rating:
Summary: Great cookbook
Comment: This is a great book with lots of different bread recipes. It has easy to follow directions and great pictures. The recipes I've used thus far have been very good.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Balomg with Betty
Comment: Great, good recipes. Have used several already. With today's economy Bread machine use is A+.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Not right for Panasonic SD-YD250
Comment: I bought this book along with the Panasonic SD-YD250 Bread Machine. The book that comes with the bread machine was far better than this book in producing edible loaves. I found that of the 4 recipes I tried from this book, that they were all off in the wetness by 1/4 cup in one direction or another. This produced uneven loaves, one being undercooked inside, another gummy, a third lumpy. My fourth loaf was starting to look dry and lumpy like the third, so I looked at both recipes and added more water until it started to form a real ball in the kneading process. When I reviewed the proportions of dry/wet ingredients in the owners manual of the bread machine, it was obviously quite off from what is recommended in this book.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: So-so
Comment: As a BOOK, this is excellent -- great pictures, clear instructions, well organized, lots of variety. I was salivating as I read through it the first time.

However, after trying about half a dozen recipes, I have to say I'm not quite so impressed. The breads didn't taste as good the ingredients would indicate. For example, the onion cheese bread was not particularly cheesy nor onion-y. I tried again without the cheese and had to more than double the onion to get a flavorful result.

I guess it's a good starting point. If the recipe comes out how you like it, great; if not, you can experiment. Maybe I've been spoiled by the Internet: I like the feedback and user comments on AllRecipes.com so I have realistic expectations before I decide to use my time and ingredients.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This is the best!
Comment: This is the cookbook to have when you use a bread machine. Not only are the recipes wonderful but it has lots of useful information and pictures. I wish I'd had it when I first started (so does my husband).

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