Don't Limit Your Bread Machine To Loaves: It's A Dough-Making Powerhouse

Many years ago, for a birthday or Christmas perhaps, you might have been given a bread machine. If you're anything like the rest of us, chances are you probably made a couple of loaves in it at the time, and since then, it's been sitting sad and neglected in your kitchen cupboard. But perhaps you should consider breaking it out again –- because a bread maker isn't just great for making a good old-fashioned sandwich loaf: It's much more versatile than that.

Though some cooks may be skeptical of kitchen gadgets, the bread maker is a little different. The name "bread machine" is actually a little misleading. Though it is a reliable (and extremely easy) way to churn out freshly baked loaf after freshly baked loaf (and a good way for beginner bakers to begin to hone their skills while still getting decent results), its ability to stir automatically and maintain a range of cooking temperatures (especially lower temperatures) make it an easy and hassle-free way to make any number of treats -– from slow cooked casserole dishes to yogurt and even jam!

One thing that the bread machine is particularly good at, though, is making dough. That might seem obvious, but we're not just talking about bread — pizza, pasta, burger buns, even cinnamon rolls. From mixing to proofing, the bread machine has got you covered.

Of course, you would expect that a bread machine would be good at making bread, but you can actually skip the bread-baking part entirely! Instead, use your bread machine in place of a stand mixer (or, indeed, your hands) and save yourself a lot of hassle when making your next batch of bread dough. Now, one of the most important keys to successful bread making is patience, but kneading is a close second. With its specialized paddles, the bread machine is specifically designed to perfectly knead dough. Whether you're after a crunchy loaf that'll give you toastable slices for sourdough farm loaf, a classic French-style brioche, or even pull-apart dill bread, use the bread machine for hassle-free kneading.

For the true bread connoisseurs among us, though a bread machine is incredibly convenient, it can be limited in terms of the final quality of the bake — plus those paddles that are so useful when kneading the dough are often impossible to remove from the machine, so you end up with holes in your loaf once it finishes baking. If that doesn't bother you, all the better, but if you fancy trying out different types of bread, you're better off using the bread maker's "dough" function to handle the kneading for you, then remove the dough to shape it and bake it in the oven — that'll give you the most versatility, and the best possible bake.

Making pizza dough from scratch at home can be brilliant fun and yield a genuinely delicious result. But as great as it can be, it's a laborious process — and you open the door to a heck of a lot of mess. Making fresh pasta, too, is much the same story. So what if you're feeling a craving for delicious homemade pizza and pasta but without all the cleanup? No prizes for guessing here: enter your bread machine.

Making pizza and pasta dough with it is just as simple as making bread — simply measure out your ingredients, pop them in the machine, and let it go to work. You don't need to worry about over-kneading your dough either — your bread maker will most likely have a timer setting, allowing you to set it (for 20 minutes for pizza and about 10 to 20 minutes for pasta), and focus on getting creative with your topping ideas. Just make sure that you check on the dough to make sure all the ingredients are evenly incorporated — this also allows you to adjust the dough as necessary. If it's too wet, add a tablespoon of flour. Too dry? A tablespoon of whatever liquid you're using.

You don't need to limit yourself to the savory side of things, either — why not break out the bread machine whenever you get a craving for that most satisfying of sweet treats, the humble cinnamon roll? While usually a laborious process of flouring, kneading, and kneading again, the bread machine (as you've probably guessed by now) makes this a super simple (and far less messy) endeavor. The dough differs slightly from bread dough — enriched by the addition of butter and egg to ensure an optimum squish factor.

Thankfully, though, once you've got everything measured out, it's just a matter of dumping the ingredients into the bread machine and letting it go to work while you work on your filling. You can also make use of the bread machine's proofing setting to help that dough rise before you roll it out — just be sure to set it to a lukewarm temperature to allow the yeast in that dough to properly activate.

For that, you could keep things classic and use a traditional combination of cinnamon, sugar, and butter. Or, you could elevate the texture of your rolls with the addition of some crunchy chopped pecans – these will bring a lovely contrast to the party, as well as a warm, autumnal depth of flavor.

Another comforting staple of any baker's repertoire is a great chocolate brownie recipe. And while you could spend time toiling away trying to dial in exactly the right way to beat your ingredients together to form the most delicious, luxurious brownies imaginable, you could just as easily get the same result (dare we say, with much more consistency) by using a bread machine. You won't even need to alter your recipe — this technique works great with both boxed brownie mixes (there's no shame in using them — they're popular for a reason) and your own homemade versions.

The brilliance of using a bread machine to make brownies is in its sheer convenience — no utensils to wash up, no brownie pans to scrape clean. Just add all your ingredients to the bread machine, and let it do its thing, mixing and baking in one go. If your machine has a raisin bread setting (or similar), then use that for the best brownie consistency. Otherwise, it might take a little trial and error to find the right settings to use — but we promise it's worth it. Start at around 240 degrees Fahrenheit and let them bake for around an hour and a half as a starting point.

Your bread machine isn't just for bread, by the way — they also have some genuinely unexpected uses. One of those is, of all things, making yogurt. Most people have probably never made yogurt themselves, but the bread machine makes creating your own delicious ferments a surprisingly simple (and easy to clean) process. The bread machine maintains a constant (and, importantly, low) temperature, which is extremely important for the fermentation process. Usually, this would require frequent monitoring to ensure its success — but the bread machine means that you can simply set it, forget it, and enjoy the fruits of your labor once it's done. Though it really isn't much in the way of labor at all now, is it? Just mix whole milk with a tablespoon of yogurt and use the yogurt cycle on your machine.

You could also try using it to make a batch of homemade jam. Making your own preserves, be that jam or marmalade (the difference lies in the sugar and fruit content, in case you were wondering), can be a wonderful way to use up any leftover fruit you might have lying around, and it's surprisingly easy to do! Though usually a time-consuming and potentially messy process, using a bread machine can streamline things and minimize the cleaning up. Simply mash your fruit, add the sugar, acid (usually citrus), and pectin (if you want), and use the jam setting on your machine.