Bread Machine Baking for Beginners: Effortless Perfect Bread

by Beth Hensperger

Discover how easy it is to make delicious homemade bread in your bread machine.

With this affordable, abridged edition of the best-selling Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook , learn how to make and bake bread in any brand of bread machine by combining the simplest of ingredients—flour, yeast, water, and salt. Offering complete, easy-to-follow instructions on using bread makers as well as a wide range of recipe variations for making all kinds of loaves ,  Bread Machine Baking for Beginners  is the only book you will need to launch your bread-making success.

Filled with step-by-step photographs, this guide to machine bread baking includes recipes and instructions for everything from white sandwich bread to french baguettes to sourdoughs and seeded breads . Instructions on shaping, decorating, kneading, no-knead breads, and enriched breads are also included.

In Bread Machine Baking for Beginners , you will
 
This book provides the perfect introduction for new bread-making enthusiasts and a great refresher for bread-machine veterans who want to dust of their bread machine.

Put an end to tasteless store-bought bread—use this guide and your bread machine to have fresh, tasty homemade bread instead. It’s easy and it’s fun!

Genres: Nonfiction, Cookbooks

144 pages, Paperback

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

Beth Hensperger is a passionate professional- and home- baker who is both extremely creative and extraordinarily prolific as an author and developer of quality recipes. Her training included a ten-year apprenticeship as a restaurant and hotel pastry chef as well as having her own custom wedding cake business and attending classes given by some of the top bakers in America. Though restaurant trained, she considers herself more of a dedicated home baker than a chef.
Beth’s writing career began when she was chosen as the Guest Cooking Instructor for the March 1985 issue of Bon Appetit. She is now the author of fifteen cookbooks, many of them best sellers. Her most recent books include: Williams Sonoma Breads (Weldon Owen), Bread For Breakfast (Ten Speed Press), and The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook (HCP). The Bread Bible (Chronicle Books) is the recipient of The James Beard Foundation Award for Baking in 2000. Beth's Basic Bread Book (Chronicle Books), a sequential text for the beginning home baker, published in the Fall of 1996, was chosen as one of the best baking books of the year by People Magazine. She has been nominated twice for the IACP Julia Child Cookbook Awards. Her books are all represented at the prestigious Culinary Collection of the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
When she isn't up to her elbows in flour, Beth is a monthly food columnist with the San Jose Mercury News "Baking By the Seasons". She is a regular contributor to Cooking Pleasures, Food & Wine, Shape Magazine, Bon Appétit, Veggie Life, and Pastry Art and Design Magazines.

Reviews

[Katie Buckingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the thought of making bread, and even have a bread machine! But I've never actually gotten brave enough to use it! This book was great and had lots of info but in an easy to read way that wasn't using words I didn't understand. I plan on trying a few of these recipes this week! Especially the "sticky buns", homemade cinnamon rolls are the best!

[Lis K · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to learn how to make bread with a bread machine, this is the perfect book for you. The first section gives detailed information about bread machines including its cycles and settings. Then it goes into the bread making process with explanations about ingredients and the different stages of the baking process. There are three recipes in the beginning section that provide detailed directions in order to familiarize the reader with common bread machine techniques (standard dough, starter dough, and dough with a delayed timer). Once the reader is familiar with the basic techniques, there many recipes to try including white/egg breads, country/sourdough breads, specialty flour breads, breads with add-ins, sweet breads, and quick breads. There is also a short section with problem solving tips. Using my bread machine, I made milk bread (standard dough), shepherd's bread (starter dough), and cinnamon swirl bread (sweet bread). The milk bread and shepherd's bread were good but the cinnamon swirl bread was considered a family favorite. I think this book will give beginners the confidence to understand and use their bread machines to make wonderful, healthy breads.
* I received this book free of charge from NetGalley

[Tawney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is for beginners who want both good results and the reasons for those results. The information on machines and cycles is useful to machine owners new and veteran. Someday I will have to replace the machine I've had for many years and it was kind of eyeopening seeing how basic the old thing is and the different cycles available now and what they do. The information on ingredients is thorough and worth the time to read. There is a nice variety of recipes included. Hensperger uses gluten in all of them so I'll be ordering some to see how much difference it makes. The book is very well organized and includes conversion charts and a detailed index.

My advice to someone with a brand new machine just itching to make bread is to find a very basic recipe (one that came with the machine?) and go ahead and enjoy. Then later, look into other books on the subject and put this one at the top of that list.

I received a digital advanced copy of this book compliments of New Show Press and NetGalley.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a cookbook fanatic! I love cookbooks of all types and enjoy looking at them for inspiration or old favorites.
Bread Machine Baking for Beginners is a fantastic cookbook not just for beginners but all levels of skill.
I was impressed with the beginning of the book where it gave so much useful information about your bread machine. It also was loaded with everything your machine can do for you and how to use the controls of the machine.
It then gives information on the ingredients used for making bread.
Then the real fun starts with all the recipes in the book. I was impressed with the variety of the recipes.
This is a cookbook you will want in your kitchen.
Thank you NetGalley, Beth Hensperger and Quarto Publishing Group for the copy of Bread Machine Baking for Beginners. This is my personal review.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been curious about buying a bread machine for a while now. I must be the only person left in America that doesn't have one. I thought this would be the perfect book to help me decide if and what kind I needed.
There's a great deal of information about sizes of machines what kinds of bells and whistles it might have. This is the perfect book for the beginner bread maker user. Charts and hints. Steps to follow, measurements. A good reference book. And most importantly a troubleshooting section. Each recipe has directions for a 1 pound and 2 pound loaf. And the recipes sound wonderful everything from a regular white bread to challah to English muffins to sticky buns to hamburger buns. I think I need a bread machine to try out these new recipes.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 2000 but updated in 2017, I was happy to find this ebook through my library's Libby app as I continue my journey to make more of my own bread products.

Instructions were easy to follow, several recipes piqued my interest including chocolate croissants because I'm always buying the Aldi brand for the kids, and most importantly, this book explained the difference between vital wheat gluten and vital wheat gluten flour, which no other book had done (and now I'm wondering what to do with the flour I bought because this book only uses VWG).

For the Kindle edition, there are links in recipes that jump to the proper reference point in the book, which is great and something I don't always see in e-cookbooks.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

My bread machine is definitely one of my most valued kitchen appliances. I use it a lot, but do tend to stick to the same tried and trusted recipes. It felt like time for some new ideas, and luckily this book has plenty which I'm looking forward to trying.

As well as recipes, there's a lot of useful background information about the art of
breadmaking by machine, including troubleshooting tips.

Measurements are in cups, so British readers will have to convert - there is a cups to grams conversion chart in the back of the book.

A really helpful book which I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of.

[Doreen Prentiss Gabriellini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bread Machine Baking for Beginners by Beth Hensperger is a concise book explaining all aspects of making bread in your bread machine. She discusses the various features found on a multitude of machines. She educates the read on the different types of yeast, flour and other ingredients so that each loaf of bread comes out successful. I learned so much from this book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in pulling out their bread machine. Definitely worth a read.
I would like to thank the author, Quarto Publishing Group – Harvard Common Press, New Shoe Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is perfect timing. I just got a bread machine and was going to start looking for more recipes that weren't included in the manual and voila! This book shows up!

There's quite a few categories to choose from in the book for what kind of bread you are looking for. Simple, basic ones all the way up to sweet breads. I can't wait to use my machine to make some of these breads. Great tips, well written recipes, and easy to follow instructions.

[McKenzie Westrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a book I’ve been searching for! I’m a daily bread baker and have loved baking bread in the oven, however, sometimes it’s just easier to dump ingredients into the bread machine and let it be. I’m so thankful for the chance at trying out some of these recipes, especially the English muffin recipe and some of the rye/sourdough starters because instead of waiting a week or more for an active starter, the overnight option will be a lifesaver. I’ll be sure to grab a hard copy upon release! I can’t wait!

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been using my bread machine for many years now so I am not really a beginner but I still enjoyed this cookbook very much. If you have only been pondering a purchase, this book can help you choose the bread machine for you! The recipes included cover a wide variety of breads including basic white bread, whole wheat, sourdough, and even some untraditional flavors including chocolate! If you are a beginning baker, a wannabe bread baker, or are just looking for a variety of yummy recipes for your machine, this cookbook is for you.

[Margaret Closs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overall information about bread making. I've been making bread for over 10 years and still got something out of this book. Very thorough introduction to bread making, how to use the machine, the components that go into bread. Also great variety of recipes including gluten free, desert/sweet breads and whole grain breads as well as artisan breads. This would be a great reference book for any baker.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beth Hensperger's baking books are always reliable. I have use so many for years and years. This new book is no different. There are tons of great recipes but more importantly enough really useful information and troubleshooting ideas to help a beginner feel confident and successful baking breads!

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives many tips and advice on how to make bread using a bread machine. Everything is explained in a simple way as it should be for beginners. I've found a lot of good recipes for different types of bread and time will tell if they are yummy. I recommend this book to those who want to excel in bread making.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, that includes really detailed instructions on how to use a bread maker, which is great for beginners. There's a couple of recipes that I will definitely been trying out on my machine soon.

[Amanda Karsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Typical bread making recipes a few ideas on giving them a modern twist. a few ok photos of bread the recipes are ok to follow.

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! I just bought a bread machine and this is exactly the cook book I needed.

[Mo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book truly is for beginners. The author assumes you know nothing at all about how to make bread.

She includes a conversion chart, but she writes her recipes using volume, not weight. Also, there are not any photos. It would have been nice, especially when she described a complicated rolling technique for dinner rolls.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book expecting to find recipes to jazz up my bread making with my machine. Instead I found so much more. There’s lots here beyond recipes. There’s general information on baking bread, information on buying machines, troubleshooting on how to "fix"problems and then loads of excellent recipes.

I’m in the UK and my machine has recipes using cups and spoons, so I’m happy to use the US recipes because my machine has a maximum loaf size using 4 cups of flour and this book has many recipes with 4 cups of flour.

I’ve bookmarked a few including a Chickpea Flour loaf and the recipes for challah and chocolate croissants. There’s lots here if you’re new to bread machines or if, like me, you’re getting a bit bored with your usual recipes.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley

[Gea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really will be a big help for those who have just purchased a bread machine. The author gives information on how best to use the features of your machine and provides plenty of recipes.