Discover Why Your Bread Machine Is One of the Most Versatile Kitchen Appliances You’ll Ever Own!
“Many people buy a bread machine expecting to make the occasional loaf of sandwich bread. What they often don’t realise is that they’ve also bought one of the easiest dough makers they’ll ever own.” – Mona, Far From The Farm
Hi! If you’ve been following me for long you’ll already know this, but for those who are new, welcome to Far From The Farm.
I’m Mona, the Brit behind The Bread Machine Academy. This is where I share the skills, techniques, and troubleshooting tips I’ve learned through hundreds of loaves, so you can bake with confidence and understand what’s happening every step of the way!
When most people buy their very first bread machine, they usually have one goal in mind. They want to bake fresh sandwich bread at home. That was certainly my thinking too.
I imagined pulling warm white loaves out of the machine a couple of times a week, enjoying the smell of fresh bread filling the kitchen, and hopefully saving a little money compared to buying bakery bread from the supermarket.
What I didn’t realise at the time was that I was buying something far more versatile than a simple bread maker.
Over the years my bread machine has become one of the hardest-working appliances in my kitchen, but not because it spends all day baking sandwich loaves.
In fact, most weeks it never bakes a loaf at all. Instead, it’s quietly mixing, kneading and proving dough while I’m getting on with everything else.
By the time the programme finishes, I have perfectly developed dough that’s ready to become soft dinner rolls, chewy bagels, fluffy hamburger buns, pizza dough, breadsticks, cinnamon rolls, breakfast breads, and countless other recipes that never actually bake inside the machine itself.
Looking back, I think that’s the biggest misconception people have about bread machines. We tend to judge them by the loaf that comes out at the end, when in reality their greatest strength is everything they do before the baking even begins.
Once I stopped thinking of mine as a bread maker and started treating it as an automatic dough maker, I found myself using it several times a week instead of just occasionally.
If you’ve only been using your bread machine to bake everyday sandwich bread, I hope this article encourages you to look at it a little differently. You may already have everything you need sitting on your kitchen counter to make dozens of different breads with very little extra effort!
Recipe Disclaimer
All Far From The Farm recipes are shared as a guide based on what works in my home kitchen. Results may vary depending on your ingredients, equipment, and cooking setup, so always use your own judgement. Please check all ingredients for allergies, intolerances, or dietary needs before making any recipe. Far From The Farm is not responsible for any reactions or outcomes from the use of these recipes. Nutritional information is an estimate only.
Mona – Far From The Farm
Why Most People Never Discover What Their Bread Machine Can Really Do
I don’t think it’s anyone’s fault that so many bread machines end up sitting at the back of a cupboard after a few months. Most manufacturers market them as machines that bake bread, and the little recipe book tucked inside the box doesn’t do much to challenge that idea.
You’ll usually find a handful of white bread recipes, perhaps a whole wheat loaf, a French loaf, something labelled sweet bread, and maybe a basic pizza dough recipe squeezed onto the last couple of pages.
If that’s all you’ve ever seen, it’s perfectly understandable to assume those are the limits of what the machine can do.
The reality is very different. A bread machine doesn’t actually care whether the dough it’s mixing is destined to become a loaf, twelve dinner rolls, six hamburger buns or two large pizzas. Its job is simply to combine the ingredients, develop the gluten through kneading, and provide a warm environment for the dough to rise. What happens after that is entirely up to you.
That simple shift in perspective opens up an enormous range of possibilities. Instead of asking, “Can my bread machine bake this?” you start asking, “Can my bread machine make the dough for this?” More often than not, the answer is yes.
That’s when your recipe collection suddenly grows from a handful of sandwich loaves into an entire bakery’s worth of breads, rolls and doughs!
So What Can Your Bread Machine Really Help You Make?!
Once you begin using your bread machine primarily for the Dough cycle an entirely new world of baking opens up. Rather than producing one rectangular loaf after another, you suddenly have the freedom to shape, fill, twist, braid and bake your dough into whatever suits the meal you’re planning.
Now, I know there are some bread machine purists who would argue that once the dough leaves the machine and finishes baking in the oven, it isn’t really a bread machine recipe anymore.
I completely understand that point of view, but I personally see things a little differently. If my bread machine has done all the mixing, kneading and first rise for me, then it’s still doing the job I bought it for.
Baking the dough in the oven simply allows me to create far more than a single rectangular loaf.
One of the things I love most about using a bread machine this way is that it makes homemade bread feel achievable on an ordinary weekday. I don’t need to spend twenty minutes kneading dough by hand before dinner or set aside an entire afternoon just because I fancy homemade burger buns or pizza from scratch.
I simply measure the ingredients into the bread pan, press the Dough programme and get on with my day while the machine quietly handles the hard work.
By the time it beeps to tell me the cycle has finished, the difficult part is already done. All that’s left is deciding what I want that beautifully prepared dough to become!
Here’s a list of some of my favorite things to make…
1. Soft Dinner Rolls
Dinner rolls are one of the first recipes I encourage new bread machine owners to try after mastering a simple white loaf.
They’re forgiving, versatile and incredibly useful to have in your recipe collection. Whether you’re serving soup, roast dinners, pasta dishes or simply making little ham sandwiches for lunch the next day, homemade rolls almost always feel like a step up from shop-bought ones.
Because the bread machine has already mixed, kneaded and completed the first rise, shaping them is surprisingly simple. Divide the dough into equal portions, roll each piece into a smooth ball, allow them to rise one final time and bake until beautifully golden.
Some of my most popular recipes in this category include soft garlic butter rolls, copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls, crusty German Brötchen and even sweet Hawaiian-style rolls made with cherry juice! Although they all look quite different on the table, they all begin with exactly the same idea. The bread machine prepares the dough, leaving you to enjoy the creative part.
If dinner rolls are something you’d like to make more often, you’ll find my complete collection here:
2. Pizza Dough and Breadsticks
If I had to choose one recipe category that has probably saved us the most money it would be pizza dough.
Homemade pizza nights have become a regular part of life in our house, and using the bread machine means I never have to wrestle with sticky dough or spend ages kneading it by hand. The machine develops a beautifully smooth, elastic dough that’s ready to stretch into pizzas, calzones, garlic knots or breadsticks.
Because I have the dough cycle doing all the work, it’s just as easy to make enough for one pizza as it is to prepare several batches for the freezer. On busy evenings I can simply pull frozen dough from the freezer, allow it to thaw and rise, and have homemade pizza on the table with very little effort.
The same dough also forms the basis for many breadstick or even dough ball recipes. A few twists, a brush of garlic butter and a sprinkle of Parmesan can transform a basic pizza dough into something that feels like it came from your favourite Italian restaurant.
If pizza night is a regular occurrence in your house, this is one category that’s well worth exploring.
3. Bagels
People are often surprised to learn that bread machines make fantastic bagel dough.
Bagels have a reputation for being difficult because they require an extra boiling step before baking, but the dough itself is actually very straightforward when the bread machine takes care of the mixing and kneading.
Once the cycle has finished, all that’s left is dividing the dough, shaping the rings, allowing them to rise briefly, then boiling and baking them.
That little extra effort rewards you with chewy, bakery-style bagels that are worlds apart from the pre-packaged versions sitting on supermarket shelves.
Whether you prefer plain bagels, cheddar jalapeño bagels or other flavours, the bread machine makes the hardest part feel effortless.
You’ll find my growing collection of bagel recipes here:
4. Burger Buns and Hot Dog Buns
Few things elevate a family barbecue or summer cookout quite like homemade buns. Whether you’re piling a juicy burger onto a soft brioche bun or serving grilled hot dogs in fluffy homemade rolls, freshly baked bread makes the whole meal feel that little bit more special.
The best part is that the bread machine has already done the hardest work for you. By the time the Dough cycle finishes, all that’s left is dividing the dough, shaping your buns, allowing them to rise one final time and baking them until beautifully golden.
Making your own also means you’re in complete control. You can make generously sized brioche buns for thick homemade burgers, classic soft & fluffy hot dog buns that actually fit the sausages you’ve bought, or even deluxe baked pigs in blankets and other hearty favourites. Once you start baking your own, it’s surprisingly difficult to go back to the supermarket versions.
If you enjoy making burgers, hot dogs or other grilled favourites at home, homemade buns are one of the easiest ways to make the entire meal feel more homemade from start to finish.
5. Sweet Dough
This is where I think many people truly fall in love with using a bread machine.
Enriched doughs containing butter, eggs, milk and sugar can feel intimidating if you’re making them entirely by hand, but they’re exactly the sort of recipes that a bread machine handles beautifully.
Once the dough cycle finishes, you can turn that soft, silky dough into fluffy cinnamon rolls, chocolate cream cheese filled rolls, braided brioche loaves, Nutella rolls, Dubai Chocolate Brioche Rolls and countless other sweet bakes!
These recipes often become family favourites because they feel impressive without requiring enormous amounts of hands-on work.
The machine quietly develops the dough while you get on with everything else, leaving you to enjoy the fun part of shaping and filling it.
If sweet baking is what excites you most, this is probably the category you’ll find yourself returning to again and again.
6. Breakfast Breads
Some of my favourite bread machine recipes are the ones that make weekends or special mornings feel just a little more memorable.
Because the bread machine takes care of the mixing, kneading and first rise, it’s surprisingly easy to prepare homemade breakfast treats that might otherwise feel too time-consuming.
Whether you’re planning a leisurely Sunday brunch, a Christmas morning breakfast, or simply fancy something a little different with your morning coffee, having the dough already prepared makes the whole process far less intimidating.
Breakfast breads cover everything from soft cinnamon loaves that make incredible French toast to chocolate-filled brioche rolls, cinnamon rolls, and breakfast bagels.
Many of these recipes also freeze beautifully, so it’s easy to make a larger batch and enjoy homemade breakfasts throughout the month without starting from scratch every time.
If you’re looking for recipes that feel a little indulgent but are still completely achievable at home, this is a wonderful place to start.
The Takeaway – Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment!
If you’ve only been using your bread machine to bake the occasional sandwich loaf, I hope this article has shown you just how much more it’s capable of.
With the help of the Dough cycle, your bread machine can become the starting point for everything from soft dinner rolls and homemade pizza to bagels, burger buns, breakfast breads and sweet treats. It removes much of the physical work involved in bread making while still giving you the satisfaction of shaping and baking homemade bread yourself.
Once you begin thinking of your bread machine as an automatic dough maker rather than simply a bread maker, you’ll never look at it in quite the same way again!
Continue Learning in the Bread Machine Academy!
Ready for the next lesson?
- The Bread Machine Academy Home Page
- Understanding Bread Ingredients
- What Should a Bread Machine Dough Ball Look Like?
- Using the Bread Machine Dough Cycle
- Bread Machine Cycles Explained
Or, if you’re ready to start baking, head over to my Bread Machine Hub, where you’ll find beginner-friendly recipes for everything from white sandwich bread and dinner rolls to pizza dough, sweet doughs, bagels and burger buns.
Why You’ll Love Using a Bread Machine In Your Kitchen!
If you’re new here, you’ll quickly learn that I am such a fan of using a bread machine for dough. It has been one of the biggest helps in my kitchen, especially during busy or overwhelming seasons.
My parents gifted me this little Compact Cuisinart Bread Machine recently when I moved from the UK to the States after getting married, and it has worked like a little powerhouse ever since!
It kneads beautifully. It rises dough evenly. It keeps everything contained in one pan so I am not dealing with flour across every surface of the kitchen.
And on days where the house feels chaotic or I am juggling too much, I can add the ingredients, press the dough button, and let it get on with the work while I focus on everything else.
It takes away so much of the guesswork and makes homemade bread, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls, soft rolls, and sweet bakes feel much simpler.
It has also been a real blessing for our budget. Homemade dough costs pennies compared to store prepared versions and certainly compared to eating out. As a military family on baby step 2 of our debt free journey, little savings like that matter across an entire month.
Check out The Bread Machine Academy today!
Learn bread machine baking with beginner-friendly guides on flour, yeast, ingredients, troubleshooting, dough cycles, tips, and techniques!
If you have ever felt intimidated by bread making, this is your gentle nudge to give it a try. A dough cycle handles all the kneading for you.
You get soft, reliable, fluffy dough without standing over a counter for ages or worrying if things rose the way they should. It makes homemade cooking feel doable, even on days that are far from calm.
Browse Bread Machine Recipe Type
There are so many beginner friendly ideas to help you feel confident and excited about homemade dough – join the Facebook group today and share recipes and tips for perfect bread, every time!
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Share & Rate This Guide!
If this guide has inspired you to look beyond everyday sandwich bread, I’d love to hear what you’re planning to bake next. Leave a comment below and let me know which bread machine recipe you’re most excited to try!
