Bread makers

A bread maker mixes, proves and bakes in one pan. The loaf shape is the shape of that pan, which is why the crumb looks square.

The Custom Loaf style of machine lets you pick a crust and a size. Size here means the pan's fill line, not a wish for a larger loaf. Too much flour and the dough pushes the lid. Too little and you get a short loaf with a thick crust all round.

Measure the water with the cup or the scale the recipe was written for. A drinking glass is not that cup. Extra water is the usual reason a loaf collapses in the middle after looking fine at the window.

The paddle sits on a shaft in the pan. Some cycles beep so you can lift the paddle out before the bake, which leaves a loaf without a hole in the base. If you miss the beep, the loaf still eats well. You pull the paddle out of the finished bread with tongs, because it is hot and stuck.

Gluten-free cycles knead for less time. Ordinary wheat flour on a gluten-free cycle makes a dense brick. The reverse, gluten-free flour on a long wheat cycle, punches the gas out. Match the cycle to the flour.

Kneading by hand, or in a bowl you can watch, is a stand mixer. Chopping the nuts that go in at the beep is a processor, or a knife.