Following are the results of the Limpa-Sweet Rye bread test.  Overall the results from our 153 testers were very positive and we have ideas to address problems testers did have both with their machine and with the mix.  When reading through the comments sections there are two things to note.  First, the comments start out with the tester’s answer to the question:  Would you recommend this product to others?  Second, portions of the comments will be in bold followed with a number or letter to denote that at the end of the section there will be a corresponding note addressing the bolded portion.    Thank you again for being a Sturdiwheat Tester and we look forward to the next test.

I.  Bread Machine Results

 

 

Black & Decker

• Definitely-Perhaps adding a water temp range to the directions-might help the novice baker(A). Great bread one of my favorites. (All in one horizontal #UNK)

Breadmaster

• Definitely-Great flavor & so easy! Delicious. I took this bread to a dinner party & collected feedback. Rave reviews-the only area without all positive feedback was that the middle/bottom was slightly doughy. (Ultimate)
• Definitely-I am not a rye bread fan in general, but your products are all so good, I loved this bread -one error on my part-I took it out of the oven too early- couldn’t wait!

Breadman Read more

Versatile!  That’s Sturdiwheat Baguette Mix

Add some Rosemary and Voila!

This was a great success.  Add  a few tablespoons of chopped rosemary – This was with fresh rosemary – Don’t be shy about the spice.  Let it sing!  Add it at the same time the water is added. Crush the rosemary with a small bit of oil in a mortar and pestle if you have one to force the flavors.  If using dry rosemary, be sure to crush the spice.

Let is rise for up to 24 hours.  Punch down a couple of times during the rise.  The long rise isn’t necessary, but the flavor and texture improve with the longer rise.  Let the loaves rise for an hour or so after shaping the loaves.  Put a pan of  HOT water on the bottom shelf of the oven when preheating is started.  This moisture is so important for getting that wonderful artisan crust.

Slit the loaves across the top with a serrated knife or a scissors just before putting the loaves in the oven.  Also, spray the top well with water.  Spray twice more during baking.  This water also goes to giving you that beautiful crust.

Bake as directed on the package at 425 degrees –  but bake for 30-35 minutes until the crust is a golden brown. A longer baking time is required because these loaves are thicker than the baguette loaves.

This bread turned out so beautifully.  The texture was exquisite.  The crust – Exceptional. Use this Baguette Mix in many ways.  Test it out!  Let us know what happens.

Enjoy this Rosemary Artisan Bread and the compliments you will be hearing!  And be sure to visit Sturdiwheat for this and other great mixes.

Add Wild Rice!  Sometimes Beautiful Things Happen!

Several days ago I was making some bread using Sturdiwheat baguette mix. Oh my, these baguettes are SO good! And easy. I had some leftover cooked wild rice and I added a cup of cooked wild rice when I mixed the bread. Let it rise overnight (as in the instructions) and Poof! This bread, in addition to being a great baguette is also versatile. Don’t pass up this simple mix at Sturdiwheat.com.

As the snow melts this spring, let your creative juices flow.  Cook up a spring pancake creation using Sturdiwheat Pancake mix and any other edible ingredients you like.  Before you devour it, send us a picture of your masterpiece with the bag of mix somewhere in the picture by Thursday, April 8th and we will pick a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner to receive $100, $50, and $25 gift certificates respectively.  Multiple entries per household welcome.  All contestants’ photos will be posted on this blog after the winners have been chosen.

Have fun!

Round 1

The purpose of the first round is to test the out-of-the-box performance of each machine.  This means that we pulled the new bread machines out of their boxes, plugged them in, followed the directions on the backs of the bags of 4 Sturdiwheat Bread mixes, and hit “START”.  We did not glance at any of the directions for the individual machines.  The results from Round 1 will not reflect the full potential of these bread machines.  It will allow us to compare them side by side on the same setting with the same mixes, and will reflect their user friendly qualities for those of us who dread reading the directions.  Round 2 will be more experimental and involves reading the directions to address individual problems revealed in Round 1.

         

  

Click model below to see review: 

 

See All Reviews 

    

Breadman Corner Bakery

   

Breadman Pro

  

Breadman Ultimate Plus

  

Cuisinart Bread Maker

  

Panasonic Bread Bakery

  

Westbend

  

Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sturdiwheat Golden Grain was the first bread tested and dried out (crack in loaf) by the last day of testing, though it is still representative of size and crust thickness.

Breadman Corner Bakery
Cycle setting	#3 Whole wheat, B Crust Medium
Ease of programming	Very Easy
Length of cycle	4 hours
Temp of Water	100° F
Ease of removing bread from pan	Very Easy
Appearance of bread	Great
Price	$58.88

                         

Test Score:  5 Stars

                  

Test Notes:

This machine had the most consistent great results and was also the easiest to use.  Each of the Sturdiwheat loaves baked perfectly and had a nice crust that was true to the medium setting.  As you can see the Ole’s Wild Rice Bread came out very large, it was actually touching the lid about ¾ of the way through the cycle.  It may have produced a nice dome as well if it had the room!  It seems this machine is not available now and we will be testing another comparable Breadman soon to see if produces similar results.

 

 

The Sturdiwheat Golden Grain was the first bread tested and dried out (crack in loaf) by the last day of testing, though it is still representative of size and crust thickness

 

Breadman Pro
Cycle setting	#3 Whole Wheat, 1.5lb loaf, Med Crust
Ease of programming	Easy
Length of cycle	3 hours 43 minutes
Temp of Water	100° F
Ease of removing bread from pan	Very Easy
Appearance of bread	Good
Price	$90

                       

Test Score:  4 Stars

               

Test Notes:

This bread machine produced nice sized loaves.  It did not get an “Excellent” for appearance because the crowns of the loaves were very rough/choppy not smooth.  This did not affect the crust much but did look notably different than the other machines’ loaves.  It has a relatively short bake cycle for whole wheat coming in 77 minutes shorter than the longest cycle and only 11 minutes from the shortest cycle. 

 

The Sturdiwheat Golden Grain was the first bread tested and dried out (crack in loaf) by the last day of testing, though it is still representative of size and crust thickness

 

Cuisinart CBK-200
Cycle setting	#3 Whole wheat, 1.5lb loaf, medium crust
Ease of programming	Very Easy
Length of cycle	4 hours 25 minutes
Temp of Water	100° F
Ease of removing bread from pan	Very difficult
Appearance of bread	Below average
Price	$114.95

                       

Test Score:  1 Star

                 

Test Notes:

This machine did not perform well overall.  It was almost impossible to remove the pan from the machine.  The loaves were on the small side and the Limpa-Sweet Rye crust was overdone.  We would not recommend this bread machine out-of-the-box for Sturdiwheat Yeast Bread Mixes, but it might perform better on custom settings in Round 2.

 

The Sturdiwheat Golden Grain was the first bread tested and dried out (crack in loaf) by the last day of testing, though it is still representative of size and crust thickness

 

Zojirushi BBCC-X20
Cycle setting	Basic Wheat
Ease of programming	Moderate
Length of cycle	3 hours 40 minutes
Temp of Water	100° F
Ease of removing bread from pan	Very Easy
Appearance of bread	Excellent
Price	$198.20

        

Test Score:  4 Stars 

    

Test Notes:

This bread machine produces a traditional looking loaf that is nice shape for toast and sandwiches.  The programming was a little tricky because there are two arrows that move around to multiple settings at the same time with different options.  Also when you select “basic wheat” you cannot select a crust setting.  Three of the four loaves turned out very nice.  The Limpa-Sweet Rye did not rise fully.  This may be corrected with a different setting allowing for a longer rest.  Overall we liked this machine once we got past the programming and have high expectations for it in Round 2.

 

The Sturdiwheat Golden Grain was the first bread tested and dried out (crack in loaf) by the last day of testing, though it is still representative of size and crust thickness

 

Westbend 41026
Cycle setting	Whole Wheat #5 1.5lb
Ease of programming	Easy
Length of cycle	4 hours 30 minutes
Temp of Water	100° F
Ease of removing bread from pan	Very Easy
Appearance of bread	Below average
Price	$45-$75

                                                         

Test Score:  1 Star                                                                  

Test Notes:

This bread machine produced relatively small loaves compared to the other machines in this test.  The Golden Grain White bread was misshapen and only the Limpa-Sweet Rye formed an acceptable crown (though still very small in size).