We found a used zojirush off craigslist and love it. We use it 1-2x weeks to make sandwich bread. I agree the price of good healthy bread is expensive. We like this book http://www.amazon.com/Lovers-Machine-Cookbook-Bread--ebook/dp/B00A9MOTBK/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383228060&sr=1-2&keywords=300+bread+machine+recipes

I have a kenmore and love it. It really does all of the work for you. If you're willing to spend the time making it and finding healthy recipes, you can definitely save money.

I have not been impressed with bread machines. Maybe the really expensive ones are good, but not the $50 range. The loaves have a funny shape and the taste was not great. I gave mine away.
I use the recipes from the Artisan bread in 5 minutes books, and they work very well. Bread freezes well.
The local bakeries have excellent bread, but at $5-7 per loaf it gets expensive.

I don't think a bread machine can make rolls? I think at most it will mix the ingredients into dough for you.

I'd suggest just finding a good no-knead bread recipe, like Bittman's or the How to Make Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day cookbooks/website.

We use an old breadman machine, and I love it, but the loaves are a goofy size--tall and wide. If you're going to be using the bread primarily for sandwiches, zojirushi makes awesome machines, but they're really expensive. You can probably do ok with any half-decent model. If you're on a neighborhood listserv, you might email out to see if anyone has one they're getting rid of. I think many people buy them with good intentions and then never lose them.

We have a great book of recipes by Jennie Shapter that I would highly recommend. I particularly like the Jewish deli rye (verylight rye flavor) and the classic wheat bread.

Anonymous wrote:We have a family of 6, 4 kids in grade school who take lunch. We are going through a decent amount of store bought bread which is costly when the loaves you buy are $4.99 a piece. I'd like to get a bread machine and make our own bread-- to include hamburger and hot dog buns, sub rolls, ect.

I'm looking for experiences and/or recommendations of which machine would work best. Thanks!

What are you buying that costs $4.99? That seems high.

I bought a west bend hi-rise machine off amazon 4 years ago and have been using it 1-2 times a week. It is so easy and house smells great. I also use it for pizza dough. It's well worth it.

We have a family of 6, 4 kids in grade school who take lunch. We are going through a decent amount of store bought bread which is costly when the loaves you buy are $4.99 a piece. I'd like to get a bread machine and make our own bread-- to include hamburger and hot dog buns, sub rolls, ect.

I'm looking for experiences and/or recommendations of which machine would work best. Thanks!