Have you found a wonderful bread machine mix that you’d love to try, but alas, you don’t yet have a bread machine? Don’t fret, you don’t have to have a bread maker to enjoy those great recipes.
Bread machine mixes can be prepared easily with or without a bread machine by hand or with a stand mixer, then baked in an oven, air-fryer, or slow cooker.
How to Prepare a Bread Machine Mix- Without a Bread Machine
Clearly a bread machine is handy appliance to have in the kitchen to make bread quickly and with minimal effort. However, the lack of a bread maker shouldn’t deter you from enjoying the many delicious bread machine mix recipes that are available.
How to Prepare Bread Machine Mixes by Hand
Gather the ingredients needed to complete the mix, (such as milk or water, honey, yeast, any nuts or fruits, etc). In a small bowl mix the yeast in the warm water, with 2 teaspoons of sugar, set aside. Ensure that the water (or milk) temperature is the temperature recommended on the particular packet of yeast (usually 115ºF)
Dump the bread machine mix dry ingredients package into a large bowl, add the proofed yeast mixture to the bowl. Add melted butter (but only lukewarm or it will kill the yeast).
Stir until the mass starts to stick together. When you cannot comfortably stir any further, dump the dough onto a floured surface and begin kneading. (The dough will likely be slightly wetter than you can handle by hand. A tablespoon or so of flour on the counter should make it just right.
Do not add too much flour–a softer dough will rise better.) Knead the dough until it is elastic–ten to twelve minutes. Place it in a greased bowl, cover it with a clean dishtowel, and let it rise until doubled–about an hour.
Overturn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, punch it down to deflate it, knead 3-5 times, and then shape into loaves or buns, as desired. Place the shaped dough into oiled pans, cover with a dishtowel and allow them to rise until doubled in size.
Bake at 350ºF until the loaves sound hollow when gently tapped, about 35-40 minutes.
How to Prepare Bread Machine Mixes by Mixer
Gather the ingredients needed to complete the mix, (such as milk or water, honey, yeast, any nuts or fruits, etc). In a small bowl mix the yeast in the warm water, set aside. Dump the Bread Machine Mix dry ingredients package into the mixer bowl.
Add yeast and water and mix on medium speed using the dough hook attachment. Add the melted butter and continue mixing on medium speed for about 5 minutes. This process allows the gluten to properly develop.
If the dough is too sticky, add one tablespoon flour. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it and let it rise until doubled–about an hour.
After the dough has Risen:
Once the dough has risen, it can be formed into rolls, a single pan-shaped loaf, or a free-standing loaf (such as French bread or Italian bread) and placed in a greased pan. Cover and let rise again.
Bake the pan-shaped loaf or free-standing loaf at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. The loaf will be golden brown and will sound “hollow” when tapped. (It should be about 190ºF internally).Bake rolls for 18 to 20 minutes at 350ºF or until done.
How to Prepare a Bread Machine Mix in a Slow Cooker/ Crockpot
Prepare the bread maker mix dough as directed above using either the hand method or the stand mixer. Line the slow cooker with a piece of parchment paper and place the dough in the center of the paper.
The benefit of using a slow cooker is skipping the rising process. The dough will rise as the slow cooker heats up, all you need to do is mix the dough, shape it, then bake.
Bake on high for 1 to 2 1/2 hours. I realize that this is quite a variation, but it depends entirely on which bread mix recipe you’re using. The loaf should be 190-200ºF internally when tested. Easy peasy!
How to Bake a Bread Machine Mix in an Air Fryer
Prepare the bread maker mix into dough as directed above using either the hand method or the stand mixer.
The general rule of thumb to prepare a bread machine mix dough in an air-fryer is to reduce the suggested temperature by 25°F and then cut the cook time by about 20%. Utilize the pause button on your air-fryer to occasionally check the doneness of the bread (which should reach an internal temperature of 190ºF.