For those that don't know, slow cookers have their elements more at the bottom while crock pots have their up the sides which is why they tell you to fill your crock pot about 3/4 full for cooking.
How old would you say your cooker is. Just trying to gauge it compared to the age of my crock pot. I do think that over time or various manufactures have made changes.
In fact the same is true for bread machines. I did so much research before I bought my bread machine. I had lost my book for my first machine and nothing I tried worked in it, including a so called universal bread machine booklet found online, so I didn't want to put a lot of money into a new one. Even some of the expensive ones were getting some bad reviews, so I read a lot of reviews and settled on this one. Breadman TR520 Programmable Bread Maker for 1-, 1-1/2-, and 2-Pound Loaves. $59 and no shipping.
So far, no problems and I really like it. Except for one thing. What moron thought it was a good idea to use white text on yellow?? I copied that page from the booklet, cut it out and taped to the inside cupboard door for quick reference. Really only need it for cycle selection and at this point I'm still playing with 'basic'.
One thing that I've noticed is that all bread machines seem to be different. Sometimes it is the amount of heat used for cooking and that all by itself makes a world of difference. Recipes that work with no adjustment for one machine may not work without tweaking for another. But, using the booklet that came with the machine helps with the tweaking process.
We don't use a lot of bread, but when we do, we try to use those that a re lower on the glycemic index. Whole grains (haven't tried that in the machine yet), ryes (tried one and thought it tasted more like wheat, will add more rye flour next time), and sourdough. I don't know if there is a difference between sourdough bread and buttermilk bread, but I'm going to find out. This is a recipe I found online that we like a lot.
Honey Buttermilk Bread |
|
1/2 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup milk + 1 Tb 3 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon margarine or butter |
3 cups bread flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons active dry yeast |
Place ingredients in the bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Basic bread cycle, and start machine. Makes one (1 1/2 pound) loaf. |
As a ps, I think you should always put the ingredients into the pan in the order the manufacturer suggests. That Mustard Rye one that I posted earlier puts ingredients in backwards to mine, but I don't know if that is an older recipe or what. Did older machines put flour in first? Anyway I just wanted to remind people of that in case there are others that are new to bread machines like myself.
I'll have to ask my wife where her bread maker is. We moved in Aug.'10, so I can not find some things.