Where's my bread machine mix?

January 15, 2008 1:07 PM

Where can I buy ready-made mix in bulk for my bread machine?

I had a bread machine when I lived in Australia and it was easy as pie. My grocery sold 5 and 10kg bags of multigrain mix. All we had to do was add the yeast and the water, turn on the machine and let it go.

So when my mother complained about high fructose corn syrup in American bread, I had the perfect Christmas gift! Except that I appear unable to buy that same pre-mixed goodness in bulk.

I know that individual box mixes exist, but they're about 2-3 dollars a pop; she can just buy bakery bread for that price. The mix I bought in Oz was about $5 for a 5kg bag.

So, anyone know where to find what I'm looking for? I've already tried Whole Foods, Trader Joes and some other mainstream places, and no dice. Thanks!

posted by maryn to food & drink (8 answers total)

King Arthur Flour looks like they have some decent mixes, but I'm not sure if they package them in the quantities you're looking for. It might be worth e-mailing them or calling them to inquire. As an aside, we're huge fans of their Baker's Companion book.

Depending on how much you want to make, you might explore grinding/mixing your own, too.
posted by jquinby at 1:50 PM on January 15, 2008

do you really need pre-mixed? flour + salt + yeast + sugar + cup water/milk (maybe + egg + oil/butter) is still pretty easy.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 1:59 PM on January 15, 2008

It's been a few years since I owned a bread maker but when I did I'd periodically mix up a batch of the kind of mix you're looking for. Here's a basic recipe, but there are lots to choose from (try RecipeZaar or Recipe Source) But eventually I found it simple enough just to add the ingredients separately for each batch of bread.
posted by redheadeb at 2:01 PM on January 15, 2008

How about you make your own "mix?" The only ingredients in good bread, other than the yeast and water, are flour and salt. Just mix some flour and salt.
posted by rxrfrx at 2:41 PM on January 15, 2008

See if there's a nearby restaurant or bakery that will sell bread mix. Often such places will sell things like dough or a mix to those who ask at cost.
posted by limeonaire at 4:06 PM on January 15, 2008

Thanks for the advice all.

As to mixing my own, that's definitely an option, but I'm trying to make this as simple as possible for my mother. I know it's not hard, but anything that makes it simpler means the bread machine gets used more often.

Plus, the kind I bought in Australia had all sorts of great stuff mixed in like flax seed and the like. It's about the best bread I've ever eaten. I was hoping to find something similar so she didn't have to go buy flax seeds, et al every couple months.

jquinby, I am going to email them - that's a good idea. I had seen their website, but asking about bulk didn't occur to me.
posted by maryn at 4:37 PM on January 15, 2008

Bob's Red Mill has good stuff, but you'd have to ask them directly about bulk sizes. They don't show that on their site.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 6:28 PM on January 15, 2008

Personally, I found most of the savings in machine bread came from buying the yeast in bulk: Where I was, this cut the cost-per-loaf almost in half.

You can get away with buying the big industrial bags of yeast if you decant the big bag directly upon opening into a bunch of smaller jars that you fill completely to reduce the oxygen in the jar - I used glass, and kept them in a cardboard box in the fridge to keep from exposing them to light. Perhaps that's overdoing it, but I used up two whole bags over a few years without an unrisen loaf.
posted by Orb2069 at 6:47 PM on January 15, 2008