Bread Machine Woes

My bread machine died. This is my second machine. I have only had this one about a year and a half, and I didn’t even use it for half a year! Today, I filled up the bucket, added all the ingredients, went to start it, and *grind*.

photo credit: Otto Phokus

We got a closer look at the mechanism and see the problem– the (bear with me here, I don’t know the engineering terminology) turning pin at the bottom of the bucket (the pin that holds the paddle in the bucket, and is spun by the motor in the machine itself) has no more grease and is all rusty. And I recall that the last time I made bread with this machine, there was a ton of grease that worked its way up into the bucket and contaminated my dough. :-p Gah!!!

Why do they make bread machines this way?!?! My daughter made the good point: “Why don’t they just make the bread machine with the paddle on the top?”

Yeah. Why don’t they?! It’s rather dumb to have the greased-up paddle on the bottom, because things like this happen. And grease gets in the dough. Not too good. Why don’t they make these things a little more durable, smarter? It’s not like you need Ferrari parts or anything, just have a GOOD design!

Anyone have any ideas? Do you have a better-built bread machine? Do you think I should go with an standing electric mixer to make my bread?? I’m baffled. I really need a dough-making machine now that autumn and winter and coming. I’d sure appreciate any reviews, comments, or advice…