Cambridge's Gallery 263 presents exhibit featuring bread machines
13.01.10
In 1987, Hirota Hiromi and Hatano Takeshi patented the first single-loaf at-home bread machine, and by the early 1990s these machines where available widely in the United States.
By 2010, it seems that a large fraction of these handy devices have ended up on the shelves of thrift stores everywhere for around $15. On purely economic terms, a $15 bread machine is a clear winner, but the real win comes not from a financial assessment, but from the smell of bread rising and cooking and the enjoyment of eating the finished loaf.
Gallery 263 is presenting “Bread Machine,” an installation show that resurrects these abandoned bread machines. The gallery walls will be loaded with rescued bread machines — none the same — and each of them will be functioning and churning out fresh bread throughout January. Twitter (g263bread) will keep the curious informed of when and what breads are coming out. Antique toasters will also take part in the show, as will various bread machine-inspired poetry and art pieces, including a video installation, with the images and sounds derived from the machines and the dough and breads they make.
Source: Cambridge Chronicle
Befriend bread again
14.01.10
Are the glory days of bread machines over?
Not for those who love the taste and aroma of homemade bread. Or those who want to provide their families with the freshest bread at economy prices.
The bread machine is an amazing home appliance first released on the market in Japan in 1986.
To bake a loaf of hot homemade bread, all you have to do is carefully measure your ingredients, put them in the machine’s removable pan and push a button. The machine does the rest. It kneads the dough and bakes the bread. In four hours, more or less, a buzzer goes off and a piping hot loaf of bread is ready to be removed from the pan.
Simple? Absolutely.
When bread machines were first introduced in America in 1987 at appliance tradeshows, they were an instant hit. However over time, especially during the low-carb diet phase of the 1990s, they lost some of their popularity.
According to ConsumerReports.org, sales of bread machines peaked in 1998 and have dropped considerably since then.
Source: 2TheAdvocate