Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 19, 1994                   TAG: 9401190016
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Medium

YOUR DAILY BREAD BAKER MIGHT NOT BE A WHO

The Romans did it by creating the first commercial bakeries two centuries before Christ. Now, more than 2,000 years later, the Japanese have given us bread-making machines.

The bread maker is the latest necessity in millions of kitchens and a star at the International Housewares Show this week.

Sales of bread makers have about doubled each year after the appliance's modest introduction in 1988, reaching an estimated 2 million units last year. Manufacturers say sales could double again this year, helped by prices that have fallen as low as $100.

"The thing is like the coffee machine; people have to have fresh coffee in the morning," said Tom Lacalamita, spokesman for Welbilt Appliance Inc., of New Hyde Park, N.Y., the nation's dominant maker of bread machines.

"This is the same principle; people have to have fresh bread in the morning," he said.

And there's nothing to it: Dump in all the ingredients, set the timer and step back - or go to bed.

At the appointed time the machine mixes, kneads, shapes and bakes the bread - white, rye, wheat or just about any specialty flavor. The machine also can mix pizza dough, then stop before the baking step.

For people allergic to wheat, there are recipes for bread made with rice flour or tapioca flour.

Some visitors to the show expressed reservations about the flavor of machine-made bread. One said she detected a metallic taste. Others said the bread they tasted was better than that from supermarket bakeries, but not as good as handmade at home or from a neighborhood bakery.

But many were enthusiastic.

"The taste is definitely comparable with handmade bread if you use the right ingredients," said Richard Cusick, a baking instructor at the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago Inc.

For people with a busy schedule and an interest in eating more grain and fiber without additives, the bread machine can be a blessing, Cusick said.

"They appreciate food prepared fresh, as opposed to having chemicals in bread to keep it fresh longer," he said.

One shortcoming of the machines, Cusick said, is achieving a crispy thin crust common on French or Italian bread. But he said it's difficult to get that kind of crust even on handmade bread baked in a home oven.

Nonetheless, the interest in wholesome food and the ability to control what goes into the bread makes the machine attractive to many people, he said.

Lacalamita was confident the demand for the machine would keep growing.

"We know a majority of the American population is unaware of bread-making machines," he said. "And people like bread. I've never come across anyone who doesn't like bread."