Do You Really Need the Preheat Phase on a Bread Machine?

Sneak Preview: The preheat phase of a bread machine cycle automatically starts at the beginning. Learn why you may or may not need it.

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Do you have a preheat feature on your bread machine? If your machine sits quietly after turning it on, and nothing happens for 20-30 minutes, you most likely have a preheat phase.

But, of course, that’s assuming the blades are engaged correctly.

Most bread makers (not the older ones) include a preheat phase to “stabilize the temperature of ingredients.” Supposedly, the bread baked in a bread machine has a better chance of success.

What Is the Purpose of a Preheat Period?

I’ve read that bread machine engineers discovered that bread makers with a preheat stage were more likely to turn out a decent loaf of yeast bread than those without it. It provides a gracious margin of error for inexperienced users who don’t always use ingredients at the proper temperature.

But there’s a price to pay–extra time.

I don’t know about you, but time is precious in my kitchen.

Note: If this is your first time on my website, you may not know that I rarely use my bread machine for baking bread. I mainly use it for kneading. It’s got a handy timer and beeps, which are more convenient than using a stand mixer, food processor, or kneading by hand. And just a tip: I always use the regular DOUGH cycle, not the QUICK one.

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Do You Need the Preheat Feature If You Only Use the DOUGH Cycle?

No–for several reasons.

• If an ingredient is frozen or extremely cold, warm it a bit before adding it to the bread machine pan. However, the friction caused by the paddles kneading the dough will heat the ingredients quite nicely. If you don’t believe me, stick a digital thermometer into the dough after it finishes kneading. Read more about warming liquids when using the DOUGH cycle.
  
• Mixing the dough with cold ingredients can slow down the rising process. However, the longer the rise, the better the flavor, so no harm is done. (That’s one reason homemade sourdough bread tastes so amazing.)
  
• Another reason to start with cold ingredients is summer in Texas or any warm kitchen. Humid heat can give your dough super-rising powers.
  
  If the dough over-proofs, the bread can fall or fail to rise correctly when baking. Over-proofing is a common cause of dense bread.
  

YIKES! The kitchen itself was 78˚F, but the dough warmed up fast even though the eggs and butter were cold and the milk was lukewarm. Chill the pan in the refrigerator before you start if the ambient temperature in your kitchen is extra warm or if you want to slow down the rise.

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Do I Need the Preheat Feature To Bake the Bread in My Machine?

The preheat feature may be advantageous when using the “one-and-done” REGULAR BREAD button. The reason is that the bread machine’s timing mechanism is programmed for ingredients at the same temperature.

I want to be in the kitchen as the machine kneads to make adjustments on the fly. Waiting an extra 20-30 minutes for the mixing and kneading phase to begin is not on my schedule.

ADDENDUM: Not all of us follow the directions and warm ingredients before we add them to the machine. If that sounds good to you, read more about whether it’s really necessary. For the rest of you, keep reading below.

How Do I Warm the Ingredients Before Mixing the Dough?

Of course, you can set the ingredients on the counter and let them warm up naturally. But that takes too much time for my tastes. So this is what I do:

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Butter is special.

• Cut it into small pieces if the butter is hard to soften quickly.
• For recipes like Brioche, squeeze the buttery pieces between your fingers as you add them to the bread machine pan to ensure they are soft and squishy.
• Don’t want to squish it through your fingers? One of my readers suggested grating the butter. Great idea!
• If you heated the milk or water, drop small pieces of butter into the warm liquid to soften it quickly.
• Using a microwave to soften butter is risky. I use the DEFROST button. You don’t want the butter to melt as it makes your dough softer than it should be and tempting to add too much flour.

Don’t want to bother with heating the ingredients? Read more about why using room temperature ingredients may be irrelevant when using a bread machine.

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How Can I Circumvent the Preheat Feature on My Bread Maker?

• Inactivate it. If you own a Zojirushi, turn it off by simultaneously pushing the “time” and “cycle” buttons until PREHEAT OFF appears in the display. Do the same thing if you ever need to turn it back on. Check the manual if you own a different brand of bread maker. (Don’t forget to look online if you don’t have a manual.)
  
• Try creating a custom cycle without the preheat feature if your machine offers the option.
  
• Many machines do not allow the user to inactivate the preheat cycle. Try starting the bread maker(paid link) when you first walk into the kitchen. Much of the preheating time will pass as you assemble the recipe.

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Parting thoughts: No matter how you use your bread machine, I hope this gives you some ideas for making the preheat phase fit into your lifestyle and how you like to make bread.