Does ii work out cheaper using a breadmaker?

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

Im toying with the idea of getting a bread maker, we only usually eat about 3 loaves a week of wholemeal bread.
Does anyone know if it will work out cheaper in the long run making my own bread, I would also use it for dough for Pizza bases as well.

[McDreamy]

I really want to start using mine a bit more. Glad to hear it's a cheaper option! Is the Panasonic still considered the best one out there?

[mumblecrumble]

We wondered this last night -

We reckon for the bread we are getting out of it (i.e. not Tesco value quality) you;d pay around a £1 a loaf for it, maybe more...

Flour - about 20p
salt, sugar, water - few pence
yeast - 6p
Electricity to run (according to Uncle Martin Lewis...) is about 5p
Seeds, nuts etc mayby make it more....

So we reckoned

Shop loaf - £1 - £1.50 plus time to buy it
Home loaf - 30p - 50p plus time to make it


I got a second hand one off ebay with Xmas money + a new pan which cost £35 altogether and I LOVE IT! All the cliches of fresh bread in morning are true. DD loves helping me put the ingredients and the loaf coming out at the end is a little bit magical....

Really enjoying making any bread we fancy too - have made white, brown, nutty....

go for it

[mumblecrumble]

ALso..... would you mind advising on the best way to keep bread afterwards

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

You do eat more of it though...or is that just me?

[ivykaty44]

this yeast works out cheap I keep mine pegged and in the fridge and it will last me 3-4 month.

I make approx 3-4 loaves of bread a week

I don't buy shop bread and havn't done for 4 years. So the £80 on the bread machine back then has cost me £20 per year

[ivykaty44]

I have a crock bread bin that my dad wasn't using - they are not cheap.

Dad has a bread bag from lakeland that he keeps bread in as he is limited for space and he can keep bread for two weeks, the bread is only fit for toasting mind! but not gone off and my bread doesn't have preserves in it so that not bad

[lucy101]

The Panasonic ones are really just brilliant - I know of about 6 people with them and they all swear by them. I worked out that it started saving us money after about 6 months max. I often just make the dough in it and then shape into rolls, different loaves and do the final bake in the oven. I haven't made pizza dough yet but friends make it all the time.

[ivykaty44]

I have a panasonic this time, I would swear by it as much better than the LG model I had in 1997

i don't eat more bread as I just make it for day to day use so pack ups and toast etc.

i have made pizza this week which was used for evening meal and then pack up for the next day for dd2

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

Great I will definatley be investing (if I can't find one from Frecycle)

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

My boys love pizza, it is one thing I know they will eat but I don't like shop brought ones, even the bases are full of nastys! Hopefully if I get a Breadmaker they can get invloved with the whole process if making it from scratch.

[ivykaty44]

pizza dough is easy with yeast flour water and olive oil mixed together by hand or machine. Then passata over the top and lots of bowls of foods to go on top of the pizza.

Sometimes I cut out the base of the pizza with a scone cutter and they have mini pizza putting on each one which foods they want and in different combinations. For the sleepover girl that didn't like cheese it was ideal

[MarsLady]

I had a breadmaker for ages, but I find that making the bread myself is easier. The kneading would be a chore but for the fact that I have Colourful Radio on full blast and sing and knead. The children prefer my bread to bread machine bread which they, in turn, preferred to shop bought bread.

Not sure how helpful you'll find that, but thought I'd post anyway.

[TitsalinaBumSquash]

Very helpful Mars.
I love making my own bread by hand but what with studying, school runs and all of ds1's medical gumpfh, I just don't have the time. Now ex has left im trying to micro manage my time to save my sanity and get the kids behaviour up to some sort of managable level.

[sethstarkaddersmackerel]

if you are buying decent quality bread then breadmakers saves you a fair bit, if you buy economy bread then not so much.

re pizza, I bought readymade pizza bases the other day and was amazed how much they were - best part of £2 for 2 which weren't even very big. They'd have cost about 15p each to make!

[MarsLady]

I understand that. I have 5 of them. 1 just getting university offers and doing A Levels, 1 applying for 6th form and doing GCSEs, 1 finding her feet at senior school and twins pulling my attention in different directions.

I tend to make my bread whilst cooking tea. I banish them from the kitchen, pop the food in the oven and knead bread. Then I finish it off when they're in bed.

Meanwhile, like you, I'm studying and working.

Ah... but this just makes me sound like supermum when really I'm a lush with a red wine bottle! lol

[MarsLady]

ooh I meant to add... benign neglect... it's the way to go.

[bacon]

I dont think its just about cost as the manufacturing processes used in bagged bread isnt as healthy as its made out.

There is lots of air used, salt and sugar.

Bread used to be of quality and healthy substance but the rubbish that is put on our shelves now hasnt much nutrician at all.

The slower the better as the fermenting process is where the taste, texture and nutrician exisits.

I buy my flour on the net as I like the big bags and looking for the highest quality. Its organic as its difficult to source high quality. Some of the white flour is very processed.

I agree about time, I love baking but usually its too late to start, even so the overnight sponge dough may be more suitable for busy mums. The sponge method does at lot of the work for you hence short processing the next day.

[nannyl]

I find it much cheaper

i use the doves yeast in an orange packet...
make 3 - 4 loaves a week.. It costs about £1, and lasts me 3 - 4 months

i harvest my own poppyseeds from our poppys that i put in white bread some times.

im not fussy about which bread flour i buy... so long as i use the normal (instead of fast) programme the bread is always very very nice.... fast programme is still fine but normal definitely better.

If an extra special one is on offer than i buy that, other wise shops own is just fine too

[AitchTwoOh]

marsy, you should look at doing , since dh started doing it our panasonic remains unused. it makes those lovely parisian boule things, chewy and delicious. the secret is making a mini-oven in a casserole dish, then whacking the dough into that.

[MarsLady]

email me details please aitch my lovely... or fb message blah blah... sounds interesting...

of course NOTHING beats kneading dough when there is someone who's head you want to pound! lol

[AitchTwoOh]

it is interesting. did you click on that link? it really tells you all yu need to know. if you do it, i'll ask dh for anything he does different now...

[MarsLady]

D'oh!

[ivykaty44]

I was wondering how much an economy loaf of bread costs? i you can make a decent loaf of bread in a bread maker for 50p then where do you get economy bread cheaper than that?

[MarsLady]

aitch!!!!! Wow! Looks good. Could do that and leave it overnight. Fab.

Yes please to your DH's tips. the 500 degs thing is confusing me!