Bread Makers - worth it? For GF bread

[raindropsandsunshine]

I've recently been forced to go gluten free. Bread in the shops is ridiculous! Small loaves and expensive, so the past few weekends I've made my own. However, it's is very time consuming and I'm already a little fed up with it.

Are bread makers good to have? I haven't even seen one before. I've found one with a gf setting - is this important or a gimmick?

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[Watto1]

I can't comment on the gluten free aspect but I love my bread machine. It takes a few minutes to bung the ingredients in and press the start button. 90 minutes or so later, out pops a lovely fresh loaf! It certainly came into its own when the shops sold out of bread due to everyone panic buying a couple of weeks ago. I also use mine a lot for bread rolls, pita bread and pizza bases.

[Watto1]

Forgot to say, mine is a small one from Lakeland. It was great for a beginner but it makes very small loaves and I have to halve the ingredients in most recipes. I've had a couple of incidences of the bread bursting out of the machine when I've used a recipe for too large a loaf for the machine! I'm hoping to upgrade to a larger machine when finances allow.

[raindropsandsunshine]

Oh pizza bases? I assume they're little mini ones? So you mix it in a bowl and then put it into the mixer?

[Adarajames]

I've never found it works well with gf bread, have tried numerous recipes and additions to try and get something even vaguely nice and never succeeded, my Dad the same and hes done lots of gf cooking. Gave my bread maker away in end

[raindropsandsunshine]

I've seen a £70 one, Andrew James.

[raindropsandsunshine]

Adara did yours have a gf setting?

[Bellamuerte]

Never had much success with gf bread in a bread maker. Tried it years ago before Genius bread was invented, nowadays I just buy Genius as I wasn't able to produce anything half as good. Depends why you were "forced" to go gluten free - if you've been diagnosed with coeliac the doctor can prescribe bread.

[Watto1]

It's the other way round for the pizza bases m. You mix and knead the dough in the machine using the dough setting, then roll it out, put your toppings on and cook it in the oven. Rolls are the same, except make roll shapes instead of rolling out!

[raindropsandsunshine]

It's due to a medical condition, yes.

I can't stand genius bread, the schar is nice though. Just so small, and expensive!

[filga]

Before we went GF I made all my own bread, but I've yet to bake a decent GF loaf (been GF for 6 years).
I find M&S bread the best, but it is more expensive than normal bread.

[CMOTDibbler]

Way back before you could buy GF bread in the supermarket I used to make it in a breadmaker. TBH, unless I buy a mix which is just as expensive, it's not as nice, and goes off faster than a bought loaf. So I just don't eat much bread, and its a bit of a treat tbh.

GF 20 years now!

[BrownTurkey]

I too can’t comment on the GF sorry, but

1. Breadmaker is good
   
2. Have you tried a basic soda bread recipe yet (I used to do one of Jack Munroe’s, I think it was just flour, vinegar, oil, baking powder, water or something like that, stir it together, put in a loaf tin and bake. Used to come out nice.

[Adarajames]

Yes, it did have a GF setting, but its still never came out anywhere near nice

[tkband3]

More and more GPs have stopped doing gf prescriptions for coeliacs due to cost.

I’ve been thinking about getting a bread maker as I have three coeliac DDs and we haven’t had gf bread on prescription for over 2 years. There are a few available now with gf settings, but the newest with the best reviews is this Panasonic (sorry - on phone and can’t do links). It’s pricey though so I haven’t splashed out yet...

m.johnlewis.com/panasonic-sd-zx2522-breadmaker-black/p3476258?sku=237377401&s_kwcid=2dx&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9ZHqibr02QIVgo4YCh0V6A7LEAQYBCABEgI5kvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[JellySlice]

MIL is coeliac. She is an excellent cook, and you often cannot tell the difference between her GF and non-GF baking. Even when you can, her GF baking is still brilliant.

They make GF bread in a bread maker. They had an excellent Panasonic without a GF setting, but it didn't make good GF bread, so they gave it to us (it makes excellent bread) and bought another Panasonic with a GF setting. They say that the GF bread they make in the new bread maker is tolerable, but the shop-bought bread is still better.

They tend to make a loaf, slice it up, and freeze it with paper between each slice. Then MIL takes a slice or two and defrosts it in the toaster when she wants some bread.