Do I really need a bread maker? 🍞

[Abuye]

Specifically, the Panasonic YR-2540 which is £170 😳

I am shortly going back to work after mat leave, if that changes things!

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No.
Buying a bread maker in the 1990s is what tipped me into credit card debt for several years. I was working, thought I'd wake up every morning to freshly-baked bread.
I used it 3 times.

What's your work situation got to do with it?

Oh, quite a bit I would have thought. Normally with these threads that kind of information is included to paint a picture of the household. Is someone busy, do they really need a labour saving device? Would they actually use it or would it sit in the corner growing dust sort of thing. 😊

I had one but found the hole left in the bread by the paddle was annoying. I used if for kneading then baked the loaf in my oven.
When it broke I didn’t replace it. It was a cheap bread maker but I can’t remember the brand.
I just use a dough hook on my mixer now.

Panasonic bread makers are the best! I love mine but that said I very much go through phases of using it loads then not using it for months so it’s a tricky call.

When we don’t use it it’s usually because we want to cut down on carbs rather than being anything wrong with it.

As for the paddle, if I’m around I remove the paddle after the kneading stage.

Yes, definitely! I don't have that model but use an older one every week! It's great for UPF free bread, the smell of fresh bread in the house is fabulous and it is more filling than shop-bought bread. Add a bit more water than recipe says if you want to make wholemeal. I slice the loaf then freeze half of it for easy toast later in the week (toaster has a defrost button, most of them do these day)

I found a good food mixer better in terms of labour saving and that way you can make different shapes and sizes of bread or rolls or various flavours which I found hit and miss in a bread maker although you can’t just put ingredients in and walk away like a bread maker

I found a good food mixer better in terms of labour saving and that way you can make different shapes and sizes of bread or rolls or various flavours which I found hit and miss in a bread maker although you can’t just put ingredients in and walk away like a bread maker

I would say no. Try a no knead recipe.

Yes, we have an older model and use it probably 5 times a week at least. Ours is around 20 years old (we’ve replaced the pan a few times).

Unless you currently regularly make bread by hand, a bread machine is not a labour-saving device! Buying bread requires no labour . I'd say that more relevant background information than your job situation would be how much bread you eat, how unimpressed by bought bread you are and whether you have a tendency to buy gadgets you then don't use!

I love my breadmaker and used it a lot until I became gluten intolerant. The rest of the family can't be arsed with it, so it's not being used. I need to try and experiment more with making gf bread in it, after some none-too-successful attempts.

I have the Panasonic R2530 (not aware how it differs from the model you are thinking of buying) which I was bought as a retirement present.
Use it regularly (3-times a week).
Not quick (4hrs to make a medium loaf) but the bread is light, crusty, tasty and well worth it.
Just make sure you keep all the ingredients at home.

It does many other things but I have only ever used it for making the basic loaf.

I mean it's 2025...how much time do any of us spend making bread? It's a hobby for those who do rather than a necessity...I don't have a bread maker nor do I spend any time making bread by hand.

I had the Panasonic one and it was excellent. When you say about going back to work and labour saving devices….. Does that mean if you didn’t get one you’d be making it by hand? If that’s the case I would get one.

I would also say for me it depends how much bread you eat as a family. We don’t eat that much and because it obviously has no preservatives in it goes stale very quickly - so I ended up throwing what was left away quite a lot.

I second what a PP said about removing the paddle after the kneading stage too - as it stops there being an annoying hole in the end. Although that does add to faffing about

You definitely need one if you have some space at the back of a cupboard that you’re desperate to use.

Well I’m feeling really stupid now. I genuinely didn’t know you could remove the paddle before baking.

Yes I’ve got that one and I use it all the time. It’s got the separate yeast delivery thing and a special place for seeds and nuts. I’ve never had a bad load from it. It’s really easy to use and I often put it on before I go to bed with the delay so it’s ready when I get up. It’s remarkably cheap to make bread and like others, I was trying to avoid UPFs. I got mine second hand on Facebook, paid about 80 for it and I’m pretty sure it’s paid for itself already. Bread in my local bakery was over £4 a loaf by the time I got it

I don't have one now. I have (had) far to many gadgets that were supposed to be the cure for everything manual, but instead were used once in a blue moon and eventually donated to others. A breadmaker was one of them.

I now make my own wholemeal soda bread instead. So simple, no kneading, no yeast, no rising, and when it turns out well (most of the time!) is just so fab with real butter. Freezes brilliantly, and UPF free too if that's your bag.

The only gadgets I have now are a stick blender and jug, and a mini chopper. 😊

No one needs a bread maker, but some people find it useful.
I use ours pretty regularly, though mostly it’s just for dough for oatbran flatbreads of DHs devising which don’t raise his blood sugar like other breads - we could probably do this by hand or in some other device but as we’ve got the breadmaker (it’s whatever was a decent Panasonic ~6 years ago) it’s easier to use it. I also make a rye and wholemeal loaf which is sliced and straight into the freezer for lovely toast. We don’t buy any other bread. The paddle is thin and I don’t notice much of a hole.

It's only a labour saving device if you routinely knead dough by hand.
My stand mixer does a great job and is more versatile.

Exactly the same as @caramac04 .

Yes you can wake up to freshly baked bread but you cannot slice it, it is too hot for that. Also the paddle leaves a hole in the bottom of the bread as it bakes around it. So like caramac I used it to mix the dough including releasing seeds via the hopper at the right time. I used to make 3 seeded granary loaves a week. I also used it to make fruit loaf which was delicious. I used it until it died which was probably 6 years, it was a Panasonic and now make bread by hand. It is sort of a no-knead, more of a pull stretch in a bowl than out on the worktop.

So if you want freshly baked bread, great, but don't expect the waking up to it scenario. There are lots of videos on YouTube so look at the timings and see when you could make bread to fit in with your day. Is homemade bread delicious? Absolutely.

What I think does make a difference when returning to work is either batch cooking and/or a slow cooker. Yesterday I had chucked a load of cupboard, freezer items plus fridged condiments (chipotle, tomato puree) plus a pack of diced beef specifically labelled for a slow cooker, turned it on at 11am and had slow cooker beef chilli for dinner at 7pm. Now I was here to do all that just before 11am, you could use a timer to make it come on at that time. Some slow cookers come with a timer.

There are lots of slow cooker recipes and "dump dinners" on YouTube for inspiration.

Me either. This is a wonderful thing to learn before 9am!

I’m not sure I know when the right time is though. But I’ve never had cause to watch for the different stages.

Only if you are happy to eat a whole loaf of delicious warm bread slathered with butter every morning.

Ours has had to go into the attic so it’s saved for special occasions only.

I have a morphy Richard’s fastbake, had it years use it 4/5 times a week. You can set it on delay so set up in the morning and come home to fresh bread.

Ive just bought my son and DIL and because they dropped so many hints I relented. They like to come in from work to fresh bread or to the dough ready to make into whatever they need.

i use it for pizza dough and pasta too.

it really depends on how much bread you eat, I had 3 teenagers/young adults when I bought it so it was used loads, now just 3 of us at home so not so much, it is nice to come home to a nice stew or soup in the slow cooker and fresh bread to go with it.