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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I used mine all the time when I was taking sandwiches to work and then making packed lunches.

Much preferred it to UPF supermarket bread or extortionate artisan loaves.

Depends on your lifestyle.

We live on a farm without a shop nearly so love ours. Use it every other day. Also make pizza dough etc in it.

I’ve had my Panasonic for about 12years, and had a different cheaper make before, which didn’t last long.

There are just two of us, but I use it regularly. As well as a basic loaf - our go to is a seedy 50/50 - it’s nice to experiment with different bread now and then, and it makes a very good panettone.

For me, it wasn’t a time saver for baking bread, I never baked bread, it was a better alternative to bought bread, meant we never ran out (got into a routine of setting it going), and over the years that we used it routinely it was much cheaper.

Of course you don’t need a £170 bread maker. The question is do you want the £170 bread maker.

Can you borrow one from a friend to see if you really make good use of it before you buy?

I set mine up before bed when we need a loaf, and that works great for us, but it may not suit everyone.

I have that exact model, I love it. But I rarely use it. I also bought it before returning from mat leave. Since I've been back at work I have hardly used it. However, the jam making function is brilliant and I'm about to make a load of jams. It's also good for pizza dough. I've probably used it 20 times over the last three years.... which isn't a lot but I do love knowing it is there! The more I use it, the more I want to use it, then I forget about it for a while.... x

Yes. I have a Panasonic (can't remember which model) and it's become essential kitchen kit for me. Fewer ingredients, less sugar and more fibre than shop bread and it tastes so much nicer. 10 mins to get ready and then run overnight. The only problem is the loaves can go mouldy quicker, especially in the hot weather we're having, but that's because the only preservative is salt and there's not usually much left by the time that happens.

I've had my Panasonic just over 6 years and have used it twice a week since the day I had it but I make sandwiches for work every day. I buy 16kg bags of flour from Shipton mill - I use at least 3 times more white than wholemeal as the white is used to make a ciabatta loaf (100% white flour (500g) and 3 tablespoons of olive oil) that makes the best toast but the 50/50 wholemeal/white (500g loaf) is used for sandwiches - it's made with 2 tbsps of sunflower seeds, 2 tbsps pumpkins seeds and 2 tbsps of orange blossom honey. The price of flour has gone up from about £15/16kg bag to £19 but when I calculated the total cost of making it myself (including 13p for electricity) it was about 95p a loaf (less if I buy a bag of white and a bag of wholemeal to get free delivery)

Judging by the almost new and unused bread makers you can find on eBay for about £60 I think there are plenty of people who simply don't take to them. Honestly it takes me about 10 mins to put a loaf on. It takes me longer to slice it up carefully. I slice it when it's cooled down and divide it into 2 bags and freeze it - there are no preservatives so unlike shop bought (expensive!) bread it doesn't last long if left out. I get a couple of slices out of the freezer for sandwiches every morning and leave them out for 20 minutes while I'm eating breakfast and then they are fine to make sandwiches with.

Basically, it's a routine - I don't find it a chore - slicing the bread is a zen like exercise in concentration but it's worth it IMHO because the bread tastes great and it's saved quite a bit - good bread is expensive IMHO. I set up a bread making corner in my utility where my flours (decanted into big air tight containers), seeds, yeast, salt etc is kept on a small shelf above my bread maker and scales.

Attached - you can see the exact flours I routinely use. I use the inbuilt timer sometimes to bake overnight usually because I've forgotten to put the loaf on during the day.

hth

Panasonic bread machines are wonderful. The only reason I don't have one now is because I have more or less stopped eating bread. So lovely to wake up to a hot loaf and it literally takes 5 minutes to prepare the night before.

You'll need to experiment with flours. I found some were much better than others. I always made wholemeal and found that flours with a higher protein content (or described as 'strong' on the packet) were more successful.

If you regularly make bread and this would lighten your load a bit then yes. If you don't regularly make bread you are not going to start when back at work at an incredibly busy time in your life. The next few years are full on and you need to make things as simple as possible

I have a Panasonic breadmaker. Bought it in about 2008.

Did use it a lot for the first few years. Now I only use it for making a pre mixed bread mix. I found that I wasn't using the fresh ingredients often enough so the yeast / flour would stop being optimal and I made a fair few Bricks!

When I ate bread, I had a bread maker and used it twice a week.

It made the house smell amazing and it was great to have for sandwiches to take to work or family days out.

There are so many different recipes, even cake, which can make it a great thing to have.

I wouldn't say anyone 'needed' it but it's a nice to have like anything else.

No.

Don't get me wrong, they make great bread, and I used one for years. Then I got into making bread by hand and that's even better. I would never go back now.

Look at the Bake With Jack website to see how straightforward it is.

How much bread do you buy?

I. used to have one back in the 90's, it was to me just a fad and it lay collecting dust for years - did make a beautiful ginger bread though :)

I come and go to bread making so I have my trusty Kenwood to do the kneading when the notion takes me and my Ninja 15 in 1 does a great job of proving and baking it

With all gadgets it's a question of are you going to use it. My Ninjas were expensive, but I use one or the other every day - sometimes both so they have been good value. If you are convinced that you will get good use from a breadmaker then go ahead and buy the model you want , even making 2 loaves a week you will get a return on your money soon enough

I’ve had a panasonic breadmaker for 14 years and if it broke I’d replace it immediately. We use it every week for pizza dough plus a few times a week for loaves. We live rurally though and it’s a 40 minute round trip to buy bread!

I’ve had a very posh bread maker and couldn’t be bothered to shell out for a new one. I’ve now got bread making by hand off pat - I keep salt, sugar, yeast easily accessible, and it only needs a quick stir and knead for 5 minutes while the kettle boils. It’s easy.
also soda bread as a pp mentioned, ( lovely with cranberries and caraway) also the Australian bread where you just stir tons of nuts and seeds - no kneading at all.
I like the bread maker, but noone like the hole in the bottom so I’d cook it in the oven anyway.
i think it’s like a lot of things that were easy for our grannies but have become perceived as difficult in order to sell us cook books, tv shows and bread makers. Like scones, gravy..all easy and all made by time poor women who had to make budgets stretch.

I can make a loaf of soda bread in an hour, and half of that time is waiting for the oven to warm up. I'm not convinced that a bread-maker would add to my life and would loose a big space from my counter-top.

I'd wait a week or so after going back to work before deciding if one would enhance your life, OP.

No. I sold mine, but you could look for one second hand one if you really think you’re eat a lot of log shaped bread.

Save your money.

I had a Panasonic for years but I didn't get custody of it 😭 then I went protein only / protein mostly / avoiding too many delicious carbs ...

Now we are moving into a new place (and supermarket bread has risen ridiculously) and I've given up thinking I'll be slender ever again I got a secondhand fastbake (£20 on marketplace) last week. I am the Lord and have given us our daily bread. Yesterday I finally got my whites spot on and this morning's first wholemeal was absolutely perfect.

Thank you pp for suggesting paddle removal. Wonderful idea!

Should you OP? Well, that's a question only you can decide but I'm really pleased I've got back onto the bread making.

I use mine loads. I have two young children who are often in wrap around childcare and so only want/need something like toast for supper before bed. It is so easy to use and it makes me feel good that they’re getting a non-UPF food in their tummies! I also actually eat LESS bread than before because it’s more filling and I don’t binge on it like I do shop bought bread. I could easily eat 4 slices of buttered toast if shop bought bread, but I usually struggle to eat 2 of homemade!

No need for a bread maker! So easy to make without

We bought one and loved the bread it made a little too much as DH and I would eat the whole thing in one day… then we said “just at the weekends” then we used it less and less and eventually after it gathered dust for a couple of years we sold it - rarely eat bread now actually but if we want it we buy nice bread as a treat - so it can be great but it’s not as much of a time saver as a cleaner when you go back to work!