Bread Maker recommendations please!

[ChickenAlfredo]

Im trying to cut down of UPF, and my usual bag of Hovis is full of preservatives.

So I want a bread maker. One where i can just bung everything in, and it will mix and kneed and do everything to produce a perfect loaf for me. Because i am lazy, and not a kitchen wizard.

Ive had a look online and there are millions of breadmakers and now im totally confused. So if you have a magical fool proof breadmaker at home, please could you tell me the make/model?

Hi @ChickenAlfredo I bought dh a Salter bread maker a few years ago as a Christmas present. I went for a cheaper one because I thought making bread would be a passing hobby for dh and it would end up in a cupboard. Anyway, I hang my head in shame because it's a brilliant machine that gets used a few times a week. We just bung the ingredients in and forget about it and out comes perfect bread. We use it a lot for making pizza dough as well and that's always great. This weekend I am going to try making jam in it for the first time...

Mine is a basic one from Lakeland. It only makes a 1lb loaf though.

I've had two Panasonic ones. Got rid of the first one, although we loved the bread and it was well used, because I thought I didn’t have room for it. Changed my mind and got another.

I have an old Panasonic. To make a basic loaf, you put in yeast, flour, sugar, salt, butter and water. Then switch it on. That's it! Been going for years.

I bought a Panasonic a couple of months ago (not the mini, but the entry level B2510 I think) and am very pleased with it. Ingredients in as I go to bed, set the timer and it finishes as I get up.
Have made jam, sultana bread, various brown breads and pizza dough, all good.

Panasonic was recommended by Which, and it doesn't leave much of a hole in the loaf.
Took half a loaf to DM who said how nice it was and is now thinking about getting one.
Only downside to the model is that the control panel is on the top at the back so as a shortie I can't see it if it's at the back of a worktop. Mine is elsewhere in the house though so not a problem.

I've got a Morphy Richards Fastbake, generally works ok, when it doesn't it's user error. The recipes that come with it are crap. My basic loaf 400g flour (mix of strong white and whole grain, 1 tsp salt, 0.75tsp sugar, 1 tsp yeast,, 15ml veg oil, 285ml water. 1.5lb loaf, dark crust. No milk powder, eggs etc. It's got no additives so it doesn't keep like supermarket bread, if you're not going to finish it in a couple of days, slice it up and freeze.Biggest problem there's no light behind the lcd display, so difficult to see

Panasonic is the best imo. Had a few Morphy Richards Fast Bake, first one was passed onto me from Mum who wasn't using it. Then replaced a couple of times until someone gave us a Panasonic. It's brilliant.

What do you do about the paddle

Panasonic here . Brilliant.I put on an overnight loaf and wake up to a delicious fresh loaf .

Make sure the yeast in well in date and the water isn;t too warm.
Mine mixes everything then releases the yeast into the mix.

There is a hole in the base of the loaf but not too bad

I've got a very expensive specially made tool to pull it out, aka a bent paperclip, works a treat.

I had a bread maker many years ago and I got so fed up of the paddle, I could hardly get it out most of the time, it ripped the bread apart, or if I left it in and tried to slice round it I inevitably managed to cut it and it ended up all rough and scraped. I got rid in the end.

The paddle doesn't come out in mine just leaves a hole in the bread and the paddle is in the pan base .

Sage machine here really love it.

I got fed up of the hole the paddle made too, so just used the bread maker to make the dough and then baked it in the oven.

I bought a Panasonic 30 years ago and it’s still going. I gave it to my daughter because I’d found a newer model second hand but barely used on ebay for £10 that I couldn’t pass up! My mum had a different model (Russell Hobbs or Morphy Richards, not sure which) and it didn’t make good bread at all, she was so disappointed.
I don’t think you’ll go wrong with a Panasonic, they are more expensive new, but you might be lucky like me and find one on eBay. If mine does ever break I won’t be buying anything else!