To want to bake my own bread whilst also bringing up a small person?

[Ecgwynn]

Is it worth having a bread maker while I have a small baby (currently 4 months) or am I realistically not going to use it? Also any recommendations of models to get?

Um... we have never cleaned ours, other than a cursory wipe of the little compartment for 'bits' and a quick wipe of the main pan after a batch of dough.

All cooked bread comes out as clean as a whistle, leaving absolutely nothing behind, so we stick the pan back into the machine ready or the next batch...

There is a tiny bit of blackening under the lid - probably to be expected after 6-7 years' continuous use - but genuinely nothing else to clean. We fill it outside the machine, then slot it in, which avoids flour etc dropping down onto the elements.

Very little to clean. Ours has a non stick pan so we empty out the bread, put a bit of water in to loosen the paddle, the. Come back half an hour later, take the paddle off and wipe it all out. Takes about half a minute.

That sounds good Teacherw2k, I'm beginning to feel tempted. Have to make some space on the worktops first.

(Skiing gardener's plan sounds like a good one if you want to be able to remove the paddle - useful if you will also be baking cakes in the breadmaker. Ours is pretty much stuck in situ but as we never need to remove it it's not a problem.)

I've ordered a panasonic

my lot are 10,3,2 and 7 months and i make loads of bread,cakes etc in mine :)

People make cakes in theirs? Recipes please !

Download the instruction booklet for the Panasonic sd253 from here:

www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Support/Downloads/220239/index.html#anker_220239

and it has cake recipes towards the end. never tried it, but everything else I have ever tried from the recipe book has turned out perfect so the cakes may well be the same!

Mine has a jam setting too. I use it for blackberries (plus some apples for pectin). Only takes an hour.

I'm another Panasonic lover. . So quick and easy.