talk to me about bread makers

[lorisparkle]

I really want a breadmaker but need to convince DH. so I am really looking for some good arguments to convince him.

thanks.

They look very pretty on the kichen counter. Can even fool perople that owner of the said kichen occasinally cooks.

They make the house smell nice.

They decrease washing up and tea towel expenditure (I hate sticky stuff on my hands and murdered three tea towels trying to get the dough off me whennhand making bread)

They are economical to run (have no idea if this true)

They can make fresh baked bread for breakfast with their time (excpet mine refused to)

I haven't bothered to replace mine, but I may yet. I think they have a such a "ohhh, want one" factor that it would mean for him to dig his heels in about it. We all need a little non essential glitter in our lives, and a bread maker is pretty useful and harmless glitter to have a yen for.

I make pizza dough in it.
Ciabatta dough.
Used to make chocolate bread!!
Plan not to replace it but use kenwood instead to make dough.

I wouldn't be without mine, I hate sliced shop bread, all those preservatives they put in it...yuk! We got ours about 2.5 years ago just as we began weaning my DD, so she has grown up on homemade bread. I make her a 50/50 wholemeal/white loaf which we all love. It's great to know that if you are planning a picnic you can make some yummy sarnies with homemade bread! They make delicious pizza dough too...you can do all sorts in them, fruit bread etc! If mine broke I would be replacing it ASAP! We don't buy bread now. You need to buy a decent brand though or I think they can be a bit rubbish. We have a Panasonic and have been very pleased with it. I did need to buy an electric brad knife to slice it though...it can be tricky with the bread being so fresh! Also you do need to have a spot on the work too to keep it so it is handy to use or I imagine it would gather dust in the cupboard!!!! Hope this helps, good luck, we love ours!

Wonderful things.

I make bread, it takes 3 minutes to put on and then tastes wonderful. I can also make focaccia, pizza dough, Chelsea buns, fruit bread and som can make jam too. Panasonic are the dogs bollocks, I've had mine 10 years and is as good as new.

thanks everyone. I might save up so dh can't argue!

I use mine daily, friends comment how they cant be bothered with the weighing and loading things in. However, it takes me about 2 mins, to walk to shop and buy a loaf would take 20 mins! I make bread, fruit loaf, focaccia, pizza dough and cakes in mine. But if you are going to buy one, get a panasonic. They are the best and you get a perfect loaf everytime!

Oh Skiing, I have been meaning to try focaccia...is it yum???? Is the recipe in the Panasonic recipe book?

Also, are the Chelsea buns divine???

Tomato Focaccia is in the Panasonic SD254 manual (I have it as a PDF). 4h30m I have not tried it, may give it a try in a more basic form so the children may eat it.
Is there a version which makes the dough so it can be cooked in the oven, flattened out, rather than coming out as a loaf?

tell me more about cost - just for a standard loaf for example. also about how easy they are to clean. these little things might help win the argument

Will have to get back to you in cost per loaf, I haven't a clue! They are very easy to wash up, you MUST NOT immerse the pan in water! You just put a squirt of fairy in the bottom, half fill with warm water, leave it to soak for a minute or two, remove the blade and leave that to drain separately, then swish round the non-abrasive side of sponge till clean then it's done! No scrubbing required!

It really does just take a minute or two to weight out the ingredients (ok do maybe 3! )

am I a slattern? I just give my pan a quick wipe round after a loaf (obviously dough gets a proper clean).

OP, you need a bread machine. Takes less than 2 minutes to chuck the ingredients in, the bread is much better for you than bought bread, and the pizza dough is great. But you must buy a Panasonic - more expensive than other brands, but the only one which turns out perfect bread each time.

I love my panasonic. I do buy bread as well, since I've arthritis in my hands and don't always feel up to slicing bread, but the bread it makes is delicious. And it really does smell lovely.

Has to be a Panasonic! Try the malt loaf recipe - YUM!! You can buy malt extract at the chemist.

I bough DH a Panasonic dogs bolox breadmaker for Christmas. He is like a kid in a candy store. First loaf made this morning and lovely (top a tad less brown than it should be) so quick and easy and hoping works out cost effective.

We are also doing it as DD has to have special soya free bread which is £3 a loaf and yet with home baking we can control the ingredients

I never got on with my bread maker at all, not impressed with the bread it produced and didn't like weird shape either - but it was a cheapo one I was given.

I'd save the money and put it towards a Kenwood, I make bread with my Kenwood all the time, easy to clean, great results and I make more rolls and sweet buns than anything else and, of course, the Kenwood can do a million other jobs as well; a bread maker is a one trick pony.

HTH

Mothership but the timer function on the bread maker is VERY VERY handy!!! Kenwood doesn't have that right?

If it does I'm going to feel really silly!

Panasonic loaves are the PERFECT shape OP!

We have a morphes Richards one. It goes on on alternate nights, wake up to fresh bread. Previously we were having to nip to the shop 3 times a week to top up on bread and spend lots of money on things we didn't need.

Going to go slightly against the grain here and recommend this and this as an alternative.

Truly amazing, stunning bread (you can start with the second one tonight and have amazing bread tomorrow) with only fractionally more hassle than a breadmaker and will save you ££££££ compared to buying a BM.

1. The bread tastes yummy.
2. The bread is cheap.
3. See 1.

I love my Kenwood.

Wow, that looks really interesting!!!! Does it really taste that good? The only quick bread I make by hand is Irish soda bread and that is LUSH!

OK, it's not quick in that you can throw the ingredients in a bowl and have bread an hour later like soda bread, but it is quick in that you don't have to do any kneading by hand or mixer. Basically these two methods have a very long resting time which is what sorts the gluten out rather than a lot of kneading. The book gives you a master recipe for a dough which you can just put in the fridge and use as and when you want bread over the next couple of weeks.

So, this morning I got some dough I made a few days ago out of the fridge, shaped it into two baguettes and then cooked it in time for lunch.

Then this afternoon I got the dough which I had stirred together yesterday evening, put it in a floured bowl to rise and made it into delicious artisan-style bread for dinner time.

Both were better than any bread I have ever bought or made previously