Are some bread machines just pants?

[economymode]

I was given a second-hand, basic Tesco bread machine by a friend who has stopped eating bread (weird).

Anyway, it produced a couple of decent loaves, but now they just collapse during the baking stage after rising well. So, are some machines just inherently crap, or am I doing something wrong?

Here's what I do/don't do:

• yeast, sugar and salt never touch each other
• ingredients go in in the order in the recipe
• I've tried reducing the amount of water slightly (as suggested by machine's troubleshooting guide)
• all ingredients are fresh/in date (yeast is the dry stuff, new sachet everytime)
• flour is proper bread flour
• water is room temp

I used to make bread by hand, but baby 2 is due tomorrow and I can't see myself having the time to do it all by hand for some months yet. I refuse to buy shop bread as it is full of crap, and the stuff that isn't is really expensive.

So, should I give up and buy a decent machine like a Panasonic? Or just use this one to make dough and then put it in a tin in the oven?

Given that I chose my original bread machine based on a Which report I'd say that there is a lot of variability in results depending on the make and model. I went for a mid priced 'best buy' originally which produced very nice bread but the tin buckled twice in the time I had it and the cost of the replacements took the total price up to that of a more expensive model. Using a bread machine just to make dough seems a bit overkill. I'd save up...

i have a panasonic - had it for years and its fine. my mother and her partner commented on how much better the bread was than the stuff from theirs - which was a cheaper machine. i assume your yeast is OK and within its date (sorry to state the obvious, and sure you have checked this).

Are you using wholemeal flour? If so have you tried adding a quarter teaspoon of vitamin C powder? I have 2 Panasonic bread makers (don't ask) the older one still runs well, but you have to add vit C for wholemeal for the loaf to rise, but you don't in the new one. I genuinely can't work out why this I the case, but it works.

I would definitely say there's a difference in quality. My first bread maker was a Kenwood and it died after 2 years. I think I've had my older Panasonic 6 years and thr bread is better. Panasonic always come out best on which.

I have a Morphy Richards which is garbage. The bread it bakes tastes weird and has an awful texture. Tastes full of additives and not really like bread. I've tried recipes other than those in the accompanying booklet and they simply dont work.

If I was in the market for a new one I'd go Panasonic based upon the feedback from MN.

Thanks for all the feedback. I am sorely tempted to spend some of my first maternity allowance payment on a Panasonic.

Yeast, flour and everything is in date. Haven't tried it with Vit C (I do use wholemeal), but the texture of the bread is also a bit odd, so not sure it'd make a great loaf even if I did add it!

Just glad I didn't spend anything on this machine!

I have a morphy richards too and I am happy with how it mixes but dont like how it bakes so I do use mine just to make dough and then pop the loaf in the oven. Probably a bit daft I didn't buy it though so I dont really mind.