Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

Original poster

Dh has announced he wants to buy a breadmaker

97 replies

Mrsrobertduvall · 21/03/2013 07:21

Now I'm all for encouraging him in the kitchen.

I know nothing about them...but know lots of you have them.
Which one do you recommend.....worth the effort?
I rarely eat bread but everyone else does.

If you’ve landed here looking for info on the latest bread machines, we’ve recently refreshed our best bread maker page with plenty of high-quality options recommended by Mumsnet users and industry experts. We hope you find it useful.
MNHQ Flowers

OP posts:
shrimponastick · 21/03/2013 07:29

Meh.

We were bought one as a gift one Christmas.

It's a Cookworks.

DH has persisted with it, I gave up after the first few attempts. However we only ever end up with a heavy, soggy, lump of loaf.

Could be just out model which is rubbish, but I find more success making bread by hand. Which cuts put the 3 hours or
more of whirrring/churning running up the electricity bill.

FiveGoMadInDorset · 21/03/2013 07:32

Panasonic.

multitask · 21/03/2013 08:15

Panasonic.

Fluffycloudland77 · 21/03/2013 08:46

Panasonic here too.

phantomhairpuller · 21/03/2013 08:51

This happened to my DH too Smile I'm now bored to the back teeth of homemade bread but he's persisting with it cos otherwise I'd be proven right!
Panasonic is by far the best from what I've heard

Original poster
Mrsrobertduvall · 21/03/2013 10:11

Right I will tell him.
His golf course is closed at the moment due to rain, and he is bored. I could rustle up a few jobs for him.

OP posts:
Emilythornesbff · 21/03/2013 10:18

Panasonicithink.
I make a regular loaf a couple of times a week for toast and use the dough setting to make rolls for lunches and also make pizza and dough balls.
Thank goodness Atkins is no longer fashionable here.

MoominmammasHandbag · 21/03/2013 12:04

Another vote for Panasonic.

rockinhippy · 21/03/2013 12:09

Tell him to save his money & make bread from scratch without one, its very easy & you don't need a bread maker - my ones stuck in the attic & was used once - took up too much much space & was a waste if time & money - its a myth that bread is difficult, you just need the right recipes.

There are lots knead recipes on line, but I actually enjoy that bit & he probably would too & big heavy handed hands - usually male[ grin] - are the best for that job

rockinhippy · 21/03/2013 12:12

Lost text - lots of no knead recipes

Why not try your local Freecycle or similar & see if you can get a freebie - if you then think you really will use one, then you can upgrade it - I see bread makers on ours every week

Trazzletoes · 21/03/2013 12:15

We have a Panasonic too and it's fab.

The electricity cost is so minimal to be essentially nothing. Also you have less salt in the entire loaf than in one slice of shop bought bread!

Handmade bread is obviously better IMO but I can't be fussed with making loaves, though I do focaccia etc by hand.

It's so easy. 2 mins to throw the ingredients and you have a fresh warm loaf first thing in the morning!

rockinhippy · 21/03/2013 12:16

Ps, mine is Panasonic - & even though the bread was okay, it
Just wasn't as nice as made by hand, no easier & as someone else has already said, not cheap when you factor in hours of electricity use

bigbadbarry · 21/03/2013 12:16

Tell him to watch Paul Hollywood and do it by hand :)

SavoyCabbage · 21/03/2013 12:16

Panasonic.

Mine is almost ten years old and I must use it nearly every day.

GinTintedGlasses · 21/03/2013 12:20

I have a panasonic and it is brilliant. Never had a bad loaf!

mikey9 · 21/03/2013 12:21

DON'T just get a cheapy one - as you will be one of the posters or repeaters of others experience of poor soggy failed loaves.

DO get a panasonic one - we are on our second have probably made a loaf (me - last thing before going to bed) every night for the last 10 years (I am also a man.....!)

They DO produce excellent bread - it IS massively cheaper for quality bread than buying the same in any supermarket and WILL pay itself off in limited time.

Buy bags of quality flour (Doves, SHipton mill) in bulk, also Doves farm yeast in packs (not sachets). 70% white to 30% malted/wholmean or whatever. Add Pumpkin/Sunflour and poppy seeds to really make a great loaf.

A lttle trial and error and you will be set up for a life of no more trips to be tempted at the shops because you need a loaf....

Use the Nan mix when you make a curry - 5 mins in the V Hot oven after you rolll them out and as close to curry house as you can get.

Pizza base mix - also great - do a double mix and you have enough for 6 large thin based Pizzas - cover, cook and freeze and you don't eat!!

Any questions at the back??

Oh - I have it down to under 1 minute for loading each night - if you are organised (like everything) then it isn't the faff some try to make out.... Grin

NotGoodNotBad · 21/03/2013 12:29

Panasonic.

We always make bread the night before rather than to be warm in the morning, because really it needs to sit for an hour and cool down before using, and who wants to get out of bed an hour before they eat their toast?

DH considers it a failure now if we are disorganised on the bread front and have to go out and buy some - so do I, actually, as if you get sliced loaf from the corner shop there's just no comparison.

snoworneahva · 21/03/2013 13:02

Panasonic here too. I've had it for 10 years. We never bake bread in it - only give it the job of making the dough - bread is a better shape, doesn't have the paddle hole and tastes better.
Dough made by hand or even with the Kitchen aid is easier to handle but most of the time we just use the bread machine, shop bought bread is horrid stuff and we can no longer eat shop bought pizzas....if your going to indulge best make sure the taste is worth it.

EasterHoliday · 21/03/2013 13:05

can't I just give you the Panasonic one from my attic? the person who gave it to me refuses to have it back... they take up a MASSIVE amount of space and then you buy 5 different types of flour / yeast to make different bread etc and then realise you don't eat much bread but have full cupboards and countertop...

shoppingbagsundereyes · 21/03/2013 13:12

Hmm be warned. My dh watched some tv show about supermarket bread fermenting in our stomachs and bought a bread maker. He insisted he would be responsible for making the bread. That lasted about six weeks. Now muggins makes the bread otherwise dh uses the last bit to make his own sandwiches, leaving no bread for the kids. He then nags me mercilessly about how crap I am at slicing the bread.
I don't even eat bread

fedupwithdeployment · 21/03/2013 13:13

We use our Panasonic every day. If it died, we would be buying another one priority from Amazon.

Bread is great, and last time we bought sliced, DS refused to eat it!

Also use for pizza and brioche. I keep meaning to use it for other things, but don't get round to it. Agree that while fresh bread smells lovely, it is a nightmare to slice...so we try to make in advance of need iyswim.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 21/03/2013 13:20

Panasonic. We haven't bought shop bread since we bought it. I love knowing exactly what's in it and what I'm giving to my children. Mine also makes jam and cakes although yet to try those functions. Or u can just do dough and shape into rolls and oven. U do use alot as loaves are smaller but it's fresher and its a comfort to know there's no hidden nasties.

zippy539 · 21/03/2013 13:27

Another vote for panasonic - love mine and use it nearly every day.

mikey a question from the back. What nan mix recipe do you use - I've never quite cracked home-made nan and would love to.

Letticetheslug · 21/03/2013 13:44

another Panasonic vote here. Had a cheapo one before and the bread was nowhere near as good

Veneto · 21/03/2013 17:56

Yet another vote for panasonic.