Bread maker. Is it the best thing since sliced bread?

[in2theblues]

Seriously thinking about getting one as a discount stupormarket have one on offer tomorrow.

Haven't really got the room, or the readies, but if it will change my life for ever for the better then I'll squeak it in.

We get through a boring blotting paper loaf a day but fresh French bread or crusty rolls disappear in a blink.

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MNHQ

They are lovely! But I'm not sure that all of the cheaper ones are always that good, so it does depend.

Most people on here wax lyrical about Panasonics of various types.

I've got a Lakeland Compact which is tiny and only cost 60 and gets great reviews, but only does a 500g loaf.

It really is wonderful to have fresh bread without having to dedicate the time to the various stages of doing it by hand.

My Panasonic one makes good bread but it leaves a big hole in the middle of the loaf where the blade/paddle has been. Wrecks a third of the loaf and I'm sick of it now.

Watching with interest as thinking of getting one as well. Any other brand recommendations?

I never use mine. DH and DS don't like the bread as it's quite heavy. I like it but it gives me dreadful heartburn - too much yeast I think.

I bought a Panasonic 2 yes ago, haven't looked back, and haven't bought shop bread since! Its a life changer! I bought a bread keeper/slicer guide in Lakeland too so it keeps its fresh and you can cut normal size slices that don't go wonky.....

We use ours everyday without fail. Once you get into the routine of baking a loaf regularly, it's easier than going to the shops to get one. In fact, I think that's an extra reason it saves money. The bread does work out cheaper but it also cuts out all the extra trips to the shop "just" get bread. You never just get bread, do you?

I does matter which one you get though. My Panasonic makes far better, lighter bread than my old cheaper one did.

Another money saving tip - you don't need to use all strong bread flour. HFW makes his magic bread dough with half ordinary plain flour and you'd never know the difference.

Thank you so much for the replies. The discount supermarket one is £40 and would pay for itself in about six months but only if we like the bread.

It also has a cake setting, that could seal the deal.

I have a panasonic one and would recommend it to anyone, it also has a cake setting BUT as far as I understand it, you make the cake mix yourself and just cook it in the breadmaker - I have an oven I can do that in!?!

These days, we only really use ours for dough for homemade pizzas (and occasionally cinnamon buns for breakfast), but I think it's worth having just for that!

I use mine everyday (panasonic) but only on the pizza dough setting to knead & first rise, then I bake the bread a loaf tin in the oven, this is because I prefer the loaf shape and really hated the paddle hole as it wasted lots of the loaf.
I have tried kneading my own bread but I'm crap at it and it comes out solid.
The bread is lovely - totally unlike supermarket sliced - the DCs love it, and I use it for pizzas etc.

Mine has a cake setting but I haven't tried it yet so can't report on the outcome! It does everything though - you put the ingerdients in, it mixes and then cooks it. Obviously you're going to get a 'loaf' shaped cake, rather than the prettiest thing, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

I used to have one and gave it away years ago. I make bread by hand and it is much better plus you can turn out several loaves and rolls at once and stick them in the freezer instead of churning out one loaf at at time.

Forget the the 'knead for 10 minutes' you see in most recipes my bread has improved so much since employing Dan Lepards minimal kneading technique in his short and sweet book and probably documented elsewhere as well. I mean which Mum has 10 minutes of uninterrupted time and if she did would she chose to spend it kneading bread?!

Good idea to make your own bread if you get through a lot of it as we do for cost and nutrition benefits. I work full time so mostly bake our bread every other weekend and it fits around what we are doing especially sourdough that is happy to hang out for hours or overnight until I am ready to bake.

Happy bread baking whatever you decide, will be better than what you are eating now and remember - it is all good toasted.

I bought the one from the discount supermarket on Saturday and so far have made 5 loaves and some pizza dough. My family are loving the results and it is so easy to use. Not got any previous experience to compare it to though.

I love mine. Panasonic although I had a cheaper one originally which lasted a few years. I agree with the person who said a big benefit is to keep you out of the shops 'just to buy a loaf'.... where you end up spending £20 on things you didn't need. If you keep the paddle and baking tin well greased (don't put them in a dishwasher or scrape them with knives, for example) you don't end up with too big a hole in the middle. Just a slot.

Hole in the middle of the loaf means that I don't use it, and it was a bugger to slice. Nice bread though - we have the Kenwood which was a Which? best buy

we've had one for about a year and I quite like it heresey. Just this morning, dcs asked if I could buy bread from the shop again. Part of the problem is it comes out very soft and is therefore hard to slice thinly. It's a Panasonic

Love ours - use it probably 3 times a week. Panasonic. Several years old, still going strong. The bread doesn't have to be heavy as CiderwithBuda found - we have some lovely light loaves. Think it depends on the amount of one of the ingredients you put in (water/ butter/ yeast).

Love ours - use it probably 3 times a week. Panasonic. Several years old, still going strong. The bread doesn't have to be heavy as CiderwithBuda found - we have some lovely light loaves. Think it depends on the amount of one of the ingredients you put in (water/ butter/ yeast).

Also no preservatives or additives!