Is a breadmaker worth the money?

[CoconutSty]

Just that really. Have no time to make my own by hand, but I'm so fed up of shop-bought in the plastic. Does anyone have a breadmaker they really rate??

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Sounds good and I bet it makes nice bread. Thing is that you whack all the ingredients into the Panasonic in less than 2 minutes and it does the rest. No more thought or time required, just set and forget. Free to leave the house which you can't really do with an oven on too.

What I didn't like about the one I had (not sure but possibly a Russell Hobbs one, I gave it away due to lack of use) is that the bread always had a massive hole in it from the paddle... Do the expensive ones not have this problem??

Panasonic breadmakers are the bomb. You will never regret it.

We’ve had our Panasonic over 13 years and husband uses it a couple of times a week. I prefer sourdough so make that myself. You can buy massive sacks of flour from doves farm and various other mills when you get into it. We can make organic loaves now cheaper than buying a generic loaf in the supermarket.

Yes the Panasonic one. I didn't want to spend that much on it but I use it 5 times a week and if it broke I'd go straight out and buy another one

@WonkyBricks even the expensive Panasonic ones have a hole from the paddle if you bake the loaf in the bread machine but it doesn't bother me as the bread is so lovely.

This is really inspiring me !

Panasonic all the way. Don’t bother with the seed dispenser - I put seeds/fruit in with the rest of the ingredients and don’t wait for it to signal to add them later. We use it every day. Pizza dough also handy. Also amazing hot cross bun loaf. Jam setting is nice as well - wouldn’t bother making jam without it. Our first one lasted 15 years. When it broke we replaced it immediately. I have even taken it on holiday!

I haven’t read the thread but we always got ours second hand.

The first was £5 from a car boot and very used, lasted 8 years. The current one was a hand me down , already a good 10 years old and we’ve had it for 3. Still going strong.

Can bread makers make focaccia bread? (I mean barring the mind-boggling price of it these days!)

I make dough in ours and make bread rolls 3 times a week. Pizza dough, Chelsea buns, spiced fruit loaf.

It’s 20 years old and still going strong.

I make focaccia from the dough setting in ours. It’s the quickest bread to make if I realise we’ve run out.

No. The bread isn't the best. You'll use it a few times and it will end up in the garage

No. I make sourdough using a no knead technique. It works by pretty much leaving it alone then chucking it in the oven.

I use mine and still buy a loaf a week.

I've been using breadmakers regularly for years. The Panasonics do make. A good loaf.

It makes beautiful bread so if you're inclined to go to the bakery daily to buy fresh bread then absolutely.

I recommend using it to make your dough then shaping into rolls and freezing whatever you're not going to eat today.

If you're not such a bread conneseur look at the part baked rolls in the supermarket instead.

I have one and I find I use it a few time then can't be bothered for 3 months. Then repeat, ad nauseam.

@Bibbitybobbitty I also have the morphy richards, I bought it last week. Do you have a wholemeal recipe that works? Or any recipes other than white bread. So far my attempts have been poor!

It probably depends on how much bread and which bread your family eats, I just used mine mainly during Covid when it was more difficult shopping as DH mainly eats baguettes and I like the small rye loaves from M&S, so I get those, portion them out and freeze and that is plenty for us. If you eat the normal large loaves a lot then a bread maker is a very good idea.

I sometimes make jam in mine as you don't need much fruit like in a saucepan as it just makes a couple or so jars so it is handy if you just have a couple of fruit bushes in the garden and is a lot easier than making a big pan full.

I had an excellent Kenwood one, the bread was amazing. I sold it because I couldn’t get on with slicing the bread. We mainly eat sandwiches or toast, and by the time you’d cut around the paddle hole and dealt with the freshness of the bread, you either had enormous doorsteps of about 400 calories per slice, or a raggedy mess!

Nice bread tho.

We've had a Panasonic for about 10 years, I can't eat a shop bought loaf of sliced any longer because the taste and texture are just wrong!

The paddle hole has never been an issue tbh, I've certainly never felt the need to cut around it.

I have the Morphy Richards fastbake. It's brilliant. We are gluten free and I use it to make bread, fruit loaf, pizza dough and cakes. The fast bake bread is done in an hour and the recipe I use works well every time. It also looks fine left out on the worktop, not ugly like my parents huge old Panasonic

I have a bread maker that I used to use regularly before kids and time got in the way, and would love yo start using it again, can anyone either post successfully recipes they use or link me to a good website. As the recipes I'm trying work but not brilliantly.

look On Facebook marketplace. We got a Panasonic with seed dispenser in great condition for £20.
use it 2-3x a week and for Pizza dough.
well worth it to avoid all the crap in shop brought bread!