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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I’m browsing bread makers now, how important is it to have one with a dispenser?

Yes every penny

I’m on my second Panasonic bread maker. The first one died when dropped on a hard floor so can’t blame it for that. This one has been going about 10 years so far.

I have one with a dispenser but don’t actually think it’s that important depending what you want to make with it. I’ve tried just chucking seeds straight into the mix and its worked fine. Anything softer like olives I have always used the dispenser as I think they could over mix to mush otherwise but to be fair I haven’t experimented with adding them straight in.

My Panasonic one still has this issue. Someone upthread mentioned one you can pause to take the paddle out but I don’t think that’s an option on mine (its an old Panasonic - can’t comment on if the new ones have this feature).

Well two months after I got mine I was diagnosed as diabetic so I don't use it that often but I still do use it.

Sainsbury's Golden multiseed bread mix is a favorite of mine.

I have this one, but I got it on a discount, it makes quite a small loaf but that's fine for me.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/5569106?clickPR=plp:1:6

Panasonic bread makers are fantastic. This is reminding me that I need to use it more.

i had a few other brands first but they weren’t so good. I bought my first Panasonic one second hand from eBay for about £35 then when it finally bit the dust I bought a new one with seed dispenser. It’s brilliant. Like anything I go through phases of using it several times a week to once a month. Good investment though.

I use mine about every other day, started up to reduce plastic and sugar, salt and preservatives.

We got our Panasonic breadmaker a few weeks ago for about £135 when on offer direct through Panasonic. Amazing - haven't bought a loaf since! Like someone above, I also was inspired after reading Ultra Processed People and realising the crap that goes into shop bought bread. Join the Panasonic breadmaker FB group too - loads of help on there if you need it from others who have them.

The bread isn't the best...? Surely something's going wrong in the machine to say this!? Best bread I've ever tasted!

I've had my Panasonic one for nearly 15 years and it gets used a few times per week. I had another brand before that but only lasted a couple of years.

We got one as a wedding present and use it all the time. We (DH and I) only eat one loaf a week, ie weekend toast, then maybe with lunches over the weekend and have a bit left into the start of the week so we just put a loaf on the timer overnight on Friday and wake up to a delicious freshly baked loaf on Saturday morning. For us it's absolute brilliant - takes max 5 mins to prepare and just have to remember on Fri evening. I would say get one with a timer and separate yeast dispenser. I also recently made focaccia dough in it and it was delicious, been meaning to branch out and try some different things.

@sashh have you tried making rye bread? If your bread maker has a rye paddle and programme you can make it at home (I use 80% rye and 20% spelt or khorasan for texture and add walnuts because they're delicious) which is much better for your blood sugar because of the high fibre content.

Yep should add ours is also Panasonic. Absolutely love it. We put less sugar and salt in than the recipe says too (and use olive oil instead of butter) and it's delicious and as other have said we also like the fact that we know exactly what is in our bread, none of the additives and processed stuff.

We had one that just gathered dust for years after the first few weeks of excitement at our own bread. I gave it away in the end.

I got into sourdough during the pandemic and continue to make it now. It takes barely any time to make (no kneading, slow overnight proofing) and doesn’t take up space in the kitchen, aside from a jar of starter in the fridge. I think it makes nicer bread too.

Do bread makers make good sandwich bread? Or more crusty toast type bread?

Another question! Can you use fresh yeast in a breadmaker? Trying to reduce UPF.

I've got the Panasonic with a seed dispenser. The manual says "Using large, hard seeds may scratch the coating of the dispenser and bread pan." While the recipe for a 5 seeded loaf puts the rounded sesame and poppy seeds directly in the pan, the scratchier ones go in the dispenser to be added later. I've always assumed it was so there was less scraping against the non stick in the main pan while being mixed.

I've used my sister's Panasonic without a seed dispenser a few times when visiting. It bleeps at you so you can add the seeds manually, and you get the same loaf in the end. On a practical level I can only hear the bleep if I'm in the same room so I have to be mindful of the time and go back to the kitchen to listen. For full disclosure, I have some age related hearing loss which I didn't have when I bought my own bread maker just over 10 years ago.

Mostly I chose the dispenser one because I like seeded bread and, for not much more money, it's just easier to put everything in the bread maker at the start then forget about it until lunchtime.

Yes, but you need to start it off first with sugar and warm water. Use the amount of water that the recipe requires and then bung it all in once the yeast is activated. It probably wouldn't work on a timer...

I'm on my third breadmaker, having worn out the previous two! All Panasonic. I bake all our bread products, and I get my flour delivered in bulk from https://cotswoldflour.com/collections/flour . Using different flours for different thingsreally makes a difference. Their Cotswold Crunch is delicious, and their pizza flour takes pizza to a whole new level. I wouldn't be without a breadmaker.

Both! I find the freshly baked loaves hard to cut, so I like the first slices to be big doorstep ones for toasting. Next day, or especially when defrosted after freezing, the loaf is easier to cut into thinner slices for sandwiches.

@CoconutSty
I'd look for a secondhand one on FB Marketplace. About £50-70 should get you a nice modern Panasonic one, no more than 30 miles away. Heaps on there. You can always sell on and get the model you really want eg with the nut dispenser once you've proved you need it and will use it.

I mainly bake rolls so can't be faffed with the maker when a bowl will do (get out of cupboard, use, wash up, put away is more faff than getting a bowl out), but would use it for loaves

We have had a Panasonic for nearly 20y. We use it at least twice a week to make bread, and I occasionally use it to make dough.

During the summer we have to buy bread, as we find that out home-made bread does not keep longer than 24h in hot weather. We will still use the breadmaker if we know we will finish the loaf in one meal - if we're going to have a soup-and-bread meal, or if we have guests.

I never use the dispenser. When I make bread with seeds, they go in with the rest of the ingredients.

Thanks that’s a good tip! What Panasonic ones do people have? SD 2501?

@Aparecium , in summer I cut my loaves in half and freeze one half for later. Saves it getting mouldy in the heat.