does anyone have a breadmaker and actually use it?

[AnguaVonUberwald]

I am so fed up of shop bought bread, and its so expensive, especially if you buy anything which actually tastes of anything, that I am tempted to buy a breadmaker.

The thing is, I suspect its one of those things that you buy, use for a month and then goes in the cupboard for ever.

1. does anyone actually have a breadmaker?
2. is it any good?
3. Do you use it?
4. Does it save you any money?
5. Which one do you have and would you recommend it?

I have read all the thread and i just wanted to add I love my Panasonic Bread Maker.....so very worth it. But home-made bread however it's made is so much better than the bought stuff, as there is no horrible preservatives etc.....I got my machine when I bought a loaf of 50/50 bread or whatever its called, after 2 days the chemical smell that was coming from it made me want to vomit....never had any since, and never will!
plus you can experiment with different flours and ingredients which is fun if you have kids as they can make there own up, and they are more likely to eat it!

needtodohousework - that is my issue too. I quite like it but DH and DS don't. I would love to make it more often but as I am the only one who eats it I don't bother.

Weighing isn't an issue. I put the loaf tin on the scales and weigh it all directly in. I even weigh the water (300ml weighs 300g).

I never put in the milk powder the recipes seem to want.

needtodohousework and buda - have you tried using a vitamin C tablet to improve the taste of the loaf? Also, I discovered always best to use lukewarm water - never cold.

I think you're all very brave if you don't weigh the ingredients - I bet you're the sort of people who can make a dish as you go along and not follow a recipe. Soupdragon - never thought of putting the loaf tin on the scales - will give that a go.

lisalisa - you can make granary and slice thinly if you have a VERY sharp breadknife! Seriously who'd have thought breadknives would go blunt but they do. A new one is def worth it. You can get lovely seeded / granary type flour for yummy breadmaker bread.

I only ever make the smallest size loaf. the others are not really bigger, they're just taller which means you get bigger slices but more more slices. I just make a loaf more often.

1. Yes!
2. Fab, makes lovely light bread
3. Use it nearly everyday so we have fresh bread in the morning (yum)
4. Have to say I have no idea what it costs to make a loaf
5. We have a 'Pacific' and would def recomnmend it

extremelychocolateymilkroll (yummy name!) - no haven't tried that! What sort of vit c tab? I have capsules but assume that they wouldn't suit! Or Boots Vit c plus zinc? How does that help?

Will try the lukewarm water tip too.

You can buy Vitamin C as ascorbic acid powder from holland & Barrett type places.

Although my mother claims her local one keeps it behind the counter because it is used to cut drugs She lives in a seaside town on the south coast, I live in Croydon and I picked it up off the shelf in my branch

SoupDragon - do you have a reciepe you could share? I am after making a small loaf really. Would love to make one that tastes nice!

1. yes

1. yes

1. yes, regularly

1. Yes - quite a lot over a period of time. You need to time the making of it though so it's a) possible to cut in reasonably thin slices when you need it and b) isn't just made when you're very hungry and it smells lush and you're at risk of scoffing the whole loaf

Also use it for pizza dough, naan dough etc.

1. Panasonic - yes, would recommend it

I just use the one in the book that came with the breadmaker

Generally a 50/50 white and wholemeal whilst I wean my children onto wholemeal.

1/2 teaspoon yeast
400g flour (split white/wholemeal in any proportion you like)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
14g butter
300ml (300g) water.

I put the in the tin in that order, pouring the water over the butter so it doesn't mine a hole down to the yeast This is the smallest size loaf (which is medium for the Panasonic )

Also fab with shedloads of cinnamon and about 75g of raisins - mix the 2 together an put in the dispenser. Remember to use the raisin option to make this one or you just get plain bread and a smell of warm cinnamon from the dispenser

15g butter, not 14.

I have vit c drops too. Wonder would they work?

Will try it later.

Don't use VitC drops if they are flavoured

Yes
Yes
Yes - at least once a week
Yes - at the minute a bread mix (easier to use with DS 'helping' is around 37p which makes a 2lb loaf
Mine's a Kenwood and v easy to use

I wrap baked bread in a carrier bag to keep it nice and fresh

I make 3 or 4 loaves a week - trying to get more organised and batch bake on at the weekend, freeze 3 and keep 1 out.

I don't have a breadmaker but use my food-processor with dough hook. 2 or 3 blasts of 10-seconds or so, then a tiny bit of hand kneading, chuck it in a bowl to prove and forget about it.
Knock it back, knead again for a minute of so, put in oiled loaf-tin, leave again until doubled.
30 minutes at 200 degrees (slightly higher if you have a non-fan oven) - fabulously light and tasty loaf, with gorgeous crust

Ingredients:
500g strong white flour (or wholemeal if you prefer)
300ml warm water (2 parts cold to 1 part boiled) - slightly more for wholemeal
2 tsp sugar
1.25 tsp salt
1.5 tsp dried quick-rise yeast

Invest in an electric knife, makes cutting the bread so easy (and even).

So it takes about (total) 20 minutes work from me, the rest of the work is done by the yeast. Easy

Ooh - forgot, also add 1tbsp oil.

i have one
i used it a lot when we first got it..tried lots of recipes
but ...we didn't like any of the bread..it was blardy orrible. Yeasty and sort of dense and sweaty

I'm on my second - Morphy Richards fastbake - love it - this version have the blade that drops down so leaving less of a empty space in the loaf. It also makes jam, one jar at a time which is perfect for us as we don't eat a lot of jam.

Make bread probably 3 times/week - vary mix of flours and flavours (unfortunately the DS and DD prefer "plain"). Beer and mustard was especially yummy.

Also used for rolls, pizza dough, foccaccia (sp?). Have the "breadmakers bible" with many other ideas in it.

No idea of costing, but prefer it. Tend to keep in plastic bag so crust isn't too crusty. Agree need to leave before slicing and a sharp knife makes all the difference!

Can get a basic white in well under 5 mins - no weighing but have to measure using cup and tablespoon/teaspoon provided. Don't bother with the milk powder and also use far less sugar and salt than the recipes state.

Message withdrawn

The other thing I like about a bread maker compared to hand baking is the consistency.

I was making some really dodgy heavy loaves by hand after making good loaves for ages. I find the bread maker produces a loaf of comparable good quality each time I've used it which is great.