Breadmaker is rubbish - get a new one or make by hand?

[clemetteattlee]

My Morphy Richards 48248 is just rubbish. The bread it makes is heavy and stodgy (and a weird square shape!) I really want to make nice bread but have come to the end of the road with this machine. So - shall I buy anohter, and if so, which one. Or is it always going to be better made by hand...?

Buy a Panasonic. They are fab. Except this am when DH unplugged the BM instead of the iron and I was left wondering WTF had happened to my bread........

Which model?

get a panasonic
am sitting here smelling yummy bread right now
I think they only do 2 models, you can have the fruit/nut dispenser or not. I would, because if you want to do fruity things, the fruit gets totally mashed without the dispenser

ohhh, just a minute........SD 255. Tis the one with the raisin dispenser which I never use. But it makes lovely bread which is the right shape and everything

Lovely - thank you.
Does anyone know if the SD257 is an updated 255? The SD255 doesn't seem to be available now...

I have had a Panasonic one for over 10 years now. It is used daily and is still going strong. Still about the same price as it was 10 years ago as well!

What happens if you make dough in it then shape that into rolls/plaits/nice shapes? Have you done pizza dough in it? If the dough cycle is working then that might help narrow down the problem. TBH, I don't think the bread maker bread is ever the same shape as a shop loaf, but I don't particularly mind. We had a lovely rye/white loaf on Sunday with some home made roasted vegetable soup, and it's never as light as a shop bought loaf but then I don't expect it to be, especially as we don't use artificial raising agents and all the other weird stuff that goes into shop bread.

What Scuttlebuttert said. Experiment and be proud of your dough!

I have been re-awakened to the fact that I have a long neglected machine in a cupboard, put there after a bread making disaster.

Shalli - I have a Panasonic and the fruit does not get completely mashed about if you dont have the dispenser. The only difference is that you add the fruit/nuts some time into the cycle. The end result is the same.

When I was thinking of buying a breadmaker I asked around and everyone said Panasonic is the only one to have. Mine is about 3 years old now - we make bread almost every day and it's fab! You do need to experiment with flours, though. I don't usually shop in Waitrose but I only use their organic flour for bread as many others don't rise well.

Organic malted grain and stoneground wholemeal makes a nice nutty tasting loaf.

Our old Panasonic died last week after 6 years of stirling service, we now have the knew one and it is just as lovely, the bread is just as good. We have the nut dispenser one reduce in Currys last week to £88.

Lidl do some interesting mixes as well.

Ladyintheradiator, do you have a dough hook for your food precessor? I don't.

We had a panasonic for about 5 years but the thing that turns the paddle sheared off eventually (over-use! ). I contacted them to get a replacement but they couldn't repplace the part as it was a discontinued model. However they did offer £50 off the cost of a new one, so we got a new one from them.
We've always made loaves in ours and they turn out great, but I've recently discovered the dough function, and I've been making all sorts of shaped loaves. Today, the DC had calzones made from the left over dough and I had a lovely 'longue' type loaf. It's great!

I would echo what Scuttlebutter said.

I have a Morphy Richards but only ever use the dough programme as I don't like the square loaf shape either. We use it for doing pizza dough and a variety of flavoured loaves like walnut, olive & sundried tomato or onion.

Have some fun experimenting with the dough option before deciding to replace it.

I suggest you cadge a panasonic bread recipe from someone with a panasonice bread maker, and see how it does in your machine. IME, having conducted several 'scientific' tests with my mum - she had a panasonic, I didn't - her machine produced great, if square, bread, mine didn't - well, it was square but indedible - this was the solution.

Much cheaper than whole new machine.

Happy baking :)

i have a panasonic & it's great - also use it for dough, and pizza dough.

recipe for medium (smallest size) white loaf

1/2 t sp dried yeast
14 oz bread flour
1 oz butter
1 tb sp sugar
280 ml water

this is a slight variation from their suggested recipe, but i use it all the time & it works great.

if you do get a new one - we have the panasonic with raisin dispenser. you can put it on a timer & wake up to fresh cinnamon & raisin bread. mmmmm.

I also have the panasonic. Very yummy bread -DP loves it. I make pizza dough quite often too. It's very easy.

have a kenwood - really no complaints at all

I've got a Panasonic SD255, which I think they've recently updated to the ?SD 257? Wouldn't be without it TBH; I use it every day, sometimes twice if we're having pizza, or if I'm making sweet breads/chelsea buns.

Its at least 4 years old now and still going strong (although it does make a creaking noise from time to time).

Used to have a Kenwood one, which lasted 7 years - it stopped reliably turning out decent loaves at the end, but I think my sister still uses it to make up dough.

Get the Panasonic, you can get last year model their for the cheapest price on Amazon I think.

Oh I wish I had a Panasonic now...

We too have a Morphy Richards sitting on our worktop. We used it for ages when we first got it, we kept thinking the bread would somehow miraculously improve.

Now every so often I feel guilty for not using it, make a loaf, it is horrible, and then I don't use it again for ages.

And the worst thing is that the smell while cooking is actually enough to put you off the bread, nothing like the beautiful fresh bread smell we had hoped for

Another reccommendation for the panasonic. I use it to make pizza dough too, which taste fantastic!