Bread makers - anyone got one?

[paolosgirl]

If so - what kind, and does it knead the dough for you?

Or are they a waste of money?

I've been moaning about the cost of bread (£1 a loaf ) and the amount we get through a week, and now DH thinks a bread maker is the future

i lurve my breadmaker.
so do the kids... it does a fab fruit loaf, ginger cake, cherry cake, in fact you name it. of course "mum" doesn't do these things
my children are dairy-free and it saves us missing out or having to read every ingredient on the labels!

GET ONE!!

PS don't do stoneground or wholemeal

it tastes like a stone or a hole

I have the Panasonic too, and love it. Use it nearly every day and the dds have home-made bread for their packed lunches at school [smug emoticon]. I am currently liking the Doves Farm barleycorn flour which has a lovely texture (I mix it with white flour roughly 50/50). The previous breadmaker I had (I think it was a Morphy Richards, can't quite remember now) used to make quite sweet tasting bread. You just have to experiment with reducing the sugar content to a bare minimum (just enough to feed the yeast).

flour - 30 p
yeast - 10 p
butter - 8 p
sugar - 2 p
dried milk - 2 p

So I suppose by that guesstimate about 50p or so a loaf.
A loaf a day will cost you about £3.50 a week - but you may find that is not enough bread for all of you.

I made bread at the weekend, and I want to keep making more, but I really not sure about a breadmaker. What is so great about breadmakers rather than making by hand?

Chopster - you just shove the ingredients in and hey presto 4 hours later you have a loaf!

It is handy to set it to bake overnight so you have fresh bread in the morning.

You don't get the same satisfaction of having kneaded and created it yourself though.

I've had my Panasonic for ELEVEN years and apart from a new blade it has needed nothing.

We seldom buy bread.

You don't need to add any sugar if you use one of the yeasts specifically marketed for breadmakers e.g. Doves Farm. You can make a loaf from flour, water, yeast, a little salt (possibly also optional) and a little fat/oil so it keeps better. You don't need dried milk (usually listed in the breadmaker's accompanying recipe book) either.

We almost never buy bread and don't have a breadmaker - it's just so easy by hand. Much cheaper too - fresh yeast is really cheap and raises better than dried stuff, and you don't need to add any fat or sugar at all unless you really want to for a particular recipe. So all I use is flour, fresh yeast (costs about 1p per loaf), a tiny bit of salt and water.

Loving the idea of waking up to fresh bread. Will have to think about it, thanks isaidhoho.

Aaaagh! I love my breadmaker but I've just tried to make a loaf for tea but forgot to put the blade in!
How stupid can one get?!

I have the Panasonic too and have never had a duff loaf and I cook one probably every second day. They're great!

we use it all the time and are on our second one and just got replacement pan for it. friday made pizzas for 5 for pennies using dough setting and leftovers from nearly empty fridge!

get one from ebay is my advice. but practice using the recipes you get in the booklet!

Portonovo, where can you buy fresh yeast? I remember using it in school cookery lessons many years ago but I've never seen it in a supermarket.

I've seen it in the supermarket, and when I worked in an instore bakery we used to sell it - might be worth asking them.

Sainsburys bakery sells a huge block for 99p. I have heard rumours of other supermarkets giving it away for free but never seen it. I divide the yeast into 1/2 oz cubes, wrap it in baking parchment and freeze. Then just use it from frozen.

Thanks. I'll give it a try.

we make bread from scratch too but find a breadmaker is great for when you wnat it ready in teh morning or after work. fresh yeast used to be sold by the bakers here but not sure now, worth asking i'd say

anyone tried sourdough using a 'starter? - i'd love to try it

I have the panasonic as well, fab, Never ever have had a bad loaf. Makes great ciabatta and naan bread as well.

i use mine everyday, saves me a fortune, My son takes it to scholl in his lunchbox, all his friends try to sneak a bite of mum bread!

After reading this thread I asked my partner for a panasonic breadmaker for my christmas present. It arrived yesterday and i have already made three loaves. It's great! The house smells great too, lovely fresh bread.

I'm looking forward to trying out all the different breads as much as my family is looking forward to eating it!

Timeforme - the fruit loaf recipe in the Panasonic book is to die for. When it's a bit stale toast it, when the butter melts into it it is lush!

Ooh thank you for that. The fruit loaf was to be the next on my list

I've just made the 'sandwich' loaf, turned my back for just a moment and it's all gone!!