What does one look for in a breadmaker?

[lunavix]

We are quite keen to get one, but there are just so many different features! What do you use in yours?

To the best of my knowledge we'd like a delay timer (so we can wake up with hot bread!) and also a feature to make pizza dough! (if it's any good though!)

What else would be useful? Not sure about the ones I've seen that make jam and butter!

i dont have one, but have been told that some make the bread very cakey. others dont. dont know which is which though

Size of loaf
Length of cycle (? -if that's the right word?)
Dough option - so you shape your self

Panasonic for around the 100 pound braket is the best for that price.

How relevant is size of loaf?

Well I've got a kenwood and I need to do 2 for lunch ( 1 does mindees and one does us) if it was bigger I'd only need 1

I have a Morphy Richards Fastbake one. The 3 hour basic cycle does the best bread. You can set it on a timer and make pizza dough. We use it all the time. It was a bargain at 45 quid too.

Message withdrawn

I agree a delay timer is good, and you need at least a 2lb loaf size.

We also have the panasonic one - it's fine, but the cheaper morphy richards we bought for my in-laws was half the price and is just as good, though I don't know whther it has the delay function.

O the subject of the delay function though, the bread is never as good. I'm not sure if something happens to the yeast while it's sitting there waiting to begin, but I never get the same height of loaf, IYKWIM.

Also, when it's on timer, you need to remove it from the breadmaker quite quickly after it's finished (mine keeps it warm for an extra hour). Once it begins to cool down, the condensation on the inside of the oven will end up on top of your bread and make it less crispy

Forgot to add, I used the recipes in the book for two years then switched to packet mixes - I think they are consistently better

rickman

The Panasonic is the best on the market

Panasonic definitely the best and its really useful to have one where you can add the raisins, or sundried tomatoes or extras into a little tray that drops down automatically at the right time. The latest Panasonic has this. If you don't have this, you have to hang around and listen for a bleep telling you to add the extra ingredients manually.
You can't add them at the beginning 'cos they go to mush when the machine is doing the kneading!!

We have a bread maker, but I prefer to make my bread by hand as I can then make 2 loaves and rolls at the same time,
Ours also makes jam, but in such small quantites that it really is easier to do it in a pan the old fashioned way,and pizza dough is so easy by hand, it's hardly worth turning the machine on, let alone thinking about the energy consumption (we have windpower)
Breadmakers are great if you really are short of time, (ours does a 30 minute loaf, which is a bit doughy) but I think spending an extra 10 minutes kneading is well worth the effort. Sorry for the multiply negatives, dh uses the breadmaker all the time if I'm away, guess I'm just oldfashioned.