Are breadmakers really money saving??

Bennifred

Well, I'm absolutely stuffed! In a good way! :rolleyes: The bread is (was - it's all gone now, lol!) delicious. The only problem was trying to slice it - the loaf was very tall and the centre very soft, even after cooling on a rack for an hour and a half - is this normal? Is there a knack, or do I need to get a gadget, or just allow longer to cool? Going to set the BM up on the timer for tomorrow morning, see if that is as successful.....

By the way - I didn't eat the whole thing by myself :eek: OH and two hungry teenage boys did help a little bit........

maryb

The bread is quite soft even after cooling but I can say from greedy experience that it is hopeless trying to slice it too soon even though it smells divine

I bought a Cookworks slicer from Argos which has made a huge difference - beautiful even slices at just the thickness I want

Bennifred

Thanks for that info, maryb! I can see I'll probably end up with something like that , or making sandwiches for the boys' packed lunches is going to be more exciting than I'd like it to be!

Ticklemouse

Although I have a hand-slicer, I don't tend to use it on bread. I have just invested in a decent sabatier bread knife and can say that this has made all the difference. Also, bread that is older is definately easier to slice ie make the night before if you want to slice it for butties for pack up the next day.

Curry_Queen

Bennifred wrote:

By the way - I didn't eat the whole thing by myself :eek: OH and two hungry teenage boys did help a little bit........

LOL! :rotfl:

Just make sure you budget for buying in plenty of flour, and don't be surprised if you end up making a loaf a day, half of which disappears as soon as it's cool enough to slice, especially when you try out the malt loaves or cinnamon & raisin bread

Welcome the the BM club! :T

smartiepants

Bennifred wrote:

The only problem was trying to slice it - the loaf was very tall and the centre very soft, even after cooling on a rack for an hour and a half - is this normal? Is there a knack, or do I need to get a gadget, or just allow longer to cool?

I use a very cheap electric carving knife, its really easy with that, I've seen them in ASDA for about £5 - £6 recently. But yes its much easier if you allow it to cool completely.
Hope that helps xx

Gingham_Ribbon

Ticklemouse wrote:

Also, bread that is older is definately easier to slice ie make the night before if you want to slice it for butties for pack up the next day.

This is what I was wondering. The advice often to have the loaf ready for getting up in the morning. And the smell would make early rising much nicer! But it is impossible to cut warm and they take a while to cool. So if we're all taking sandwiches out on our travels, is there any advantage to using the timer?

angelatgraceland

I dont use my B/M all the time-just for a change. DD loves the olive bread recipe and this sort of thing works out a lot cheaper than the shops. I try to stock up on breadmaking flour when there is an offer on and Ive got to try to get some "free fresh yeast 2 from tesco. Not sure about the moneysaving but I suppose it is, in comparison to buying such "treats" in a good bakery. Some things are worth the investment though. DH told me it was a waste of time the other week......nooooooooooooooo I replied! So there we go. I tried a different dried yeast last time and it was better than usual-it was a large pack of allinsons easy bake yeast 125g for "frequent" baking. This worked out a lot cheaper than the individual sachets I usualy buy. Its 6 months out of date too but I took my chances and it was the best yet! I do wrap up my loaf well though after it has gone cold because I do find it gets dry quicker than the shop bought bread. Keep some breadbags for this!

Queenie

angelatgraceland wrote:

.... I do wrap up my loaf well though after it has gone cold because I do find it gets dry quicker than the shop bought bread. Keep some breadbags for this!

It won't keep so well because it isn't filled with preservatives.

The old fashioned way to "keep" your bread was to use a bread crock (my mother's was earthenware - I made my own from a terracotta pot and saucer).

Breadbags aren't quite so good for HM bread - the best thing is to eat it fresh, freeze it, use "day old" bread (which is the best) for toasting, bread and butter puddings, breadcrumb topped meals and ... well, loads of stuff really LOL.

Bread "bags" are best made from 100% cotton and not plastic stuff.

Hey, CQ ... didn't we have a thread about bread storage a few months back? I'm struggling to find it

HTH

Queenie

Gingham_Ribbon wrote:

This is what I was wondering. The advice often to have the loaf ready for getting up in the morning. And the smell would make early rising much nicer! But it is impossible to cut warm and they take a while to cool. So if we're all taking sandwiches out on our travels, is there any advantage to using the timer?

Some days (due to family shifts etc.) it's far easier to organise the loaf to be ready for the morning - leave it to cool for the day - by teatime the bread is cold and easy to cut - make up sandwiches and freeze them in advance. Then you have a ready supply of sandwiches-to-go from the freezer.

If using Economy 7 (for example) some people would find it a more economical usage of electricity.

Even if none of our motley crew are out and about during the day, I often have the bread machine set up on timer, simply because it's another task out of the way and (I have a teeny tiny kitchen - *sighs* ) I then have the work surface/plug socket free'd up for something else.

Much depends on your lifestyle, habits, needs and ... planning