Bread Maker's.. Do they save money???

Colin_Kee

I've always had an urge to buy a bread maker. Now that most Bread is well over £1.00 a loaf, it really has come to the fore again for me. Does anyone out there have one? Are they worth it in that would they save you money? Obviously you still have to buy the ingredients, but would it work out cheaper in the long term making it yourself. I'd imagine if you got good at it too, the sky would be the limit as to the types of bread you could make..

Any advice or opinions would be much appreciated

jenny-wren

My mother had Kenwood bread maker and did use it for a while. I wasn't much fussed on the bread she made with it and, because of the shape of the machine, there was always a hole in the bottom of the loaf!

It's one of those things people tend to get, use for a while and then get bored with. My mother gave hers away. She still makes her own bread by hand and frankly it's much better than any of the creations that came out of the bread machine.

Given that bread makers aren't that cheap I think you would need to eat a lot of bread to make it worthwhile considering buying one!

belfastgirl23

This thread might help

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=250899&highlight=breadmaker+worth+the+money

I have a breadmaker and wouldn't be without it. The big advantage is that it saves me popping to the shop for bread but buying a load of other stuff. We are also a household that likes our expensive bread so it might be more worth it for us than for others. My normal bread is a seeded brown loaf which is lovely. I also make brioche and ciabatta fairly regularly.

Received wisdom from the OS board is that it is worth spending the extra money on a panasonic. See here for as much info as you could ever wish for on breadmakers http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=147549

Oh and you can make pizza dough in it as well - a lot less hassle than dragging out the food processor.

SuperMum2008

Agree with the above. The only problem is that the bread is so darned delicious that you end up eating a loaf in 1/3rd the time of any sliced processed rubbish..and I cut it about 3 inches thick per slice....and then I wonder why I am tubby???!! LOL. Pizza dough is fabulous in the bread maker, and it is great entertainment topping your own and cooking them AND the house smells lovely so you are also saving on air freshener!!!

Soubrette

We bought a second hand morphy richards to start with as we wondered if it would be an expensive kitchen ornament.

We actually use it nearly every day and make loaves of bread, bun and pizza dough regularly. Sometimes I make fruit bread and there's a lovely cinammon loaf recipe I'm going to make for Christmas (having made it once before) around here somewhere.

As we liked the expensive bread from Tesco, I believe it has saved us money and my girls will eat half and half brown/white bread now whereas before they would refuse :rolleyes:

When the second hand morphy gave up the ghost we considered a panny as it has many fans on old style but in the end the bread was so good with the morphy that we stuck with them. Their customer service has been excellent (we needed to replace the pan and was sent a free one and some advice on how to avoid the same problem).

If you don't want a hole in your bread then you can either use a BM on the dough cycle only and bake in the over or when the dough cycle ends - take the dough and the paddle out and then put the dough back in (then you would have a needle shaped hole rather than a paddle shaped hole).

I'd rather do without the microwave than the breadmaker

Sou

leftieM

We had a Panasonic breadmaker that's just packed up after 3 years. We're going to buy another. We used it all the time. We reckon it more than paid for itself. The basic ingredients are cheap and if you factor in the cost of the machine and the electricity I reckon each loaf is less that 50p.

mofopants

Well i have one that i have used maybe twice - so for me it was a bit of a waste of money - i might car boot it at the weekend!

arkonite_babe

I'll move this to the old style board, you'll get more advice on bread makers over there

wigglebeena

I make bread with economy white flour, 33p a packet. I know, I know, you're 'supposed' to use strong bread flour. All I can say is the results are perfectly edible and indeed yummy. 33p for two decent sized loaves (and a batch of scones too quite frequently). Plus leccy as well I suppose, but still...

I make bread by hand with a basic recipe I got off the back of a pack of wholemeal flour, kneading is very quick, no second rising, can't see the point of a breadmaker.

Jazzy_B

I've saved a fortune with mine. I haven't bought a loaf for two and a half years. The bread is much nicer, you know what is going into it, and it's cheaper.
I used to make bread by hand every now and again, but there's no mess with the breadmaker, and it only takes a couple of minutes to get the ingredients ready.
I've got a Panasonic, and it's well worth the extra.

purpleivy

jenny-wren wrote: »

My mother had Kenwood bread maker and did use it for a while. I wasn't much fussed on the bread she made with it and, because of the shape of the machine, there was always a hole in the bottom of the loaf!

It's one of those things people tend to get, use for a while and then get bored with. My mother gave hers away. She still makes her own bread by hand and frankly it's much better than any of the creations that came out of the bread machine.

Given that bread makers aren't that cheap I think you would need to eat a lot of bread to make it worthwhile considering buying one!

I think there are probably quite a lot of people on here that would disagree with you. THe hole thing isn't a prob, you just get used to it. The bread I make is far superior to anything available in the shops. That's not just my opinion either. I couldn't afford the best quality bread, so yes, cheaper!

I have had a breadmaker for many many years now, on my third and I simply wouldn't be without it. Pizzas are cheaper and more delicious, as well as bread rolls etc