are breadmakers any good?

mavisangelica

I have a loaf on at the minute - olive and sundried tomato. Fussy 16 yo son loves it. I use the bread machine's basic white recipe but replace the water (or some of it) with the water I have used to soak the sundried tomatoes in. I also use olive oil instead of vegetable oil. I don't measure the tomatoes or the olives but put quite a lot in and I add them gradually as the machine is first mixing rather when the machine beeps to say you should add.

SUESMITH_2

im on my 3rd breadmaker, the first 2 were ok but nowt to write home about - then i got a panny off freecycle and just love it! i suddenly understood why people love their bm

kazd

becs wrote: »

We were given the panasonic breadmaker as a wedding present. I love home cooked bread but do only use it to make the dough and prove it then i bake in he oven. You get better loaves (bigger because they're longer) and no hole in the bottom. Also great for making rolls etc. We go through phases if using ours as i'm not too organised of late. We also have aquired a rescue border collie that is frightened of the kneading noise-amongst a million other noises! However we actually rarely buy bread as have to be desperate to buy shop bougt bread now knowing all the grim stuff including chicken feathers that go into it!

I have a Panasonic and my only complaint is the larger the loaf the taller the loaf, I would prefer the loaf to be longer. Can I ask what size tin you use for med, large and ex large loaf (why is not small, med and large?).

The other thing is that the only time I made rolls I found the dough to be really sticky but I believe at this point I should have kneeded it until it became smoother and more pliable. Have never made bread by hand so not sure here.

I have had my breadmaker for at least 8 years but at the moment am back to shop bought because hubby working abroad and we were not using all the bread, there is only so much bread you can slice up for the freezer for toasting.

mmmsnow

I have a Panasonic 255. It's been used at least three times a week for the last two years and is still going strong. We tend to make 25% wholemeal bread and add in pumpkin, sunflower and poppy seeds. As a treat, we have a ciabatta loaf ready when we wake up on a Saturday morning.

I substitute Light Olive (or Sunflower) spread for butter in the bread recipes, saving money and calories. A 800g 25% wholemeal loaf with seeds works out as 47p (probably closer to 60p when you factor in electricity). A comparable loaf in Asda would be over £1.

I've had a lot of success with fancy breads as well. It's a nice, cheap and easy thing to take when you are going to someone's house, instead of a box of chocolates.

becs

I think it's a 2lb loaf tin that i use when i do the ingredients for an extra large loaf. For me it's utterly pointless to make anything other than a medium loaf if i'm actually baking it in the bm as well. I just don't get the point of a taller loaf, i want a bigger loaf to give me more slices not just a taller one to give me bigger slices! As for rolls the dough can be sticky so i use paul hollywood's tip of using olive oil on your hands to stop it sticking.

squeaky

If your loaf is....

t
a
l
l

..why not just lay it on its side...

t a l l

That's what I do. Never considered trying to cut a tall loaf down its longest length.

becs

It's still no where near the length of a proper loaf though so just easier to take the dough out and use a 2lb tin.

his_missus

I bought a Morphy Richard s breadmaker which makes longer rather than taller loaves like my dad's machine does. I use the dough setting a lot for making rolls, pizza bases, naan bread. I tried making a cake in it once from the recipe booklet that came with it but it took far longer and was less tasty than baking by habd and in an oven. Will try using a 2lb loaf tin, Becs, as the hole in the bottom does annoy me.

Dilly

kazd wrote: »

I have a Panasonic and my only complaint is the larger the loaf the taller the loaf, I would prefer the loaf to be longer. Can I ask what size tin you use for med, large and ex large loaf (why is not small, med and large?).

The other thing is that the only time I made rolls I found the dough to be really sticky but I believe at this point I should have kneeded it until it became smoother and more pliable. Have never made bread by hand so not sure here.

I have had my breadmaker for at least 8 years but at the moment am back to shop bought because hubby working abroad and we were not using all the bread, there is only so much bread you can slice up for the freezer for toasting.

I too have a panasonic. Which I LOVE

The reason the loaves are tall and not long is the paddle which mixes the dough is central If it were any longer it would not mix all the ingredients throughly. I'm sure there some mathamatical calculation here. Maybe they could put 2 paddles in??

When I make a large loaf I cut it in half reducing the height. It is quite manageble to cut like that

My only complaint is that when the non stick, becomes none stick the cost of a new pan is about as much as a new machine

pinkmami

I have one & its the worst gadget I have ever bought. I tried endless recipies off here/net/books & I didn't like them. Plus they never lasted long enough & I felt I could have been making bread all day.

Been trying to sell it for 7 months to no avail.