Bread Maker - worth it?

Andy_Hamilton

My panasonic works out as 4.8p per loaf, mixing takes nothing and the cooking cycle is very efficient

sara_501

Sorry if this has already been asked,

having read through some of the posts I'm toying with the idea of buying a breadmaker as the price of the humble sliced white is constantly becoming more expensive.

I decided to google breadmakers and came across this link

https://xset.co.uk/2005/01/25/the-breadmaker-dilema/

which makes me wonder if it is actually financially rewarding to buy such an item?

how long are we talking before you start to see it pay off?

thanks in advance

pigpen

YES YES YES YES YES!!!

The average loaf costs £1.20 from the shop.. and about 30p in the breadmaker.. I paid £18 for my breadmaker.. so when making 1 loaf a day (sometimes I make 2 or 3) it took about 3 weeks for my breadmaker to pay for itself!!!!!!!

looked profitable to me!

sara_501

sara_501 wrote: »

Sorry if this has already been asked,

having read through some of the posts I'm toying with the idea of buying a breadmaker as the price of the humble sliced white is constantly becoming more expensive.

I decided to google breadmakers and came across this link

https://xset.co.uk/2005/01/25/the-breadmaker-dilema/

which makes me wonder if it is actually financially rewarding to buy such an item?

how long are we talking before you start to see it pay off?

thanks in advance

are these figures wrong then?

bertiebots

I have been handbaking to date and including electricity have got it to about 20p a loaf. I have just got a bread maker (as my oven is on its last legs) and for me dont think it will be any more expensive to run ,so it will save me a fortune:D .
I estimate it will have paid for itself in a month if I use it for cakes as well. I dread to think how much electric my old oven is using at the mo as the door wont even shut properly..!:eek: We use a loaf a day and shop bread = at least £7 pw:eek: . Home made = £1.40 pw:D . So based on that it is £364 per year for shop baught:eek: ,or £72.80 home made :eek: Plus the cost of a bm you are still saving around £250 even if you buy a new machine every 12 months:D !!

sara_501

thanks bertie, figures are much appreciated

which machine do you have?

beemuzed

Compared to eating shop-bought loaves it wins on taste alone (though I'm convinced it's cheaper too!) However, if you have plenty of time then handbaking is also better tasting and cheaper than shop bought, and would save the cost of the BM, assuming you already have an oven. But spare time is one thing I don't have, so I'm sticking to the BM right now!

sara_501

I was wondering 2 other things

I read on other threads about fresh yeast from supermarkets, for free? is this right and how do you sucessfully go about getting it?

also...

Does anyone find they need an electric knife for getting a good slice from the loaf? (have a particular 5 year old who would be freaked out by doorstep sandwiches )

thanks in advance.

champys

I agree it is well worth it, at least for us here in rural France. I cost my (wholemeal) home-baked loaves at @ 0.47 Euro at the moment. The cheapest (subsidised) loaf here in France is a baguette and costs - I think - at least 0.80 Euro. The home-made bread lasts us for several days whereas you have to buy a fresh baguette every day because they don't age at all. Plus the nearest bakery is 2.5 miles away so this would cost a fair amount of fuel.

Lizbetty

I am on a very tight budget and have 2 kids and a Panasonic SD253. I'm sure it has saved me money, we now have sandwiches and stuff on toast more often too as the bread is so lovely, so that's saved a few quid too.

I know the Panasonic is quite dear (ours was about £90) but I'm sure it's earnt it's keep. My friend was persuaded and she is now also an absolute addict.

Besides the moneysaving side, the main reason for getting one was a look on the lunchbox ideas bit of the Tesco website a while back. I was HORRIFIED by the amount of salt and rubbish in shop bought bread, when I know babies quota of salt per day should be tiny.

The organic stuff my mum buys doesn't last two minutes and isn't half as nice as the stuff we make, probably the time in transit is the best time to eat it as it just falls to bits by the time it makes my mum's bread bin from the supermarket! The loaves we make are gone in a day, usually. Plus there's the pizza dough (wholemeal too!) and hot cross buns (which are surprisingly healthy!).

I use cooking grade olive oil instead of butter which might work out cheaper? I know butter is really dear at the mo and the olive oil last us for weeks.

If you do decide to get one, I am pretty sure that if you get a good model you'll never look back. I even wanted to take my to Bridlington on our hols last year (but OH wouldn't let me, lol!).

Hth, Luce