Bread Maker - worth it?

JennyW_2

Biggles wrote: »

If cost is an issue, why on earth buy a breadmaker?

I make mine by hand and find it very rewarding, plus you can be as flexible as you want in the recipe and the shape and type of the loaf, or choose at the last minute to turn it into loads of buns instead of one loaf etc etc. Our favourite at the moment is the flat Italian focaccia. Try that in a breadmaker! Or if you want to save on electricity, you can even make two at once and freeze one.

it's cheaper to use the BM (550W) than fire up the oven for an hour (say 1500W).

Justamum

Yeast does work out very cheaply for each loaf. I buy the Doves Farm yeast, and last time I bought a packet I measured out how many teaspoons I got from a pack, and it was 39, making it about 2.5p per loaf. I make mine by hand though and leave it rising for as long as I can, which means you don't need to use as much yeast (and it improves the flavour). 1/2 tsp would be fine for a few hours rising, making it slightly over a penny per loaf.

Flour has shot up lately. At my local supermarket the Waitrose organic flour is now £1.45:eek: I did use the Tesco bread flour (in the pink bag) for a while, but found the structure of the bread was rather weak, so for 3 loaves from a £1.45 bag that's just over 48p. I use 100g wholemeal and 400g white flour for each loaf. I use 2 tbs oil for each loaf, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar. I can't remember how much a 3 litre bottle of veg oil from Tesco was, but the salt and sugar will be fractions of a penny I should imagine. I don't know how to work out the cost of the electricity, but I make two loaves at a time. It's very cheap for a loaf using organic flour. Once you get used to eating homemade bread it's very difficult to force yourself to eat the mass manufactured pap they sell in the shops. My children won't eat bought bread now:rotfl:

nobblyned

JennyW wrote: »

it's cheaper to use the BM (550W) than fire up the oven for an hour (say 1500W).

An oven can hold several loaves, a BM only one....

belfastgirl23

I tend to do bread in the oven when it's on anyway for pizza

belfastgirl23

On the cleaning the BM issue I find that the non-stick works very well on my panasonic. By the time a loaf comes out there's normally just a dusting of flour that can be easily wiped away with a cloth or your hand. Even when I've made dough it normally comes out really easily. If I leave the dough lying for a bit it can be a bit stickier if there are bits where it's dried but again a quick rub with my hand lifts it. I've never had to wash the pan yet and I got it before christmas.

bertiebots

sara_501 wrote: »

OK! So I did the MSE thing and posted on Freecycle and today I picked up my new breadmaker yay!

Got a bread mix (kindly donated/stolen from my parents ) and going to give it my first shot tonight...

wish me luck.

p.s thank you to everyone for all your help and advice, much appreciated

Well done you!!:T We are on loaf no.3 already and as you know I only got mine yesterday.....It really is fantastic:D (well I am easy to please:rotfl: !!!:rotfl: )

bertiebots

sara_501 wrote: »

Got a rye bread on the go at the moment

it's showing 3.5 hours is this right?

Probably:rolleyes: ...it does take a while because the programmes allow the bread to rise more than once......but it is so worth it! How many times have you looked through the little viewing window??? lol:rotfl:

Zed42

Watch your waistline grow.

Many many moons ago DH and I bought our BM, a Panasonic SD251 ... and with it I put on a stone ... very quickly !!!

Very delicious bread kept escaping ...

Nowadays my poor SD251 sits neglected .... I make my bread with my Kenwood Chef, I make 6 loaves at a time and freeze them, this lasts us (family of 3) a fortnight ... and is much quicker to make than using the BM.

I can't criticise the BM though .... just that for me, who is more time rich than I was, and have a bigger freezer ... it is easier to make 6 in a day ...

Price wise as opposed to commercial .. no comparison ... yes, cheaper, but way more important
a) Tastier
b) Know what's in it
c) Can alter to personal preference

And HM Pizza dough is too die for too ....

rabbitwarren

I am thinking about ordering a Morphy Richards 48280 Breadmaker from ipoints. Does anyone know if its any good? Or should I just get a shop voucher from them and go and choose my own one from Currys etc.
I was just browsing this thread and its making my mouth water.
Thanks.

belfastgirl23

sara_501 wrote: »

OK Sooooooooooo......need experienced advice

First loaf came out brilliant - very unexpected BUT unfortunately it held on to the little paddle and I didn't notice when I put the second mix in (you can guess the mess that came out after run 2) big old unmixed, unkneaded mostly flour mess.

Can someone tell me how to prevent the first loaf stealing the paddle? is it simply a case of chiselling it out of it after it's baked?

sorry it's just something that happens. Be careful when chiselling out, the little paddle gets very hot when stuck in the bread (an obvious point but I learned the hard way!)

Some loaves are worse for this - I find that white bread doesn't hold onto the paddle nearly as much as brown bread for example...