Bread Maker - worth it?

squeaky

I make one loaf a week and my BM has long since paid for itself.

Normally I keep the loaf in the fridge and it lasts the week without any trouble at all.

Another common option is to slice your bread and then freeze the slices. If you make sandwiches for work you can even butter the bread while frozen and make them up. By lunchtime they'll be defrosted and, usually, still nice an cool You can certainly toast bread directly from frozen too.

pigpen

I made my first loaf..

It looks like bread.. it smells like bread... and I haven't tasted it because I want to show it to everyone before we eat it.. I'd need to make 4 a day to keep up with what we eat.. but it is nice to have HM one in I guess.

stilernin

Sparky67 wrote:

I've had a read through some of the posts here - I'd always thought that if I bought a breadmaker it would become another one of those gadgets that sits at the back of the cupboard...

We don't use oodles of bread - in fact just the opposite. My DH won't eat anything but white, and I like the low GI whole grain stuff, so, we but full size white loaves and end up binning half of them, and I buy the half size wholegrain loaves because otherwise I end up binning half of them too (and they are about 60p a go!)

Is a breadmaker a good option... would I get smaller and fresher loaves? I seem to be forever having to buy bread and throw it out at the minute (and no, I can't get it in the freezer because its choc-a-bloc)?

Do you have any friends who have a breadmaker that they have put to the back of the cupboard?

Perhaps they could lend it to you for a week to try.... you could decide for yourself then.

Joolzr68

Breadmakers in my opinion are fantastic !!

I bought my first one about 4 yrs ago it was a Morphy Richards. It lasted well considering |I used it nearly every day for 2 yrs but unfortunately the mixing part got bent and we couldnt repair it so it went to breadmaker heaven.
I loved that breadmaker and was upset when it broke...boo hoo (I kneaded it so...lol) . I soon found I couldn't cope without a BM so I went out and bought a Panasonic.
I now love my Panasonic with a passion...sad I know,but true :smileyhea . It was worth the investment and I would recommend it to anyone.

BM's RULE !! :heartpuls

pigpen

Apparently my very first little loafy tastes like bread!!!

OMG.. I Made bread!!! all by myself!!!

DH has eaten half of it already.. and no doubt the other ahlf will be gone by the morning!!

I need to get some white flour because the children refuse to eat brown bread..

Is it possible to mix half and half the white and the wholemeal flour??

I've made real live buns and real live bread today AND I've not killed anyone or made anyone ill!!

I am so proud of myself!!

organic_wanabe

Well done pigpen. I mix wholemeal and white all the time (and also add oatmeal and other healthy things quite often) because my DS prefers white, so we compromise. You'll experiment more as your confidence grows. Enjoy.

julianj1

Yes Pigpen. As OW says, you can do it. IMO 100% wholemeal from the BM is a bit heavy, so I do 60/40 or 70/30 wholemeal. Quite frankly, if you are say making a 400 g loaf, you just need the flour to add up to 400 g whatever the proportions. I also put in oats, or seeds and other stuff, like wheatgerm, whatever I feel like. It only takes a couple of mins longer. Though if you are really lazy, you can use the ready-mixes. I sometimes do if I find them as a special offer in the supermarket, but mostly prefer to mix my own

morlandbanks

organic_wanabe wrote:

This was originally posted by Morlandbanks (but I can't do complicated links):QUOTE]

you're welcome - actually it's my mums recipe, she'll be so proud that we're all using it!!

Sparky67

stilernin wrote:

Do you have any friends who have a breadmaker that they have put to the back of the cupboard?

Perhaps they could lend it to you for a week to try.... you could decide for yourself then.

I put a "wanted" post on my local Freecycle and I'm off to collect a BM today, so hopefully I can give it a try later! Not sure what model it is or anything, seemed a bit churlish to ask really, seeing as it was free!

PS I love the wholegrain breads with seeds and stuff in them, but would this be like trying to run before I can walk... should I start with something basic...?

julianj1

Yes Sparky, do something straightforwad would be my advice. I was a tad unconfident at first, and just did a few white or wholemeal loaves, then started experimenting. I think you also need to get the "feel" of your breadmaker: if the wholemeal is too heavy, do half and half white flour and wholemeal. I sometimes put glazes and seeds on top of mine by opening the top just before its about to bake and putting them on.