To make bread or to not make bread

This_Year

We've had a breadmaker for a few years now and have calculated that a loaf made using 400g flour (makes a loaf weighing about 600g) is about 22p.

sonastin

I decided that I wanted to be able to make bread rather than go down the "buy cheap & freeze" route because we have limited freezer space and live out in the sticks. I was scared of getting cut off and I figured if I kept "bread" as flour and yeast in the cupboard, there would be more room for milk in the freezer and we'd be able to cope longer if we got stuck for a few days.

Anyways, went with the breadmaker option because I didn't know where to start with making by hand and decided on a panasonic because the online reviews seemed to suggest that these were less likely to end up gathering dust than some cheaper models. I'm now a bit more confident with baking and am thinking of venturing into having a go at making bread without the machine but the machine will still get plenty of use in those times when I want bread making when I can't be around to tend to it - overnight or while I'm out at work or whatever.

I agree with the sorts of costings that other posters have mentioned - circa 20-somthing pence for a 400g (of flour - haven't weighed the loaf) plain white loaf, roughly double that for 100% wholemeal. I like being able to control the ratio of white to wholemeal, add whichever seeds I'm in the mood for, experiment with adding other ingredients, etc. Spiced fruit bread toast is my favourite breakfast at the moment - much cheaper than a shop-bought fruit loaf.

lilpunkkitty

I like to make my own bread using the way my mum showed me- my friends used to make fun of me until they tasted it, i bulk buy most of the ingredients and find some cheap bits in aldi or lidl.Theres nothing like homemade bread with jam and butter on or with a bowl of stew!

peachyprice

Callie22 wrote: »

Personally I think if you are getting into breadmaking a decent food mixer (like a Kenwood Chef) is better then a breadmaker. My mum is a baker (and I've done a few years of it myself) and to me, all a breadmaker does is bring the factory process home - basically what you get in a mini version of the Chorleywood process in your house. Yes, it's convenient but I think for more people the novelty is the 'really fresh hot bread' rather than the fact that it actually tastes any better than a supermarket loaf. However of course you do have the option to control what goes into your loaf.

But for me, a decent secondhand Kenwood Chef or similar will always trump a breadmaker. It's so much more versatile, there's less faffing, and it really doesn't take any longer to actually make a loaf. You can use less yeast, salt, sugar etc and then give your bread a longer rise, which will give you a much, much better flavour. Making bread this way also does tend to give you a loaf that lasts longer too (not because it's horrible and no-one eats it , but because a loaf that's been made 'properly' won't go stale quite so fast as a 'quick-method' loaf). But this is just my opinion - I will admit that having been a baker I don't feel comfortable just whacking it all in a machine and letting it get on with it. Breadmaking is something of an art and there are so many things (temperature, humidity, different ingredients, moisture levels in your flour etc) can affect your loaf, and I don't feel that machines can cope with the subtlety of it. That's one reason why I think so many people get disheartened with breadmakers because they're just a bit too 'you ALWAYS need 100ml of water and you ALWAYS need x amount of flour', which of course isn't true.

I have to agree 100% with this post.

I haven't made a loaf in my BM for about 18 months, I don't like the flavour of the bread nor did anyone else, it's far too sweet because you HAVE to use sugar for the very exact recipes to work. So I've only been using it to mix and do the first prove using a normal bread recipe then baking in the oven as rolls or in a tin.

However, since getting my Kenwood just before Christmas I haven't looked back, the bread is so much better, especially of proved overnight in the fridge, it's now time to say goodbye to my BM, I'll never use it again.

marmitepotato

peachyprice wrote: »

I have to agree 100% with this post.

I haven't made a loaf in my BM for about 18 months, I don't like the flavour of the bread nor did anyone else, it's far too sweet because you HAVE to use sugar for the very exact recipes to work. So I've only been using it to mix and do the first prove using a normal bread recipe then baking in the oven as rolls or in a tin.

However, since getting my Kenwood just before Christmas I haven't looked back, the bread is so much better, especially of proved overnight in the fridge, it's now time to say goodbye to my BM, I'll never use it again.

I agree totally. Kenny makes a much better loaf than my BM can ever make. I also find that BM bread goes off within a day, but Kenny bread lasts at least four days.


BM will be sold at the next boot fare.........

honeythewitch

peachyprice wrote: »

I have to agree 100% with this post.

I haven't made a loaf in my BM for about 18 months, I don't like the flavour of the bread nor did anyone else, it's far too sweet because you HAVE to use sugar for the very exact recipes to work. So I've only been using it to mix and do the first prove using a normal bread recipe then baking in the oven as rolls or in a tin.

However, since getting my Kenwood just before Christmas I haven't looked back, the bread is so much better, especially of proved overnight in the fridge, it's now time to say goodbye to my BM, I'll never use it again.

It must depend a lot on the type of breadmaker, but the recipes provided do seem very sugar and fat heavy although you dont actually need either.
I use my own recipes, adjusted very slightly, and my loaves from the breadmaker are just the same as if they are mixed in the Kenwood and baked in the oven.
The only difference is that it is cheaper to heat up a tiny oven than a large one if it is just for one loaf.

If i buy heavily reduced supermarket bread I freeze the whole loaf and a swift wallop on the worktop separates the slices nicely.

Enterprise_1701C

I put very little sugar into my bread. If I am making a loaf instead of rolls I crush up a vitamin c tablet and use that as a dough improver. The bread from my bread maker (a Panasonic) is really nice, but it has only become so through experience, you have to spend time messing around to find out how much water YOU need, and varying recipes.

Honeythief

I love using our breadmaker because we can set the timer and wake up to fresh bread in the morning. Can't do that with a Kenwood!

Homemade bread here is more expensive than a basic white loaf but tastes much nicer, and we can use our own flavourings. I love garlic and herb! My husband likes sesame and walnut. And we both enjoy anything with poppy seeds in it. Onion powder is great for giving a good onion flavour without making the bread mixture too wet, and of course it's quicker than chopping up an onion too.

bearcub

We bought our Morphy Richards breadmaker about 9 months ago, on the recommendation of our daughter. We wouldn't be without it now. We didn't buy it to save money, in that we could buy bread more cheaply in the supermarket. However, we like good tasty bread, which supermarket mass-produced stuff isn't, and good bread costs. Our local baker makes superb bread, but it's very expensive - more of a treat than an everyday food.

recovering_spendaholic wrote: »

I have a panasonic breadmaker and I have to say that it makes really nice bread, however you do need to fiddle about with recipes at first until you know what works best in your particular machine.

With the MR machine, a very precise recipe booklet comes with it, and those recipes work perfectly well, we've found. We have, though, as we've got more confident, made small changes to the recipes.

We're retired so, in theory, we've a lot of time. In reality, though, we're still busy people, without the routine that we had when we were working. Our BM is a good friend!

dandy-candy

I was never that impressed with the results from my bread maker, so last year took a short course on hand making bread. My bread is fantastic now and I learnt that (a) you have to knead it much longer than I thought, (b) even with dried quick yeast you should still let it rise twice, and (c) the room has to be warm enough for you to be in a t-shirt for the bread to rise, otherwise stick a warm hot water bottle under the bowl/pan.
Hth!