Bread maker

[Deleted User]

I make bread by hand in an ordinary mixing bowl —-lovely bread and no extra expense or a bread maker cluttering up the kitchen. Bread is easy to make and can be baked on a normal baking tray so no need to buy special tin.

richardw

I make beer and wine using the left over starter from sour dough, my Aldi soup maker, Lidl bread maker, Robert dyas slow cooker and actifry for the hops. You should see my electric bills, good job I’m a member of the MSE energy look after my bills club.

Flash32

You won't necessarily save money, once you factor in the cost of the yeast, the energy and the fact that you had to buy the breadmaker in the first place - they aren't cheap and they don't last forever - BUT you will have a delicious product and you will know exactly what goes into it - unlike the commercial loaves that have up to 15 additives.  I use a Panasonic, but I usually use it to make the dough, which it does a brilliant job of, because it keeps the dough in a constant temperature, then I shape by hand and cook in our gas ovens, which gives a much tastier product that has a lovely crispy crust - the breadmaker can't quite get there!  They do make brilliant panettone too - I've just finished eating a slice!

anniecave

I've never had a bread maker, but since I was given a small slow cooker as a gift a year ago I regularly make different breads in the slow cooker.  I use the method where you just mix the ingredients together and leave to rise overnight, then punch back the dough and place in slow cooker to cook.  This website gives the basic method:
https://www.bakedbyanintrovert.com/slow-cooker-bread/
However I generally cook the bread for around 1 hour 45 mins, then take the bread out, turn it upside down and put it back in again to cook for a further 20 mins, then take it out.
I've experimented with different recipes - fruit based breads like for example apple and raisin, banana and raisin, or savoury like cheese bread, onion and herb bread, or peanut butter bread. Lots of possibilities! 

Pisco_2

I don't have much space in my flat so I use the dough hook on my mixer.  Does the job.  Okay so I have to manually take it from the mixer into a bowl, then from the bowl to the tin (or plait) and then into the oven but in the 2.5 hours it takes to make a loaf I physically only spend about 3 mins doing anything.

andyfras_2

You don't need to buy a breadmaker, just look or ask on Freegle - www.ilovefreegle.org - lots of people buy one, then can't be bothered to use it, and put it away in the loft or cupboard.

goldfinches

andyfras_2 said:

You don't need to buy a breadmaker, just look or ask on Freegle - www.ilovefreegle.org - lots of people buy one, then can't be bothered to use it, and put it away in the loft or cupboard.

Alternatively if you don't fancy that there's always entering competitions like this one

goodtoknow Competitions | Prize Draw - WIN a Carr's Flour Bundle AND Panasonic

Kitchen kit is definitely a trendy prize at the moment so keep an eye out for other competitions as well and good luck; you never know, someone's got to win, why not you.

ETA: forgot to add the answer is 3, sorry.

Wraithlady

salherm31230 said:

Becket - any recipes using the porridge, etc that you care to share? 

I have one using rolled oats, Oat and Cranberry bread:
250 ml water
3 tbsp orange (or any fruit) juice
1 tsp salt
75g porridge oats
370g strong white flour
1 1/2 tsp instant dried yeast
75g dried cranberries
Add in the order liquids/salt/flour & oats/yeast/cranberries (you can add the cranberries when the machine beeps for them, but mine has never been very reliable in this regard)
Set to the 'basic white' program and let it do its thing - it's not a huge loaf, but very nice.
(from The Breadmaker Bible, Karen Saunders)

Voyager2002

There are almost always bread-makers in charity shops, so no need to spend anything like £60 to get one.

It is important to follow recipes exactly, including measuring/weighing exact quantities. Allow fifteen minutes for this each time you make bread. Be conscious of cost when buying the ingredients: supermarkets encourage you to buy stupidly expensive individual sachets of yeast, but with a little effort you can always find jars of yeast that work out very much cheaper.

The bread that you make will cost about as much per loaf as cheap supermarket bread, but will be far more nutritious with a lower water content, as well as tasting very much nicer. So this will work out as money-saving once you take account of the reduced need to eat other nutritious foods.

Wraithlady

I gave up completely on those sachets of yeast, when I discovered the tins of Allinson dried yeat - about  £1 for a 100g tin and keeps for months in the fridge. I did do a costing earlier in this thread comparing breadmaker bread with the in-store bakery bread, ok it's never going to be cheaper than pre-packaged, pre-sliced own brand  'plastic' bread, but I know which I prefer eating!