2022 Frugal Living Challenge

cw18

missmoneywatch said:

Does anyone have a bread maker and do you know how the price compares to buying bread? I had an old one which we threw out years ago now wondering if buying a new one would make sense.

I actually have 2 - and they sit gathering dust most of the time!     I find the time it takes to make a loaf using one very off-putting - and means it's almost impossible to use unless I'm off work.   I also hate holes in the bottom of the loaves from the paddles.   My second machine was bought as it has a built-in timer (so I should be able to set it to cook for when I get up in a morning or in from work in an evening), has a dispenser to add seeds at the appropriate time (which allows more than a plain loaf on a timer), and also has 'collapsing paddles' to solve the issue of the holes.   Unfortunately the results never seem to be as good when left on a timer, and the paddles only collapse about 50% of the time!    Add to this the fact that the loaves (in either machine) grow too tall for slices to be put into by toaster and it's a complete nuisance (and I reckon it's dearer to toast under the grill - it definitely takes longer, and has to be watched the whole time when I could be doing other things to get ready for work).

As to cost - I don't think it's any cheaper to make than to buy.    If anything it's dearer, as I'm currently using the plain white or wholemeal 36p loaves from A!di (the seeded I love was creeping up in price, and my grocery budget didn't like that!).    I doubt I've managed to get the ingredients as  cheapily as that, and then I need to add on the cost of running the machine   And I actually use loaves made at home much more quickly which means I'm out of pocket again much sooner - I can't cut as thin as the loaves I buy, and if I'm hungry as it finishes cooking I can demolish half a loaf straight off    I actually gave up making granary (I bought mixes) and wholemeal (not mixes) as they always seem to end up tasting very salty, and I hate salty food most of the time - although my body occasionally screams for salted peanuts.

Bluegreen143

I personally prefer hand made loaves rather than machine, I used to have a bread maker and gave it away. I tend to do a no-knead recipe nowadays, but if I’m using one I need to knead I do it in my mixer.

That nursery/birthday situation is mad @QueenJess! At our nursery, you just give them £5 the week of your child’s birthday and they organise a cake & sweet treats (only for children in your child’s group so it’s just a handful of times a year each child takes part) and a wee gift/card for the birthday child to take home. Usually something sensible like a playdough set. They deliberately do it this way to stop parental competition. Our nursery sits exactly on the border between a very affluent area and a very deprived area and the families are quite diverse and situated on both sides of this divide, so the nursery never assume parents have money (if you couldn’t afford the £5 and had a quiet word with them they’d make it happen anyway).

Primrose

I think you probably get faster at making bread in a breadmaker the more you use it.
certainly the height of loaves using a majority of white flour are taller and I agree it,s a pain as they stick up out of the toaster and don't get cooked.

my OH has experimented over the years using larger proportions of wholemeal, spelt and other "thicker" flours which produce a more compact and "dense" loaf which we prefer for toasting.

There are only two of us and we don't eat large quantities of bread.  When a jumbo tall loaf is made, we usually cut it in two, wrap half in clingfilm and freeze it for next time.if we you like to make sandwiches, I think having a bigger proportion of white flour makes the loaf more pliable.  If you eat mainly toast, increasing the proportion of "denser" flours can give the toast a firmer consistency. 

QueenJess

I have my bread maker away a few years ago. It is very useful and quick to do, but I just dislike the denseness of the bread and prefer the taste by hand, however, I never have time to make it by hand. Maybe one day!

@Bluegreen143 unfortunately our nursery is next to a private school (DD is now there) so I guess lots of people are well off. However, I still don’t think that’s an excuse to over consume.  There is a huge lack of nursery places around and so the prices everywhere here are the same and London type prices despite us not living in London 😬. I will feel rich indeed when DD finishes nursery!

Broomstick

I am trying to avoid eating much bread but, when I do, I now use a vegan microwave soda bread recipe which works very well and takes about 6 minutes to cook a small-ish loaf.  I've made it with olive or sunflower oil, balsamic or cider vinegar, spelt or wholemeal flour in various combinations depending on what's been in the cupboard and they've all been ok. I'm sure it would work work with cow's as well as plant milk.  I've only ever used soya.
https://microwavegan.tumblr.com/post/113883346390/microwave-vegan-soda-bread

basketcase

Broomstick said:

I am trying to avoid eating much bread but, when I do, I now use a vegan microwave soda bread recipe which works very well and takes about 6 minutes to cook a small-ish loaf.  I've made it with olive or sunflower oil, balsamic or cider vinegar, spelt or wholemeal flour in various combinations depending on what's been in the cupboard and they've all been ok. I'm sure it would work work with cow's as well as plant milk.  I've only ever used soya.
https://microwavegan.tumblr.com/post/113883346390/microwave-vegan-soda-bread

Do you think it'd work with GF flour?

Broomstick

basketcase said:

Broomstick said:

I am trying to avoid eating much bread but, when I do, I now use a vegan microwave soda bread recipe which works very well and takes about 6 minutes to cook a small-ish loaf.  I've made it with olive or sunflower oil, balsamic or cider vinegar, spelt or wholemeal flour in various combinations depending on what's been in the cupboard and they've all been ok. I'm sure it would work work with cow's as well as plant milk.  I've only ever used soya.
https://microwavegan.tumblr.com/post/113883346390/microwave-vegan-soda-bread

Do you think it'd work with GF flour?

I haven't tried but, since this recipe only uses 2 cups of flour, it might be worth the experiment.  If you do try it, I'd love to know the result.  Were you wanting a vegan recipe?

basketcase

Broomstick said:

basketcase said:

Broomstick said:

I am trying to avoid eating much bread but, when I do, I now use a vegan microwave soda bread recipe which works very well and takes about 6 minutes to cook a small-ish loaf.  I've made it with olive or sunflower oil, balsamic or cider vinegar, spelt or wholemeal flour in various combinations depending on what's been in the cupboard and they've all been ok. I'm sure it would work work with cow's as well as plant milk.  I've only ever used soya.
https://microwavegan.tumblr.com/post/113883346390/microwave-vegan-soda-bread

Do you think it'd work with GF flour?

I haven't tried but, since this recipe only uses 2 cups of flour, it might be worth the experiment.  If you do try it, I'd love to know the result.  Were you wanting a vegan recipe?

Not really, more a very easy recipe!

Not too well at the moment, but I'll experiment and post the result.

missymoo81

Hey, I’ve just read this thread from start to finish. I must say it’s taken me some months! I’m loving all of the ideas and hints and tips! I love the bread chat. But like many Im So worried about putting my oven on now. I used to make banana bread every week, for packed lunches but it needs to cook for an hour.
i haven’t made it since the energy prices went up. I’m thinking of maybe doing it as muffins as it will drop the cooking time. So many things to think about at the moment. 

Bluegreen143

@missymoo81 could you do a lasagne one night for dinner, pop a few potatoes in to bake too for lunches and put the cake on the bottom shelf? I know lots of people do batch oven use in this way (I’m not very good at being that organised myself 🤦‍♀️)