Slow cooker or bread maker?

droopsnout

For me, it's a permanent state!!

Pink.

Hi Cheap Date,

A lot will depend on your personal circumstances....

If you work during the day, a slow cooker is great as you can return to a home cooked meal.

If you are at home the same meal can be 'slow' cooked in the oven or on the hob at a low temperature.

I love my breadmaker....it makes wonderful bread, but as others have said above this can be done by hand too.

If I was you I'd have a think about my lifestyle and which would be the most useful/moneysaving to me, and then go for it.

Pink

droopsnout

I really don't have the time or patience to stand for ages kneading bread. The machine does it all. It replaces "plastic" shop-bought bread with the real thing, and you know exactly what ingredients you're putting in. It means you have fresh bread for breakfast, and your house is suffused with yummy smells first thing in the morning, if you set it up to bake overnight.

A slow cooker does nothing you can't do in some other way, and doesn't provide a more delicious or wholesome food compared to the alternatives. The bread machine, though, gives a true alternative without all the effort, through natural ingredients. And there are some good books out there with lots of good recipes. There are even lots of different flours and ready-mixes in the supermarkets to extend your choice of bread further. I can't understand why some peeps think putting in the ingredients is a fag!

And even if you want a loaf of a different shape, or rolls or buns or tea cakes or hot cross buns, the machine does all the mixing before you pop the dough in your regular oven.

As a bonus, you can also use most - if not all - bread machines to make jam.

[Deleted User]

slow cooker, without a doubt. You`ll get nutritious MEALS, much better for you than bread

Bread can easily be made without kneading, just by stretching and resting. So easy, just read about it. Why use a machine

I gave my bread maker (panasonic) away but my slow cooker is easily accessible

freyasmum

As usual I agree with MrsMcawber

I have both. Well, I did until I killed my breadmaker :rolleyes: I can make bread easily by hand (with only five minutes knead time) and I know things that can be made in the slow cooker can be made in other ways, but I would definitely vote for the slow cooker.

However, I do think that you need to look at which appliance would be of most benefit to you

Lx

morwenna

I bought my BM and SC together, it was when Safeway was closing down in the sale. Just wondering if you could perhaps do the same? Check out the sales! Or freecycle have these items on quite often, are you a member? You might end up with one for free!!

[Deleted User]

tesco rosemary connolly sc half price at £17.50

thriftlady_2

Neither I've tried both.

If pushed I'd say slow cooker too, but only if you are at work all day and want to come home to a hot meal-in my opinion that is the only advantage over a conventional oven. I know they are more economical to run, but if you utilise your oven to the full that can be economical too. Slow cooked dishes are much tastier done in the oven.

Bread is easy to make by hand, takes less time than a BM and you can make more than one loaf at a time and they don't have holes up the middle

There is one gadget I do find useful-an electric yogurt maker. Makes a litre of thick creamy yogurt on very little electricity, and cost about £15

Cheap_Date

Thanks all!

I'll have to have a think about it (and now thriftlady has thrown an electric yoghurt maker into the mix too.....!!)

Its probably the best time of year (what with all the sales etc.) to be considering purchases like this. I might even be able to get both (but not if they'll just take up room in my little kitchen if you know what I mean!)

I'll let you know. Thanks again!

duchy

Savings-wise a slow cooker is a better buy as you can buy really cheap cuts of meat you'd be hard pushed to make the same savings on bread (obviously still cheaper but not such a big saving). It really is all about lifestyle-time available and even how often you'd use either.If you eat a lot of bread already-and would be more likely to make more cakes with a BM doing the work (or pizzas) then a BM might be a better buy for example although you can batch cook with a SC so that is timesaving and has the potential for more moneysaving in the long run. Really it's down to what you eat and how each would change those habits.