Anyone use a bread maker?
- Thread starter jsmoke
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Soldato
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Yea, we make a loaf every couple of days. Panasonic all the way.
I used to use them to make bread at my parents house, but since I left (many years ago) I have always just made them by hand. I really enjoy it actually, just make a loaf over the weekend and if I need to another one mid-week I don't eat much bread though.
My Mum has made her own bread for a good 10 years now. She's always used Morphy Richards who seem to have really good service, the thing has broken a few times but they have always replaced or given a big discount if it's out of warranty.
Way better than typical shop bought bread.
You may need a bigger toaster though
Way better than typical shop bought bread.
You may need a bigger toaster though
Yep, have got a Panasonic SD-2501 (the only brand to go for) and used it every weekend for a couple of years. Produces great bread very consistently, and only takes a couple of minutes to load and set the timer.
I can understand that handmade may be better, but I love waking up to a fresh loaf on a Sunday morning.
I can understand that handmade may be better, but I love waking up to a fresh loaf on a Sunday morning.
Soldato
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Good ones are good...and expensive.
Cheap ones are utter crap.
Most seem to come with a book of recipes for different breads. Being quite precise with the ingredient measures is usually essential.
I still prefer shop-bought stuff, but most bread makers do a nice brioche.
Cheap ones are utter crap.
Most seem to come with a book of recipes for different breads. Being quite precise with the ingredient measures is usually essential.
I still prefer shop-bought stuff, but most bread makers do a nice brioche.
We were lucky enough to have one of the higher end Panasonic machines donated to us by a friendly neighbour, they never used it so gave it us
I make 2 loaves weekly for my mum, dead easy and she really likes the bread it makes (standard white loaf).
I make 2 loaves weekly for my mum, dead easy and she really likes the bread it makes (standard white loaf).
Soldato
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Yes, we were given an older model Panasonic and we use it a few times a week (don't have too much bread in our house these days). We make 50/50 loaf and use honey instead of sugar and is really tasty.
It really isn't too much trouble to make, I do it all from memory, we have all the ingredients in one cupboard and I imagine it takes from start to finish about 3 minutes and definitely works out cheaper than an equivalent good quality loaf. Plus there is something about waking up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread!
Only tip I would give is don't scrimp on the quality of the flour - rubbish in, rubbish out.
I can't stand shop bread these days, it either doesn't last long or is stale after a day.
It really isn't too much trouble to make, I do it all from memory, we have all the ingredients in one cupboard and I imagine it takes from start to finish about 3 minutes and definitely works out cheaper than an equivalent good quality loaf. Plus there is something about waking up in the morning to the smell of freshly baked bread!
Only tip I would give is don't scrimp on the quality of the flour - rubbish in, rubbish out.
I can't stand shop bread these days, it either doesn't last long or is stale after a day.
Home made bread goes stale pretty quickly also due to the lack of preservatives, after 3 days max it's past its best.
I did love having fresh bread daily when I was living with my folks. It seems that the mixes cost more than just buying a loaf of bread though - which while understandable, as fresh tastes excellent, it's a lot of hassle when paired with the need to actually set the machine going and clean it etc. I think it now resides under their sink
Soldato
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Well 3 days is fine, particularly if toasting. I like to know what goes into my food anyway.
Once we've taken the loaf out and the tin has cooled, we just stick a blob of fairy liquid in it and some warm water, give it a clean at some point and then it's all ready to go again.
I appreciate it's more work than grabbing a loaf on your way around a shop but there again it's not as if it's a real manual process like hand kneading and leaving to prove, knocking back etc...
Got a supermarket in walking distance - so it's easy for us to get a fresh loaf if you know when they're doing them 
The mrs is french so the wandering to get a loaf in the morning etc is just part of life.. bread over there is much nicer though.
IIRC the Panasonic is under the stairs..
The mrs is french so the wandering to get a loaf in the morning etc is just part of life.. bread over there is much nicer though.
IIRC the Panasonic is under the stairs..
We have the Panny bread maker and use it a lot, less now than we used but it is a fantastic machine and almost without fail produces fantastic bread with no effort. One of the cities artisan bakers deliver bread to some of the local supermarkets and if you are lucky you can pick up a loaf - the bread is fantastic, the best i've had outside France. The problem is the bakery is the other side of town so a 35 minute drive to collect bread is a pain so we only get it from the supermarket.
I did love having fresh bread daily when I was living with my folks. It seems that the mixes cost more than just buying a loaf of bread though - which while understandable, as fresh tastes excellent, it's a lot of hassle when paired with the need to actually set the machine going and clean it etc. I think it now resides under their sink
Mixes?
Its cheaper making your own bread, flower and yeast is really cheap. This is especialy true in he US, a good artisan loaf is about $6 but it costs maybe $0.35 to make a loaf.
