White Elephant ..or Useful Healthy Option ???

i did not like the big hole in the bottom where the mixing thingy went

We have had one for over thirty years and have bought only a handful of loaves since the first one was installed. It makes wonderful wholemeal, multi seeded loaves and great pizza bases. Definitely a must have as far as we're concerned.

crazyH

It’s a white elephant for someone on their own. You can get fresh bread from the Bakery.
But a bread maker is worth every penny, if it’s for a family

I'm on my own, yet I wouldn't be without my breadmaker. A loaf lasts me so long that it would be stale before it was finished, so I cut it into two or four pieces and freeze all but one of them, and use them as I need them.

Reported.

I have had three bread makers over the years and all purchased from charity shops. They came with the instruction leaflets too. I made all kinds of yummy breads ,pizza dough, hot cross buns etc.Very easy once you figured out the order to place the ingredients into the pan.I have stopped using it now as we aren’t eating so much bread these days and it’s simpler to just go and buy a loaf when we need one.I would say keep your eyes out for a used one and play with it.

Mine is a Panasonic. I’ve had another brand but it wasn’t very good. Hand kneading isn’t for me, my hands are too arthritic.

I’ve not had much success making sour dough on its own so instead I now use some sour dough ‘baby’ alongside the yeast and that way it comes out with that sour dough tang. If I’ve made yoghurt, I’ll use the whey from that, too.

I have had a Panasonic breadmaker for many years and use it about twice a week. It takes about five minutes to put in the ingredients for a wholemeal loaf and I like the fact I know exactly what is in it. As there are no preservatives in it, it can go mouldy in warmer weather so I slice and freeze it. Sometimes I make sun dried tomato , olive bread or fruit loaf , all of which are good.

I used to use mine all the time. I used it less after my husband died, and then put it away in the pantry because I needed the space for my daughter's slow cooker which she had passed on to me. My son was making a Hungarian bread last week and asked me why I don't use the bread maker anymore. I began to think "why don't I?" so I think I will dig out some of my favourite recipes and find a space for the machine.

lixy

midgey

My sister got rid of hers when she realised how much weight she and her husband had put on!

My DD did exactly this. The bread she made was very good, but it needed will power to slice and store in the freezer rather than scoffing the lot.
I make bread by hand as I reckon that the calories used up in the kneading balance the treat of warm fresh bread and butter.

lixy 😁

I liked ours but we probably ate too much bread, malt loaves etc.

Unfortunately it stopped working, went to the tip and I haven't replaced it.
Yet.

It was a Panasonic.

We replaced our old one about 2 months ago . Wouldn’t be without it. It is a Russel Hobbs. DH makes all the bread, usually wholemeal.
He slices it up once it is cool and it is put in bags in the freezer so that we don’t eat it all at once.😄

On my second Panasonic, first one still working given to daughter. Been in regular use for the last 17 years or so. Wouldn’t be without one and the bread is so much better for you without all the added c**p.

midgey

My sister got rid of hers when she realised how much weight she and her husband had put on!

My DD did exactly this. The bread she made was very good, but it needed will power to slice and store in the freezer rather than scoffing the lot.
I make bread by hand as I reckon that the calories used up in the kneading balance the treat of warm fresh bread and butter.

crazyH

It’s a white elephant for someone on their own. You can get fresh bread from the Bakery.
But a bread maker is worth every penny, if it’s for a family

But the nearest bakery might be miles away if you live in the country or even some small towns.

I also freeze my bread after slicing it. GF bread is expensive and often poor quality.

Granmarderby10

No one has mentioned the issue of the dough paddle getting embedded in the baked loaf.
The one we used was inherited and so I don’t know if this is normal. It was a bit of a faff and when it packed up I wasn’t in a hurry to get another for this reason plus the space it takes up.
I do like making rolls and “breakfasty” type buns and such like though. The aroma is always wonderful.

Mine came with a little gadget shaped like a question mark which is really nifty for hooking the paddle out. Yes a little bit of a hole in the bottom but nobody ever noticed.

crazyH

It’s a white elephant for someone on their own. You can get fresh bread from the Bakery.
But a bread maker is worth every penny, if it’s for a family

I don't agree crazyH. Mine was always a small loaf, i cut it into chunks of 2 slices and froze if not needed. As you don't use preservatives you can only eat it fresh the first day. But i was fine with that, it defrosts quickly, cut into 2 slices and toast. A handful of my own mixed seeds was good.

We've had our Panasonic for well over ten years and I haven't bought a loaf since. OH makes the bread, I make yoghurt and when I strain the yoghurt, the whey goes into the bread. We use good quality seeded flour and although I don't eat much bread it never gets thrown away. Ours lives in a kitchen cupboard and comes out at night so there's fresh bread in the morning using the timer. It's delicious.

I like making bread by hand but I wouldn’t consider such a space-consuming gadget even if I couldn’t use my hands.

No one has mentioned the issue of the dough paddle getting embedded in the baked loaf.
The one we used was inherited and so I don’t know if this is normal. It was a bit of a faff and when it packed up I wasn’t in a hurry to get another for this reason plus the space it takes up.
I do like making rolls and “breakfasty” type buns and such like though. The aroma is always wonderful.

It’s a white elephant for someone on their own. You can get fresh bread from the Bakery.
But a bread maker is worth every penny, if it’s for a family

I forgot to say..if you only use wh.meal flour it might come out rather heavy.
I experimented by subbing 1/4th if i remember rightly, of white flour. But just try it out and find what suits you. I wonder if i can make sourdough in it
I can feel a re-surrection coming on.
Btw mine was from Lidl, cheap n cheerful, small and worked a treat.

My sister got rid of hers when she realised how much weight she and her husband had put on!

I bought one years back - can't remember the make but wouldnt be surprised if it was a Panasonic.

Used it once or twice and gave it away to a friend. Somehow it didn't seem to work out for me.

There's no-knead recipes out there and I had one I used to do regularly but, since moving to Wales, I can't figure out what the difference is between "nice - and other people asked me to do one for them" and "not even edible" as I was using the same flour etc (though it could be the water here?).

Anyways there's now several sources of artisan bread to buy here - so I've not got back into experimenting myself to see if I could make nice bread here too.

Add the number of kitchen gadgets I have already and there's literally no space for a breadmaker - after I've allowed for kettle/toaster and airfryer and liquidiser and crockpot and pressure cooker etc.

I was thinking of getting one because I want an alternative to terrible supermarket bread. I have always been hopeless at baking, though, so one that does it for you sounds ideal to me!
Thanks for the tips!