Has anyone got one?

OH has been moaning about bread for months he says its too light and doesnt fill him up. He likes German bread but thats not really widely available here . The shops that do sell it have little packs of 6 slices for about 1euro but thats a silly price..

So yesterday I bought one of those mixes…( first time for everything!) and he really liked the result..However Im thinking all that kneading and rising time means me stuck in the kitchen for a lifetime…

I thought of a bread machine but I dont know anyone with one and so what are they like? Are they good value ? I heard people say you put them on at night and get fresh bread in the morning are they energy efficent? Or are they steaming away all night eating electricity? Costing me a fortune….

What are the results like?

Any imput would be most welcome I dont want to go off and buy one only to find out it is useless..

Thanks ladies..

Well from my experience they don’t use much electricity and are simple to use the only drawback being the dough hook stays in all through so you have to get it out at the end and thus some of your bread has a bit missing, Now the expert on bread here in this house is Jim, I will try to get him to comment but he is still let’s say being very shy, I am hoping he gets over this soon. anyway back to bread, he uses the Kenwood mixer with a dough hook to knead then slings it in the tin or arranges it on the tray whichever he is making, lets it rise then puts it in the oven and says it takes very little effort and the mixer does all the hard work so if you can spare the 10 minutes to sling everything in the mixer and then put it in whatever you are making it then you will have far better bread, he also says don’t use kits as they are full of preservatives and used dry yeast it’s better. As for the German rye bread we love that with peppered salami on it so if you have a recipe for it please can you send, it’s the same here about £1 for 8 slices and he keeps meaning to make some.

We had one. It did produce some nice bread with not a lot of fuss, but if you’re prone to buying kitchen gadgets, using them about 5 times until the novelty wears off, then storing them in a cupboard until you get tired of the thing taking up space and getting rid of it, then maybe a bread machine is not for you. This is what happened with my bread machine (also my panini maker, Foreman grill, citrus juicer, etc. Ugh.)

The results are pretty good, from what I remember. A nice crust and a really soft, airy interior, which might not be what you’re looking for, but I’d imagine you could find a recipe for something more dense. And it makes your house smell amazing.

I’m pretty sure they use next to no electricity if you want bread waiting for you in the morning. Most (all?) models have a timer you can set the night before, so it’s basically just sitting there doing nothing until it’s breadtime.

Maybe you can purchase one from a store with a very forgiving return policy, so if you try it and hate it, you can get your money back.

millyK this made me smile lol… its exactly what’s happened to all these amazing gadgets I’ve accumulated over the years! Though I have on the odd occasion hauled them out for re-use but it’s not long before they’ve been re-shelved.

We got a braed making machine last year and it was fantastic…. nothing nicer than piping hot bread in the morning. Ja the novelty did wear off, we don’t make daily but since our return from hols we have been using it over the weekends….  cost effective…. who knows!

Well I made that first mix and OH liked it..
Then on Saturday we went and looked at bread making machines, I have to say we were not that impressed by them..

Then I noticed in my local supermarket that they sell an organic bread mix so I thought Id give that a go…
Its fairly dark bread and mutli grained and its delicious.. The loaves come out about the size of an old Hovis loaf ( for anyone under 100 that’s the loaf in the photo) and they really taste like proper bread..

I did think of making my own from scratch but one thing stands in my way and thats the yeast the smell of it makes me vomit…Not the ideal quality in a baker!

So I think for the time being at least I will stick with this mix and method..No machine for me..

Well I would say the ready mix is as good or if not better than the machine done and at least if the mix is all organic there are no preservatives in it. Now how about a picture of your bread.

We got a bread machine as a wedding gift and love it. It’s particularly good for making pizza dough - it’s so easy and comes out lovely and stretchy. Pizzas are so easy (and cheap to make).

We’ve also recently made focaccia bread in our machine and it comes out delicious. I have to say, I’ve not been too impressed with ‘regular’ bread - I find it doesn’t come out as ‘spongy’ as bread made by hand, but for pizza dough or speciality breads like focaccia, we love ours!

cassandra - 25 Jan 2012 06:56 AM

I did think of making my own from scratch but one thing stands in my way and thats the yeast the smell of it makes me vomit…Not the ideal quality in a baker!

If all that’s standing in your way is the yeast thing, then look into quick breads. They do not require yeast at all, and instead use other leaveners like baking soda (soda breads.)

Actually, since your husband likes denser breads, he would probably prefer the texture of quick breads since they don’t have yeast creating big pockets of air within the loaf. Plus, with most of the recipes I’ve seen and used, waiting for the dough to proof or kneading it is not required. You just mix up the ingredients and dump them into the loaf pan and bake, much like any pre-packaged mix that you’d buy.

Try an Irish Soda Bread, maybe.

I decided I wanted to make bread and borrowed a bread maker.it took so long to make and didn’t turn out all that great so I just do it by hand which is hard work with all the kneading . I prefer doing it this way though, feels a bit more homely if that makes sense plus you can make all different shapes and patterns if you do it by hand
X

I have a bread machine, I use it often, and I make bread without it also. but the machine does save you a lot of time, it does it all, even the baking, if you want it to. And it only takes about 3 hrs from start to finish. I love both ways. As far as recipes go, you just have to try different ones to find the rt ones for you and your family!

My daughter has one (of many gadgets) and she seems to be happy with it. I watched it at work and oooh smells so good! I sometimes will buy dough from a pizza parlor and bake bread with it…very fresh and yummy!

Well Ive stuck to it and progressed from the mix to real bread ...

Yes I braved the horror of yeast and found it doesnt make me sick like it used to.(?)

Im cooking two loaves twice a week,  wholemeal of course and adding all sorts of things sesame, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, linseed, oatmeal and even fine chopped nuts.

OH loves it he says he feels like hes finally eating proper bread, and Ive found its not too time consuming 5 minutes to mix and then the standing time plus 35-40 minutes in the oven..

As for costs,  well a decent loaf of wholemeal at the bakers is now about E2,50 making my own with all the costs incl electric works out at about E1,35- E1,50 a loaf..

Better for the body and the purse!