breadmaker recommendations

[barefootlinzi]

After reading the self sufficiant ish bible and discovering that a breadmaker uses less electricity than making bread in an oven, i am going to buy one. Hoever this seems to be trickier than i thought, there are so many different ones at different prices on the market! Can any ishers recommend a breadmaker that works well but wont break the bank?

[marshlander]

We were talking about breadmakers recently - Ah, here's the thread http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... breadmaker

[Annpan]

I got mine from Freecycle... I'd suggest you try that first. Breadmakers are a typical thing that people buy on a whim and then never use, you might find someone willing to donate.

The one we were given is a really good one... Murphy Richards 'Fast bake' rrp £75, bakes big loafs, has loads of setting (most of which I have yet to use)


If you are buying - make sure you get one with a timer for fresh bread in the morning, and get one that has a 'dough' setting to do the hard work of kneading dough for buns, focaccia, bagels, etc. I wish I had time to do it all by hand but I don't.

HTH

[Ratty]

Got to agree with Annpan there, Freecycle (or Realcycle, our local equivalent) is a great place to find one.

We have a Panasonic SD252, we used some John Lewis vouchers we got for a moving in present & used a discount voucher from here http://www.hotukdeals.com/all/vouchers/hot so I think we got it for about a tenner after that!

We use ours a couple of times a week & its electricity use really is low - we have an Efergy meter which I watch like a hawk ;)

Ratty

[ina]

They may use less electricity than an oven - but I still won't have one, as there are a lot of things that I do regularly that they can't do: no good for sourdough, and I can't put in cakes and other stuff at the same time. My oven is always full when I put it on. And in winter it doubles as heating...

[Thurston Garden]

Like Ina, we could not justify a breadmaker (although my parents swear by theirs, probably because they are with Staywarm for their gas and leccy and pay a fixed amount for their fuel. I get sick of reminding my Dad that he has left lights on. "But it's free" is his reply. Then he moans when the annual price increase comes.....)

We use the Rayburn, and given the price of heating oil, it has to earn it's keep when it's on. Bread, cakes, soup, roast pork... all done in the ovens.

[Ratty]

I can only wish I had a Rayburn or Aga but I don't use my oven very much as its electric fan assisted. I prefer to make things in the pot on the gas hob. And I eat a lot of stuff raw, given that I'm vegan. The breadmaker is great for us, especially as we like to know exactly what is in our bread and we're not always home all day to prepare bread for the oven.

One day I will have an Aga and be able to bake more

Ratty

[Thurston Garden]

One day I will have an Aga and be able to bake more Ratty

Buy a Rayburn (I personally have never seen the sense of Aga's - a pure status symbol!) and whatever you do, buy a solid fuel one! I rue the day I bought an oil one!

[ina]

but I don't use my oven very much as its electric fan assisted.

Why not is it because it's electric, or because you don't like fan assisted? My current one is the first one with fan that I've ever had, and it's brilliant: heats up in no time, and I can really fill it up and it bakes/cooks everything more or less evenly. Much better, I think, than normal electric ovens.

[Odsox]

I must admit that I haven't checked on the electricity usage of breadmakers v oven, but I used various makes of breadmakers over the last 10 years and have now gone back to making it by hand and baking in an oven.
I got fed up with the paddles tearing big holes in the bottom of the loaf.

Regarding the electricity usage, I always make and bake 3 x 1 lb loaves at the same time, so presumably you should triple the breadmaker's electricity usage to be comparable ?

[MKG]

... and I've never yet seen the breadmaker which doesn't produce a solid lump with a vague resemblance to bread ...

[Thomzo]

Hi
I love my breadmaker. I so rarely have the oven on and don't have time to bake by hand anyway.

Definitely get one with a timer. You can set it so that you have fresh bread in the morning or when you get home from work.

I regret getting the smallest one. I wish I'd got a larger machine.

A dough setting is a must as is the fastbake option. Makes a loaf in an hour which is ideal for ready mixes (which are a great way to get started).

Finally - get yourself a good recipe book.

Have fun
Zoe

[happy place]

just read this post so heres my two pennys worth
weve got a morpy-richard one used alomst daily i make cracking bread in it but loaf only lasts a day (cause we eat it too quick) makes shop brought bread taste rubbery anklebiters devour crust and every thing but beloved can't make bread in it she follows instructions to the letter but it dont rise properly ,me just chuck it in and bingo
just wish we had bigger one to get propeer sized bread from.
so my advise definately get one but get one about twice the size you think your goner need
im going to try making jam in mine this year

[Thomzo]

Hi
I've tried jam in mine before but it didn't really set. I followed the recipe in the book that came with the machine (yeah honestly I actually followed a recipe for once!). Also it only made about one jar full.

Zoe

[barefootlinzi]

I have a feeling (ok, I hinted big time!) that i am getting one for my birthday. I want a panasonic one as hey are susposed to be the best, but of course dont come cheap. My birthday is the beginning of July so not long to wait!