Bread machines

[shirley]

Hooray!!!!!! Just made a brill pizza using the bread maker for the dough base.

I used
400g strong flour a mix of white and wholemeal as i ran out of white
230ml water
1 teaspoon salt
1 sachet easy blend yeast
2 generous tablespoons olive oil

I put into breadmaker in order recommended by machine and placed on basic dough. Result, a lovely base. I shall continue with my quest for the perfect loaf.

[jools]

I would like to buy a breadmaker. Any recommendations please? I hear the Panasonic (about £90ish) is quite good?
Jools

[supersprout]

Yes, that was the Which? Best Buy last time they did a test.
Only disadvantage IMO is that there's no window, so you can't see the dough ball paffing about

[Earthbabe]

I have a fairly standard Morphy Richards with Extrabake facility which does me well enough.

[Alison]

I have the Panasonic and use it several times each week - I got it a bit cheaper by ordering it online with Currys and then picking it up in the shop (think it was about £20 cheaper than just going into the shop?!?). Don't mind that there's no window but do occaisionally have a peep which is probably bad. I bought the 253(?) which is the latest model with the nut dispenser but to be honest haven't used it at all so given my time again would probably have spent slightly less and bought the 252 which I think is the same without the dispenser.

Hopefully the house will smell of bread when I get in tonight as I left a loaf on timer this morning. As soon as that's finished I'll be washing the tin out and making a pizza dough mix for tonight's tea. Lovely, can't wait!

[Alice]

I have the Panasonic 252. £64.97 from Amazon. It makes very good bread. Only criticism is I find the screen for setting the options a bit difficult to see. Here's a link to breadmakers on Amazon. You can read the reviews there.

Breadmakers

[NEWTO THE PLOT]

we have the panasonic 253 and alison is right have only used the nut dispencer once or twice but it does make fantastic bread and pizza dough only trouble is with my family of 5 some days we have to make 2 large loaves. LOL

[jlottie]

Mines a Kenwood and it gets used 2 or three times a week. I tend to go for granary flour and add lots of sunflower and pumkin seeds. I too use olive oil and always use low salt. Haven't tried the jam making setting yet, as I don't think it would hold enough.

[jools]

Thanks. I think I'll go for one of the Panasonic ones. Probably the one with the nut dispenser because I love bread with all the bits in it.
Jools

[Gardeners Delight]

I have a bread machine with a dispencer ( not sure of make at work on the night shift ) & find a lot of my seeds & extras miss the pan when I use the dispenser so I just bung them in the bottom under the flour & the bread turns out just fine. I've also made jam only a small amount but no hassle & easy to clean

[Earthbabe]

Mine doesn't have a dispenser so like you GD I just bung the bits in the pan with everything else. On a couple of the settings there are some beeps supposedly to add stuff then so it doesn't all get chopped up. I have found that it makes little difference putting it in at the beginning and it mixes in better.

[JennieAtkinson]

Hadn't thought of adding seeds at the beginning. I always manage to miss the "beep"! Thanks for that tip!
We use ours every other day - we make a large loaf and make it do the two of us over the two days. It is always really lovely. We use oil too, but I'm afraid I can't do without the right amount of salt!

[Earthbabe]

You need a certain amount of salt to stop the yeast being overactive JA, so go for it. Although too much and you get a hard lump because the yeast can't work properly.

[Flummery]

I'm our breadmaker! I actually like the process and since my early retirement a few months ago I'm in (or in the garden) and doing something else most of the bread making time. I know many people who swear by their breadmaker but I know even more who have one at the back of the cupboard or have given it away. I haven't bought bread for about 25 years. I have made it in the evening (Telly's rubbish usually!)

[johnty greentoes]

Wake up to the smell of fresh bread......Naaaaah!

I was duped into buying a breadmaker ages ago by the promise that I could set the timer to mean that I could wake at 7 to the smell of fresh bread baking.

Oh no, no, no.

I woke at 4:30 to the sound of the breadmaker mixing dough. Have hardly used it since.

I also think they make bread very expensive as the power needed to make 1 loaf must be ridiculously high compared to making 6 loaves in your oven.