Bread Machines

Those of you who have them - do you enjoy them? Do you use them often enough to make the purchase worthwhile? Are they bulky and hard to store? Are they easy to use for people who don't do much baking? I'm just curious, because darn it, I really want some of these:

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1053/bread-machine-pretzels.aspx

And sometimes I think it would be nice to make our own bread, too, since I try to focus on fresh food instead of processed - it would be satisfying to know our bread was made at home!

1. Yes, I love having one!  It makes me bake more as I can be lazy and not have to worry about kneading/rising cycles.

2. I think so.  I wish I used it more, but sometimes I have trouble keeping enough bread flour around the house.  It did take me ages to figure out how to keep the loaves from coming out all weird, but the smell of fresh bread is definitely rewarding.  We don't use it for our 'regular' supply, but more for speciality things when I'm in the mood to bake.

3. Sure!  In fact, I think they make baking more accessible...a lot of people are scared of things like rising times and such, so a breadmaker does all that for you.  It's so much fun to try new recipes for flavored breads and sometimes I use just the dough-making setting if I want to make something else like buns or bagels but can't be bothered to knead :p.

We can't seem to transition from shop-bought sandwich loaves to homemade primarily because MOST of our bread consumption is via sandwiches and my loaves never turn out well enough to deal with trying to slice thin enough for sandwiches.  I also buy low-calorie bread which homemade is NOT, so I use our breadmaker solely for 'extra' stuff.  However, I know tons of people who use theirs everyday for all bread!  My last load was sundried tomato & olives, but next I want to try something sweet.  Can be good if you want to do a soup in slow cooker and then set the breadmaker on a timer and - voila - fresh soup & bread for dinner when you come home from work!

eta: I own a mid-range Panasonic that was £50 from Debenham's (we had giftcards to burn).  I'd do some research to the best models out there, b/c ours was an impulse buy.  It DOES take up a lot of counter space, but I still love having it.

Thanks, Aless! So, you can make pizza dough and all sorts of stuff like that, too? That would be seriously cool! I'm one of those baking-phobic people who loves fresh baked goods but is freaked out by all the handiwork involved.  I'm thinking I might get one within the next few months, if I can work out where to put it in our kitchen (we have some space, I think it could be better organised, though).

See I like baking my own bread, and pizza dough, but the bread maker just doesn't do it for me.

I think I might use it for rising and then bake it in the oven because I am not a fan of how it turns out. 

I could be doing something wrong though, I have learned to accept that baking bread is not going to be one of my strong suits. 

Thanks, Aless! So, you can make pizza dough and all sorts of stuff like that, too?

Yeah, I just the "dough" setting and it mixes, kneads & rises the dough for you, so when the timer goes, that means all you have to do is form the shape and bake!

Vnicepeeps is our resident bread-baking guru. Jewlz, do a search on her old posts because I know she's talked about it here at length. I'm sure she'll be along later today to say more as well!

We've had ours about 3 years (I think?) now & we use it a lot.  We rarely buy store bought bread.  We also use it for pizza dough, dough for naan bread, etc.

We've had ours about 3 years (I think?) now & we use it a lot.  We rarely buy store bought bread.  We also use it for pizza dough, dough for naan bread, etc.

Oh, now you're talking! What brand do you have? I don't want to buy a crap one because it's cheaper, but I don't know which of the better ones are worth the money. 3 years says yours must be a good one!

I recommend a Panasonic.  I had another brand before, can't remember which, where you had to pop the pan into the machine and pop it out.  After about a year it would just pop itself out while mixing and make a racket.  The Panasonic you just put the pan into the machine diagonally and twist it sideways.  Clear as mud?  I bought the machine several years ago for about £99.  It was the most expensive one at the time.

I make whole grain bread about 2 or 3 times a week.  If I want rolls I just put in on dough setting and bake them in the oven.  Since I'm lazy    I always bought the bread mixes at Tesco - usually whole grain sunflower - just put water in the machine then add the mix.  Press buttons. 

I have been eating really crappy Ugandan bread for 2 years now and am so anxious to get home to good bread.  Since I'll be retired and I'll no excuse to use a mix!   Got a nice break cookbook so will experiment with different kinds.

weesoul - I have a Panasonic that does what you talk about with the pan...it's temporarily stopped doing it, but I would encourage buying a bread maker to make sure the 'locking' mechanism for the pan is very robust.

We have a Panasonic as well.

weesoul - I have a Panasonic that does what you talk about with the pan...it's temporarily stopped doing it, but I would encourage buying a bread maker to make sure the 'locking' mechanism for the pan is very robust.

Doesn't your machine twist in?  My old machine had to be 'popped' into it - straight down, then yank it straight up when done.  Had to start using a hammer on it!  I've never had any trouble with the Panasonic which twists in.  Used it for about 3 years at 2 or 3 loaves a week.  Will get it down from the loft when I get home!

We have one, and use it all the time. Although I've not made 'regular' bread in it lately, we use it almost daily to mix dough for chapattis, or tortillas. It's an Anthony Worrall Thompson by Breville.

Jewlz... I had a Panasonic I ordered off of Amazon.co.uk while in the UK and it was brilliant.  If I felt lazy I'd do it all in the bread machine, but I usually would take it and just use it for the dough cycle and then bake it on my pizza stone in my oven.  Either way it came out nice.

I've got a 10-year-old Oster bread machine and love it.  I primarily use it for making pizza dough.