How do you feel about bread makers?

[Shiva14]

I love homemade bread. It's so much tastier, healthier and cheaper than store bought bread. However it takes a long time to prepare (although it doesn't require much effort). So my question is, for those of you who have a bread maker: do you find that it saves you a lot of time and trouble? Or is it only convenient if you have trouble with the outcome of your bread?

 

[NThomas]

I like bread makers especialy if it has a timer. You can prep ypur bread at night and wake up to fresh hot bread for breakfast. Bread makers can be use to make more than just bread , your manual will have other suggestion for other things you bake in you bread maker. If you ask me they are well worth the investment.

 

[Tina Nord]

I have never owned a bread maker, but I have some friends who swear by them. I prefer to actually have a hands on experience with my bread and knead it myself though.

 

[monkeyboots]

I had one ages ago and it made really good bread. Then I noticed the needle on the scale going skyward and I shoved that thing in the coat closet (the bread maker, not the scale!) There it stayed until a sweet friend of mine took it off my hands.
Pro: yummy, easy bread. Con: Fat thighs.

 

[VTEC 9/12/44]

Unnecessary. Why go to all that trouble of getting one of those things when you have a perfectly serviceable oven, a bowl, a spoon, a bread pan and a pair of arms? It costs less and gives you a better workout when you make it yourself.

 

[LetThemEatCake]

I was in the market for one for a long time, but eventually decided it wasn't worth it when I realized I like to do it myself anyways.

 

[Kitty Reeves]

We used to have a bread maker when I was a kid, and my God I hated that thing. It was loud and you can accidentally burn yourself is you brushed against it, and the bread it made tasted awful. I hated the stupid thing. It also claimed that it was great for making bread dough, but I have stand mixer with a bread dough attachment already?! I just hate bread makers in general, haha.

 

[burtpovski]

I really love bread makers! I actually recently bought one for myself. I'd say it's quite useful because it saves me a lot of time and effort. Perhaps buying one would be a great idea, if anyone else wants to save time and effort.

 

[TheStoryteller1]

I would like to have one when I can afford it...but for now it really seems like a luxury I could live without. Nothing against it, nice idea, but for now it isn't in my priority list.

 

[limcid]

I love my bread maker! I love it because it really simplifies the process of making the bread while I multi-task on other things. I just don't have the time to do it manually, so it's like having an assistant that does it for me. Plus, like already mentioned, you can use it to make many other things where you need to knead dough or let something rise before kneading again. You just set the timers and walk away.

 

[Prettyinpink13]

I love my bread maker. It's an older one but always makes the perfect loaf. I love ones that have a timer also because you can just set it and walk away. I definitely would say it is not a hassle and that I wouldn't bake bread any other way

 

[ACSAPA]

Unnecessary. Why go to all that trouble of getting one of those things when you have a perfectly serviceable oven, a bowl, a spoon, a bread pan and a pair of arms? It costs less and gives you a better workout when you make it yourself.

I agree. Making bread by hand really isn't as hard as some people make it out to be. While you're waiting for the dough to rise, you can do other things around the kitchen.
Is kneading dough really so difficult for people that they have to buy a whole machine to do it? Making a loaf of bread with your own hands is satisfying and doesn't really take that long.

 

[tangela]

My boyfriend's mom got a breadmaker for her anniversary and she LOVES it. She regularly makes a loaf of bread like...once a week or sometimes once every few days! She's definitely in the stage where she's trying out the recipes that she got in a booklet along with her breadmaker, so it's always fun trying new things

The only "bad" thing I would say about it is that part of the fun of making bread is being able to work with your hands. I love working with my hands so it feels weird for me to have bread that I know I didn't knead.

 

[Mark3785]

I love my bread machine. It's a Panasonic that's about 15 years old. It makes great breads and I love the smell of fresh baked bread in the morning. It's fun to play with different recipes, though, there is the danger of the occasional door stop!

 

[John Tipton]

Hi has anyone got a recipe for a date & walnut loaf using a Panasonic machine. Just bought one from Morrisons and it was good but pricey,

 

[John Tipton]

Hi Mark,
A good few months ago a few people posted about bread that didn't rise, It depends on the amount of gluten in the flour,a good tip is to put half a vitamin C tablet in (crushed). It works. Posted by Baking Mad at the time
Good luck

 

[Mark3785]

Hi has anyone got a recipe for a date & walnut loaf using a Panasonic machine. Just bought one from Morrisons and it was good but pricey,

Looking at some of the recipes in my book, I notice that certain ingredients can just be added without compensating elsewhere. In my machine that has a 1 ½ pound capacity I would try a quarter cup of each in a generic bread recipe and hope for the best. I don't think nuts and dates would react with any of the other ingredients, so you should be safe.

 

[Mark3785]

Hi Mark,
A good few months ago a few people posted about bread that didn't rise, It depends on the amount of gluten in the flour,a good tip is to put half a vitamin C tablet in (crushed). It works. Posted by Baking Mad at the time
Good luck

I'll have to give that a try, but my main problem was that I wanted to use a lot more cinnamon than was called for in a cinnamon raisin bread recipe. The cinnamic aldehyde in cinnamon is an excellent antimicrobial and was killing the yeast. I got it to work by slightly more than doubling the yeast and since yeast feeds on sugar, doubling the sugar and adding more raisins to feed the yeast. Worked like a charm!

 

[Trellum]

I'm totally in for bread makers, anything that makes this daunting task easier is welcome. I actually want to make my own bread in the future, specially once the family starts growing. I think it's a good investment! Specially if you have enough kids who like bread... and you are on a budget.

 

[cupcakechef]

I've never owned a bread maker -- I love the idea in theory...fresh, baked bread whenever I want to make it, free of any preservatives or other junk that store-bought breads can be. However, I'm a little skeptical that I would actually get the use out of it. I've bought similar gadgets before that I thought I would use all the time (I guess there's a part of my brain that just likes to justify my purchases!) and they've sat in the cupboard for most of their life. I don't even know how much a bread maker retails for, I think that would be a big part of my decision to buy one as well. If it wasn't too expensive I might buy one just to try it out and then I wouldn't feel too bad if it wasn't used all that much.