The Breadmaker Thread

Planet X

Recommend me a good one please. About to take the plunge and buy one. Browned (excuse pun) off with shop sliced pans etc.
Some threads recommend Panasonic ones. Want a good one.
Cheers.

Alun

Definitely Panasonic .. I have an SD-253 which is now obsolete, replaced by the SD-254 I believe. It's been used at least twice a week since we bought it (2 years?) and is still going strong.

Planet X

Read a few reviews on the Review Centre about this one and a couple of people have had theirs pack up after two and a half years. Maybe a minority. Are they good quality? They seem to be the best ones around.
Generally, they seem to be the best.
Arnotts then?

Alun

I hadn't read anything negative about mine when I bought it TBH, but at least if it does go wrong they've a decent after sales service and spare parts are readily available unlike some of the lesser makes. If anything does go then usually it's either the drive belt (easy to replace) or the drive motor itself, and I've known people with much cheaper breadmakers (Morphy & Richards, Lidl's best) where their's has gone after only a few months use. they are

I got mine in Argos BTW.

Dizzyblonde

I used to make a lot of my own bread in the oven - does a breadmaker really make it easier? I'd be tempted to buy one of it makes a big difference.

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I used to make a lot of my own bread in the oven - does a breadmaker really make it easier? I'd be tempted to buy one of it makes a big difference.

Place all ingredients in bread maker, switch on, come back 4-5 hours later to freshly baked bread. How much easier can it get?

Planet X

I'll go for it I think. Saw one in Debenhams this morning, Panasonic 255. Euro 155. Seems the latest edition.
Thanks for the recommendations Alun.

Alun

Planet X wrote: »

I'll go for it I think. Saw one in Debenhams this morning, Panasonic 255. Euro 155. Seems the latest edition.
Thanks for the recommendations Alun.

If you look here

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/287749/module/general/compare/products/displayResult.html?p=SD-255WXC&p=SD-254WXC

on the Panasonic web page you can see the differences between the two current models, the SD-254 and the SD-255. The SD-255 has a timer, which means you can delay the start and have fresh bread, say, in the mornings, and also the nut/raisin dispenser which is really handy. I have both on my older SD-253 and wouldn't want to be without them.

Planet X

Alun,

I've read on most reviews that the bread doesn't last as long as shop bought bread because of no preservatives.
So, wrap it up when cool then. Of course most reviewers say it doesn't last long either because it's eaten almost immediately.
You could freeze it aswell I suppose, like normal bread.


Might just pop down now and buy it. And have decent bread for lunch tomorrow.

Dizzyblonde

Alun wrote: »

Place all ingredients in bread maker, switch on, come back 4-5 hours later to freshly baked bread. How much easier can it get?

That's convinced me - I always thought they were a bit of a gimmick but now I think I'll have to get one - thanks

Planet X

We have lift off.
Wholewheat loaf is off and running.
:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Ponster

SD-251 here...and still going strong after seeveral years use.

Planet X

Sorted. Lunch bread ready for tomorrow. Came out really good. Will do a faster bake next time. Tomorrow, with a 50/50 mix.

Alun

Planet X wrote: »

Sorted. Lunch bread ready for tomorrow. Came out really good. Will do a faster bake next time. Tomorrow, with a 50/50 mix.

My experience (with my machine anyway) is that the rapid bake loaves don't usually turn out as well as the normal ones. For wholemeal, I generally either do the 70/30 or the 50/50 mix rather than 100% wholemeal, as it gives a better texture to my mind.

Some other ones out of the recipe book I got with mine (which I assume hasn't changed much!) that I really like are the 5-Seeded bread (I use a plastic tub of Jan's Five Seed Mix I got from Dunne's instead of mixing the individual seeds), the Tomato Foccacia (with sundried tomatoes and green olives), and the Cheese and Bacon loaf (especially nice toasted ).

Planet X

The menu index is very comprehensive alright. Great selection. Baked three loaves since Sunday afternoon when I got it. Will never buy a sliced pan again I reckon.

Kids even like the bread. My son says that brown sliced pans you buy in the stores are........ "Michael Jackson Bread" ...neither brown nor white.
Baked 100% wholemeal. White loaf. 70/30 wholemeal. All very good. Want to do an olive / sundried tomatoe loaf.
:pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Alun

Glad it worked out for you, PlanetX .. I wouldn't be without mine now, and I reckon it's paid for itself already. I once worked out the cost of a medium loaf to be about 45 cent (including electricity usage)!

The Sweeper

...how easy are these to clean?

Alun

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

...how easy are these to clean?

Pretty easy.

The mixing bowl / cooking container has a wire handle and just lifts out and is non-stick. There's a kneading paddle in the bottom that slots onto a shaft in the bottom of the mixing bowl that comes off also for cleaning as a tiny bit of dough gets caught underneath it.

So when you pop the loaf out, just fill it with water to cool it down, remove the paddle and clean around there, and give it a quick wash in warm soapy water. 2 minutes work really.

The inside of the machine that the mixing bowl sits in, where the heating element is located, can get a bit grubby after a while, but that's not in contact with the bread anyway, so doesn't matter too much. If you use the raisin/nut dispenser a lot, bits of whatever you put in there can miss the mixing bowl sometimes and land on the heating element in the bottom and burn, but that just means waiting until it all cools down and giving it a bit of a wipe inside.

paddyblue

I'm shopping for one at the moment - it was a toss-up between the Panasonic SD 255 & The Anthony Worral Thompson - both €150 in Argos.... think i'll go with the SD 255 after reading the above reviews

I read somewhere that the recepies that come with the machine usually require 'dry milk powder' to be used. Is this true and is it necessary to use the powder? I would rather not use it tbh. Anyone know where you can get recepies with all natural ingredients?

Alun

paddyblue wrote: »

I read somewhere that the recepies that come with the machine usually require 'dry milk powder' to be used. Is this true and is it necessary to use the powder? I would rather not use it tbh. Anyone know where you can get recepies with all natural ingredients?

Most of the recipes in my book use dried milk powder, yes. I'm not sure why they use that instead of just using normal milk to be honest, but any dried milk powder I've used has been just that, dried milk, sometimes with added vitamin A and D, so I don't really understand the objection. It does say though in the recipe book never to use fresh milk in the machine if you use the timer and set it to run overnight, otherwise it would sour which makes sense I suppose.

Anyway I googled a bit and found this book ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0716021544/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

which might be of interest to you, but reading the reader comments I still don't get the 'anti milk powder' thing, I have to say, unless the comments were put there by the author herself

EDIT: it says in one of the reviews in this review for the SD-255 that the recipes don't need milk, so maybe they've changed it? PlanetX .. can you confirm this, as you've recently bought one?

paddyblue

I personally do not like the idea of milk powder because milk is a liquid, not a powder. What process does it go through to become solidified?

For me the whole point of baking your own bread is so you can control the ingrtedients that go into your loaf.....using only natural ingredients....milk powder isn't natural so it kind of defeats the purpose in a very small & pedantic way.....maybe milk powder is fine and even nutritious but i'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to convenient food processing (i'm aware flour is processed but at least you can go for wholewheat or spelt grains, giving some control over the quality)

P. Breathnach

paddyblue wrote: »

I personally do not like the idea of milk powder because milk is a liquid, not a powder. What process does it go through to become solidified?

The water is removed!

I don't use either milk or milk powder when making yeast bread. There is no need for it.

Planet X

Made Pizza Dough tonight. Pizza was OK.
Thin crust.......



Then again, my pizza dough is always better.
Machine dough......was too thin.

Pizza dough/ never a prob. Just interested how it would pan out. I'll do my own.

CJhaughey

I have the Bifinett that Lidl sold for €30 about a year ago, it has been brilliant.
I use it all the time to make dough for pizza, just recently I ordered some additional baking tins to make 2 small loaves instead of one big 2.5lb loaf.
I have not had any problems with the machine at all and for €30 It has more than paid for itself at this point.
Usually we bake a 2.5lb loaf twice a week.
The timer works well to have fresh bread in the morning.

Alun

paddyblue wrote: »

I personally do not like the idea of milk powder because milk is a liquid, not a powder. What process does it go through to become solidified?

Don't you eat butter or cheese either ?Seriously, I don't go a bundle on processed foods either, but powdered milk is just milk with the water removed, nothing too sinister I'd have thought.

Anyway I have no idea why the milk is there in the recipes .. maybe it's not necessary, I don't know.

paddyblue

I would just be worried that there are a few other 'nasties' thrown in there when powdering the milk...maybe not....
I can always see what the difference is when using the powder and when leaving it out - a bit of good old 'trial & error'

P. Breathnach

paddyblue wrote: »

I would just be worried that there are a few other 'nasties' thrown in there when powdering the milk...maybe not....
I can always see what the difference is when using the powder and when leaving it out - a bit of good old 'trial & error'

Here is what I find for Dawn Milk Made: Skimmed milk powder; hydrogenated vegetable oil; dried glucose syrup; lachtin; anti-caking agent; silica; vitamin C, A and D; colour B carotene.

It's about to go into the bin, not because I think any of there are nasties, but because it is out of date (I already told you that I don't use the stuff).

Alun

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Here is what I find for Dawn Milk Made: Skimmed milk powder; hydrogenated vegetable oil; dried glucose syrup; lachtin; anti-caking agent; silica; vitamin C, A and D; colour B carotene

On the ingredients list for my tin of Marvel ...

Dried skimmed milk, Vitamins A&D. That's it.

paddyblue

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Here is what I find for Dawn Milk Made: Skimmed milk powder; hydrogenated vegetable oil; dried glucose syrup; lachtin; anti-caking agent; silica; vitamin C, A and D; colour B carotene.

It's about to go into the bin, not because I think any of there are nasties, but because it is out of date (I already told you that I don't use the stuff).

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is definetly something you should try to avoid - ye old trans fats....a big no no

P. Breathnach

paddyblue wrote: »

Hydrogenated vegetable oil is definetly something you should try to avoid - ye old trans fats....a big no no

In the tiny quantities you would get it in a product like Dawn Milk Made, I don't think there is much to worry about.

Animal fats and milk fats are also bad for you if you take too much of them, but it is not really feasible for people to eliminate them from their diets without becoming vegan.

paddyblue

Yes these animal saturated fats are not the best and consumtion of them should be relatively low....but these fats are not nearly as bad as trans fats. I'm aware that the quantity in question would not be great, and given the fact that there are trans fats in most processed foods we eat today you could even say i'm being pedantic about the whole 'dried milk powder' thing. But for me the whole point of making your own bread is that you can choose exactly what ingredients goes into your loaf.....and if bread recepies say to put in milk powder this kind of defeats the purpose...

anyhow, if you say you don't use milk, dried or liquid, then i will take it that i can bake my bread without....ta