Is it worth buying a bread maker?

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jen211, Apr 25, 11:08pm
I think it is definately worth buying one. I use mine 4-6 times a week and have the same breadmaker for 12 years, and it is still going strong. Great for making many different types of loaves and the house smells divine!

thitryfiver, Apr 26, 12:18am
Definately a lot cheaper to make in breadmaker but also bake in breadmaker as power usage a lot less than oven ,there is a endless variety of loaves, buns, dough, cinnamon rolls are divine, & savoury twists so good,
You need to 'get to know ' your breadmaker,by trying different things & ideas,there are good recipe books by George Daley & Alison Holst, I have always had a Panasonic, have made all our bread etc for 17 - 18 years. would never buy bread.

lythande1, Apr 26, 12:26am
Unless you want to make something a bit fancy.
I made Chelsea buns the other day, an egg, butter, cinnamon, sultanas, etc.....

pickles7, Apr 26, 12:41am
I have never costed out a loaf, it beats frozen cheap bread for sure. Less trips to the supermarket.
I actuall have a day baging up my bread ingredients, into seperate plastic bags, up to the butter and water. It just saves getting all the stuff out of the cupboards, the mess, etc. clean up once .
I wouldn't be without mine now.

pickles7, Apr 26, 12:43am
"monkey bread",
That is what I will make today, in fact right now.....

beaker59, Apr 26, 1:08am
I tend to agree and simple loaves are the best. I am baking today 2 loaves one will be frozen.

lindylambchops1, Apr 26, 1:14am
I've had several different bread machines over the years.Love em!I've never costed it out, but I love the fact that I can put the ingredients in the pan & set & leave.I use the various settings to make rolls, pizza, etc. Home made bread smells divine!Lovely to wake up to or to come home to or just to have baking away whilst you are at home & the TASTE!!!!!Sliced Bread YUK!

actros2, Apr 26, 7:51am
Nice recipe, thanks I'll give it a go.

actros2, Apr 26, 8:03am
Well I got a basic large loaf recipe from a friends brand new Panasonic breadmaker book, and did a costing. So if I haven't stuffed my math up it came out to $1.88 per loaf landed on the table, but I didn't include 1.5 tsp salt and 1tsp sugar which would be negligible. That included .63c for power (used the new rate Meridianthat will start on Jun1 for this area) for a 4hr normal cycle. Of course power charges will vary per company/area etc but probably not by much. It also included HB High- grade flour, HB milk pdr, butter, and Surebake yeast. So a tiny bit more expensive than HB bread but sure tastes nicer (I tried a piece of her first loaf today, yum).

svce, Apr 26, 8:04am
2 months ago I decided to leave the breadmaker out as I wasn't using it enough and it is a great idea. I use it once a fortnight, which is great, because

we are both working and I only use it when at home. So I think the key to success is to make sure it is located in a spot where it isn't going in the way but can be used without aving to move it . Mine is now next a to a jack point , on a furniture which use to be crammed with junk . Also have flour in stock so thta you can make some at will . I always make some when I have guest as I tend to make them nice yummy soup for lunch.Good luck .

nzhel, Apr 28, 12:15am
A Breadmaker is a great item to have and as long as you use it often you will soon recoup your initial outlay like most things. Good luck!

ruby19, Apr 28, 12:24am
I have had my sunbeam for 12 years, and we use it a lot for focaccia dough, and pizza bases, I do keep it stored on my bench top but in one of the roller draw cupboards, so it can be out of sight. It is one appliance in my house that if it died I would definitely buy another. The bread is good, especially the garlic and herb, which if you can hold off eating until the next day is divine toasted!

malcovy, Apr 28, 12:57am
I bought mine at a garage sale many years ago and all I use it for is the dough cycle and I love it.I use it often to make flat breads, hot cross buns etc.When there is mashed potato left over then I make a loaf of bread again using dough cycle and baking in oven.I most definitely will buy another one if I ever need too.

kinna54, Apr 30, 3:42am
I love my breadmaker. costwise.... varies per loaf, but like all groceries I shop around for specials. I also do a lot of knead only recipes, i.e foccacia bread and rolls, also make pizza doughs.
If buying a breadmaker make sure the one you buy is NZ version / compatable), so many of them have international measurements.I nearly tore my hair out when I first got my breadmaker as I just couldn't get it right, until I worked out the measurement difficulties. There are a lot of factors to breadmaking:
Buying the right yeast and products (yeast doesn't keep all that long)
Water temperature. (in winter add warmer water)
type of loaf preferred: i.e some basic bread recipes are very "heavy" and coarse.I always make a "french loaf, crustier on the outer, softer inside.
keepability: i.e once made a lot of breadmaker breads need to be eaten that day, or sliced and frozen, as by the next day it is stale. (unless you use a recipe that has milk powder) or some of the baked off dough recipes keep longer.

puppetman, Apr 30, 5:44am
What about brand? I have never heard a bad thing about Panasonic and thinking of getting one, but FlyBuys has Tefal and Breville.... I had a Sunbeam, but I just couldn't get a good loaf out of it. Can't remember the first brand I had, but before that one died, perfect loaf every time.

nzl99, Apr 30, 9:22pm
Haven't tried the Jam yet.Must do!I use it to mix dough mostly too, then bake in the oven.My wrists and elbows get painful with kneading, so it does the hard work for me. I do make pizza dough in it all the time... and pasta dough too. :-)

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1788041500583.2105696.1225939081&l=12e749f660 http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1568087081860.2076266.1225939081&l=b0065520a4
Pasta...
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/fbx/?set=a.1657263111205.2093586.1225939081&l=777469e7cd

sossie1, Apr 30, 9:27pm
buy a second hand one, i have one from TM I bought for $60.00, we probably only buy about 3 loaves of bread a year!

greerg, Apr 30, 9:36pm
I had a Panasonic when my boys were teenagers and it never stopped. It eventually wore out but had had so much use it really didn't owe us anything.I didn't replace it as they left home soon after and we don't eat much bread but I do miss it occasionally and felt it was well worth it at the time.I bought daughter one a couple of years ago from here just before Panasonic brought out a new model and she used it all the time in her student flat.They did detailed costings and found it to be cheaper than buying bread.Also so much nicer than cheap bought breadthat they ate more bread rather than being tempted by expensive bought snacks.

kinna54, Aug 28, 5:59pm
nauru and others with the breville.. do you use the french loaf... and the spiced loaf with date and sultanas recipes.. I have posted them in other threads... gorgeous.
love my breville, moreso after I got the nz measures supplement. As said previously watch for brands with the conversions