Breadmaker Recomendations

[Mike_P]

Just ordered a used Panasonic ZB2502 £48.

Should be enough to get me started.

You will need to work out what you are doing with the paddle. Some stop the bread maker once it has finished kneading and fish it out.
Alternatively you may be lucky and it stays attached to the bowl when you remove the loaf. More likely however it is stuck on the bread. I have started using the spindle end of an electric mixer whisk, fit that into the centre of the paddle and pull it out of the loaf
Can mean a few odd slices when you cut it.

 

[Tenkaykev]

You will need to work out what you are doing with the paddle. Some stop the bread maker once it has finished kneading and fish it out.
Alternatively you may be lucky and it stays attached to the bowl when you remove the loaf. More likely however it is stuck on the bread. I have started using the spindle end of an electric mixer whisk, fit that into the centre of the paddle and pull it out of the loaf
Can mean a few odd slices when you cut it.

Our Panasonic came with an extra paddle with " fingers " for denser loaves. We leave it on permanently and it hasn't stuck in the loaf yet 🤞

 

[T4tomo]

Breadmakers are a waste of time, they don't bake a very good loaf. when I had one I would resort to tipping it out of teh breadmaker at teh appropriate point and baking it in the oven.

A food processor with a dough hook is a far better investment if you want a kneading aid.

 

[OldShep]

Anyone got any links to an easy wholemeal bread that I can make with nominal salt

Not sure what level of salt you are looking for but
My recipe which I’ve used for 40 years
1/2 tsp instant yeast
400g Wholemeal flour
5 g salt
5g sugar
300 ml water
I use program 5 on the Panasonic

in a 50g slice of bread you are taking in 1/3 g of salt.
Reduce the amount of salt to 3g or nothing you probably won’t see any difference.
IME flour is important and I’ve used supermarket budget to premium brands. Ever since the Covid shortages I’ve continally used Organic flour from Shipton Mill.

 

[kingrollo]

Not sure what level of salt you are looking for but
My recipe which I’ve used for 40 years
1/2 tsp instant yeast
400g Wholemeal flour
5 g salt
5g sugar
300 ml water
I use program 5 on the Panasonic

in a 50g slice of bread you are taking in 1/3 g of salt.
Reduce the amount of salt to 3g or nothing you probably won’t see any difference.
IME flour is important and I’ve used supermarket budget to premium brands. Ever since the Covid shortages I’ve continally used Organic flour from Shipton Mill.

That's sounds ideal. Will give that a go when it arrives.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

More likely however it is stuck on the bread.

This was one of the reasons I switched to using a stand mixer. I got fed up having a chunk torn out of the base. That and the fixed shape of the bread.

Breadmakers are a waste of time, they don't bake a very good loaf

You can get very nice bread from a machine, it's one of the reasons they are popular and so many get used for years.

I've had Panasonic, Morphy Richards and one from Lidl. All made good bread but with the in-built drawbacks listed above.

 

[grldtnr]

Used to work in a bakery, so yeah I bake my own! , old styled handmade.
I batch bake once a week, get 3 small loaves per bake,
I did buy a bread maker for my late Ma, she has moved on, so now only myself to bake for, I don't work so no need for sandwiches any more, I lazily now buy one loaf a week, but think the bread machine was a Panasonic, cant remember.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I'm thinking of getting a bread maker - but from what little I have read the breadmaker you buy comes with its own set of recipies - this may steer me away from my wholemeal/low salt preference.

I am perfectly capable to bake bread from scratch, but I was curious about bread makers.
I bartered one Russell Hobbs for a few perennials from my garden
It came with a recipe book, but the only directions I follow from the book are for the quantities of liquids relative to the flour.
I use instant yeast.
No way I'm putting milk powder and sugar in my bread, like the machine's recipe book says!
The results, imo, are satisfactory: much better than shop bought, not quite as good as the bread you knead and oven bake yourself.
A great advantage over making from scratch is that you can put the ingredients in the machine, set it, go do something else or even leave your home. No checking if the dough has risen, no folding every 30 minutes, no checking if it's baked.
Convenient if you want to bake a loaf but also do a gardening session

I currently bake my bread for 35 minutes in the oven - how would I know how long to bake it in the breadmaker ?

The machine will knead, prove, bake and stop automatically.
Mine has 3 settings for a light, medium or well done crust.

Unless you find a machine with a 'soda bread' or 'quick bake' setting

Mine has a fruit bread program, using baking powder.
Never tried it, but I guess one could make soda bread with this.

You will need to work out what you are doing with the paddle. Some stop the bread maker once it has finished kneading and fish it out.
Alternatively you may be lucky and it stays attached to the bowl when you remove the loaf. More likely however it is stuck on the bread

Indeed, the paddle for me always stays embedded in the cooked loaf.
I just take it out, live with the gap, it's going to be eat anyway.

Breadmakers are a waste of time, they don't bake a very good loaf.

Well, if you already know how to bake a loaf, you can tweak the machine to obtain an acceptable product with minimum work, imo.

 

[annedonnelly]

Not sure what level of salt you are looking for but
My recipe which I’ve used for 40 years
1/2 tsp instant yeast
400g Wholemeal flour
5 g salt
5g sugar
300 ml water
I use program 5 on the Panasonic

in a 50g slice of bread you are taking in 1/3 g of salt.
Reduce the amount of salt to 3g or nothing you probably won’t see any difference.
IME flour is important and I’ve used supermarket budget to premium brands. Ever since the Covid shortages I’ve continally used Organic flour from Shipton Mill.

I've used Shipton Mill since Covid too. I like their Malthouse flour.

 

[mistyoptic]

Another vote for Panasonic here. On our second one now but that’s ten years old. Make a loaf every two days with a blend of flours and seeds. Set it overnight and wake up to fresh bread, mmm!

Really don’t get the salt worry thing. 5g of salt in an 800g loaf is minimal compared to many other foods

On the ”gap” thing caused by the paddle, we had some dear friends who would only serve/eat the top half of those slices affected. Me, I just eat it all

 

[Mike_P]

Salt according to the book with my machine improves the flavour and strengths gluten to help the flour rise.
Being allergic to gluten that probably explains why the recipe I use does not have salt in it:
450ml milk
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sunflower oil
300g bread flour
100g cornflour
86g potato flour
2 tsp xanthum gum (to hold it together in the absence of gluten)
100g mixed seeds
50g walnuts
7g easy bake / fast action yeast

 

[Reynard]

A great advantage over making from scratch is that you can put the ingredients in the machine, set it, go do something else or even leave your home. No checking if the dough has risen, no folding every 30 minutes, no checking if it's baked.
Convenient if you want to bake a loaf but also do a gardening session

I get around this by making my dough in the evening, and proving it either a) in the fridge or b) in my unheated hallway overnight. That way, it does the hard work while I'm sleeping.

Multi-tasking at its finest!

 

[Alex321]

Breadmakers are a waste of time, they don't bake a very good loaf. when I had one I would resort to tipping it out of teh breadmaker at teh appropriate point and baking it in the oven.

A food processor with a dough hook is a far better investment if you want a kneading aid.

That is your opinion.

I think most of those posting on here have breadmakers, and would disagree with that opinion (including me, I have been using a breadmaker for almost all the bread I eat for about 25 years now).

My wife still prefers shop bought, although she is pretty fussy about which shop bought.

 

[Tenkaykev]

I am perfectly capable to bake bread from scratch, but I was curious about bread makers.
I bartered one Russell Hobbs for a few perennials from my garden
It came with a recipe book, but the only directions I follow from the book are for the quantities of liquids relative to the flour.
I use instant yeast.
No way I'm putting milk powder and sugar in my bread, like the machine's recipe book says!
The results, imo, are satisfactory: much better than shop bought, not quite as good as the bread you knead and oven bake yourself.
A great advantage over making from scratch is that you can put the ingredients in the machine, set it, go do something else or even leave your home. No checking if the dough has risen, no folding every 30 minutes, no checking if it's baked.
Convenient if you want to bake a loaf but also do a gardening session

The machine will knead, prove, bake and stop automatically.
Mine has 3 settings for a light, medium or well done crust.

Mine has a fruit bread program, using baking powder.
Never tried it, but I guess one could make soda bread with this.

Indeed, the paddle for me always stays embedded in the cooked loaf.
I just take it out, live with the gap, it's going to be eat anyway.

Well, if you already know how to bake a loaf, you can tweak the machine to obtain an acceptable product with minimum work, imo.

Eloquently explained, put into words my experiences with our panny breadmaker.
I love to experiment, sometimes adding an extra ingredient ( Honey, Malt extract, Marmite, oatmilk instead of water etc) A pinch of Turmeric or Saffron to add colour. One that works well is to chuck a tablespoon of mixed herbs and a teaspoon of chilli flakes into the mix.

 

[T4tomo]

That is your opinion.

I think most of those posting on here have breadmakers, and would disagree with that opinion (including me, I have been using a breadmaker for almost all the bread I eat for about 25 years now).

My wife still prefers shop bought, although she is pretty fussy about which shop bought.

Have you ever tried using the breadmaker for the kneading and first prove cycles, then tip it out for 2nd prove and baking it in the oven?