h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi to everyone

Has anyone got a breadmaker? What are your experiences of it?

Is it a good idea or just a gadget that you thought would be a good idea at the time?

What model do you have?

What are the pro's and cons?

Please share.


Regards Leroy.

I don't have one myself... I've known people who do, and generally* they all say that they find them really good etc.... personally I've a big glass bowl, and an electric oven, which work pretty well to make bread so I can't see the need to have a seperate dedicated 'thing' to make bread with; It doesn't even take very long to make bread by hand the I guess old fashioned way but I think there are a lot of myths about bread making and its thoughts of as a long time consuming process and difficult; if I can manage it and produce some really nice tasty bread by hand without taking hours over it I don't see why anyone else can't really I'd make bread a lot more often than I do, but I've a bakery right on my doorstep
I'd imagine the bread maker were I to get one would quickly join that cupboard housing the pasta machine

I love mine. I've had it for years. It's a Morphy Richards. You can put all the bits in night before and set the timer and lovely scrummy bread read when you wake up in the morning.

Mine's a bit small so only makes small loaves, but you can eat it in one day

It does take up a bit of workspace, however, I'd only have covered that with something else, anyway

i have just treated my self to one.

ive used it twice. the first time, the bread was ok, but a bit heavy and thick (no air bubbles) at the top.
my second attempt was much better ( i put a bit more water into it)
I used the packs of bread mix. all you have to do is add water to the 'flour'.

ive been making it on a sunday morning to have with breakfast and its been a joy to have fresh bread.

i reckon it could become a sunday morning ritual

One comment I've heard from people who do the overnight breadmaking thing is that it can be quite noisy...they likened it to "going to sleep to the sound of a Marine beating the crap out of someone". If that's what sends you off to sleep, all well and good, otherwise put it as far away from the bedrooom as possible!

RF

I have one - well stictly it's Dai's and despite my protests that it was taking up valuable worktop space he inssited on keeping it as it was a present.

Mind you, I'm the only one who uses it, and that's to make gluten free bread from a ready made mix. I usually only do that at weekends because of the time factor (takes abotu 3 hours to make, but then a Saturday morning spent pottering around the house with the smell of fresh bread wafting about is rather pleasant.)

It doesn't keep very well - just shows you the amount of preservatives that are in UK shop bought loaves.

I got one for Christmas - don't use it as much as I probably should. I rarely eat bread; I usually end up having (homemade) granola bars for breakfast.

Works fairly well, but even with the small loaf setting I have trouble getting through an entire one before it goes stale!

But. But. if it goes stale, you could just make us all some bread and butter pudding

It usually becomes French Toast on weekends.

I've had a Prima breadmaker for a couple of years -a perfect loaf every time I've used it bar once, when the mixture escaped like a bad imitation of Quatermass on speed.

I think the yeast must have been on the turn

I reckon it was a worthwhile kitchen toy to buy -

I mean, you can boast and say "Oh yes, I make my own bread" and impress those who are impressed by that sort of thing. There's nothing in the rules that says you have to mention that you've got a machine that does all the boring kneading/hardwork/faffing around and waiting and cooking for you

Well worth the kudoes and it does make the home smell wonderfully domestic!

this morning i put ours on and then went back to bed to read the sunday papers.
by the time it was time to get up, the bread was done and the smell was

so fresh bread with our breakfast was out of this world.

we usually use clover or other type spreads on 'normal' sliced bread, but i went mad and bought some 'real' butter for the fresh bread.

So it does the needing of the bread for you? tut thats the best bit of making bread, the ten fifteen minutes spent needing the bread dough
Can you make any kind of bread with these machines; When I make bread by hand I generally make fancy bread (the stuff that is more expensive to buy from the shops), useually soemthign like sessamy and rosemary bread and the ocasional unleven olive bread Ooo not done unleven bread in yonks How about things like ciabata bread or naam bread? Mind the naam never comes out breat from teh oven or pan as you just can't get the same kinda heat that it really requires from a domestic oven/hob

>quavers< kneading is all very well for you young unarthritic types

Frankly, all the kneading done for me is the best next thing to sliced bread

You can make (within a little) whatever your little desires - either with kit form bread- which is cheating a bit, I admit,or by just being imaginitive with ingredients

Just be very *very* careful to get the yeast proportions right tho.

I'm still attempting to scrape the last quatermass explosion off the kitchen ceiling

Not sure about naans, or unleavened type breads, but stuff like rye,spelt, wholemeal seem to come out alright.

And the Apricot and Walnut loaf I made the other day lasted about 10 minutes before total demolishment

Walnut bread! Your evil you know that? my current culniary challange is to try and decide what to do dor dinner... I@m thinking some of the large raw kings prawns but can't decide weahter to go Chinese, Indian or pastary with em... Must contain mushrooms Ooo I wonder if mushroom bread would work actually no I don't think it would

All depends on the type of mushroom

Or so I'm told.



When you crowd of reprobates turn up for the Faversham Beer Festival I shall create a walnutty loaf especially for you in that case, 2Legs

Beer festavil? I'm still contemplating my prawns and thats not a euphamism

How about King Prawns, lightly fried, accompanied by sweet chilli dipping sauce, plenty of mushrooms in some shape or form and some noodles or bean shoots?

At least that'll cut the hunger pangs down to size whilst you cook "Mains"


I think the lads and I have yesterday's monster shepherds pie to finish off today.

Sounds like mains to me! Of course, I'm not saying I won't end up having a supper later on in the wee hours
I'm tempted to either do something like a boomer (or is that booner yeh, think booner ) indian type dish,
loads of onion, sliced, fried off, then add the dried spices (tumeric, cumin, corianda, garum mucarla probably a bit of chilli flakes), then add the prawns, and then a load of button mushrooms diced in halfways, and well, pretty much just that probably thorwn on top of some basmatic rice, with a few sliced fresh raw tomatos to garnish....
Or,
Fry off teh spices, (simular mix to before), add onion, mushrooms, garlic, chili peppers, prawns, then add a couple of eggs, and kinda scramble the eggs, before chucking in some cooked noodles, and then adding soya sauce, rice wine vinigar, and some chicken strock, a kinda* Asian soup type thing, but not overly liquidy as just use the stock to deglaze the wok and add a bit of liquidyness to the final dish
Or,
Fry off a ton of onion, garlic and mushrooms, prawns, add soya sauce, eggs as before, probably some peas,and do it as a kinda egg-fried rice
Ooo just remembered I've a tin of beansprouts lurking in the cupboard, could maybe do somethign with them (yeh no where near as good as fresh, but think they must have been on offer one time)
Or I could try and get frisky with the tin of coconut milk thats bene lurking in the cupboard since I bought it (on odfer again, too big to use in one go really)
Actually, pity I've not a can of banboo shoots garlic, lots of garlic I think

Sounds to me you have an anti fixation 2 Legs



And you, a self confessed creature of the night

yes I do get through a goodly amount of garlic each week, but nothing like the amount of mushrooms I get through in a week; guess I'm just a really fungi
Right I'm narrowing down the potential for this evenings meal.
Ingredients I definately* want to cook with:
Prawns.
Mushrooms.
Garlic.
and, because I always use them,; Onion.
Well.... I had rice last night, so not rice.
I'm not in a particularly noodle mood so maybe not noodles either
Actually I might have to do something pasta nature with it or just miss out the carbs for the main meal and carb-up on some toast later on Ooo pasta, with garlic bread