Don't make this too hot, otherwise it will rise and the bubble will burst! Just buy yourself one, you know you knead it, and it's going to prove itself useful.

To get going you'll need standard cooking equipment like scales, measuring spoons and measuring jugs (though I weigh my water, because it's easiest to weigh it straight into the breadmaking pan).

You'll need a pair of oven gloves when getting the loaf out, plus a heat resistant surface to put it on whilst in the tin (I put it on a plastic chopping board, it now has a nice round mark where it melted). I always leave the loaf to cool for 5 mins before tipping out onto a wire rack. Unless you're planning on eating the loaf in one sitting, you'll need a bread bin, the best I've found is the Joseph Joseph wood lid one, but it's expensive (I'm sure mine was cheap from Costco, I'd never pay £50 for a bread bin) I think the wood lid helps with humidity.

As for flour, I tend to use the premium mill ground variety, Bacheldre or Shipton Mill usually, from experience the flours ground by water mill seem to be better, but that might be luck. I tend to buy 16-25kg sacks to keep the cost down. Yeast - I always use Doves Farm, I've got a Lakeland within walking distance so easy to get from their, doesn't seem to be any more expensive than a supermarket.

If you're cooking in a utility room, you may find the bread rises less, so during the colder months, where the utility room is often sub 10 degrees C, I add an extra half teaspoon of yeast.

The cost of a load works out at roughly the price of a good sliced loaf, since it's a whole lot better, it's worth it, plus throw in a few sesame, pumpkin or sunflower (hulled) seeds and you've baked a loaf of artisan bread, and saved yourself a packet.

My machine makes 3 or 4 loaves a week and usually a pizza dough and has done for 5+ years. I tend to use the machine for loaves, although the dough cycles are great if busy, I prefer to use my mother-in-laws 40 year old Kenwood chef, to prepare dough for oven cooking, which in my opinion makes for a better roll.

Don't be afraid to use the fast bake either, with some flours I've found the 3 hour fast bake produces a better loaf, than the standard 5 hour wholemeal.

Also, rather than have tall slices, I cut the loaf in half top to bottom, then slice each half from one end, this way you have better sized slices for toasting.

If my bread machine packed in, I'd be thinking about a replacement immediately, though thankfully I do have a spare. In my house only the fridge and freezer are more important.

mike

My calculations suggest they're roughly the same, based on the assumptions that most of the weight of a loaf is the flour and using the cheapest ingredients (except yeast) from Tesco.

Bread machine recipe

600g flour £0.25
25g marg./butter £0.05
yeast (assuming Doves Farm) £0.08
water, salt, sugar (rounded up sugar is around 1/2p) £0.01
Electricity around 1/2 unit £0.08, rapid setting usually around 1/3 unit.

Total = £0.47 for 600g loaf, equivalent to £0.65 for a 800g loaf.

From Tesco the cheapest 800g loaf is £0.40, Kingsmill for £0.50.

Once you start to use more expensive ingredients, unless you buy in bulk, the same price difference will remain, but you have to remember, it's fresh, tastes better, and because it's denser, you'll use relatively less of your toppings on your sandwiches, making it probably as cheap in the long run.

mike

I've always wanted a breadmaker. But the wife has denied me one because we had a very small kitchen. Fortunately for me we moved and we now have a utility and a big kitchen - so her argument doesn't apply anymore. I'm not even gonna tell her

Awesome price! Heat given gladly :smile:

Excellent price for this

amazing price, thanks!

Don't make this too hot, otherwise it will rise and the bubble will burst! Just buy yourself one, you know you knead it, and it's going to prove itself useful.

Been waiting for the price of this to drop to around £100.
Ordered!

What size refuse sack does this bin take?

Easily the best bread makers out there, had my Panasonic about 10 years and still going strong. Cannot recommend them highly enough. This is a decent price for this one too, very tempted to replace.....

Odd though. The amazon page title is 2511b but "in the box" says 2511k