I’ve got two bread makers:

which made this:

I’m on the hand made side:

One of this weeks loaves.

Used to make bread by hand but never have time now.

I used to have a Russell Hobbs thing (I think) but it was pretty useless. While I prefer to buy British goods I succumbed to the hype around Panasonic and it has been brilliant. I can’t believe that we’ve had it 6+ years and it’s made great bread incredibly reliably all that time.

Just bought a Panasonic 2501 bread maker with the auto raisin thingy whatsit.

It was reduced to £110 in Currys from £140. Wasn’t going to bother with the auto raisin / nut thing but as it was now only £10 more than the version without the auto bit I guess it was a no brainer really.

got a “rapid” on the go at the moment. hope it comes out nicer than the old Schnieder bread maker.

Blooming eck! Just popped a loaf out ” rapid setting” so it would be ready or dinner.

THE best loaf I’ve ever made. Soft, tasty, not rubbery like my old machine used to pop put.

Gob smacked at the quality.

Nice one all those who recommended the Panasonic.

The rapid setting is ok but the normal setting is loads better. Looks like you’ve done a decent job at slicing it but I’m rubbish so use a dangerously sharp knife and a loaf slicing guide.

See if you can get a free recipe book

http://www.panasonic.co.uk/html/en_GB/Products/Kitchen+Appliances/Panasonic+Bread+Makers+-+Free+Book/5414022/index.html

Also

http://theideaskitchen.co.uk/bakery/

Only had time for the rapid setting if I wanted bread with dinner so wasn’t expecting much really but still well impressed.

Used an electric knife for slicing.

Ciabatta Cropped by Mike Smith 79, on Flickr

Bread by Mike Smith 79, on Flickr

By Hand – how exactly do you spray the crust in a bread maker?

Lol at the photos, for the proper artisan look they need to be in a basket lined with unbleached cotton.

Take the dough out of the machine if you need to shape it and spray it otherwise wait for the beeps and tip it out, daily fresh bread doesn’t have to be pretentious.

Bread makers are a convenient way of reproducing mass produced pap. If that’s what you like just buy it, it is identical to the stuff in the supermarket, it just happens to be warm and make your house smell nice!

Making good bread properly is not that hard, just takes practice. Some nice stuff above!

Bread makers are a convenient way of reproducing mass produced pap. If that’s what you like just buy it, it is identical to the stuff in the supermarket, it just happens to be warm and make your house smell nice!

Well, not really. I mean, you control what ingredients you put in it.

Happy with my Panasonic, too. Not tried anything else, though.

Bread makers are a convenient way of reproducing mass produced pap. If that’s what you like just buy it, it is identical to the stuff in the supermarket,

I have to disagree wi you on that point, mass market prepackaged bread is most likely made using the Chorleywood method, and i use the term “bread” in it’s most loose descriptive fashion, anything in a supermarket that comes out of a plastic bag is not bread, no matter how they try and tart it up as it’s full of preservatives/salt/sugar and fats. if you make it yourself in a breadmaker or by hand then it will be vastly superior to the plastic fantastic stuff you buy in the shops.

I buy bread from our local baker, i only use a couple of slices a day for toast in the morning and i occasionally make the odd loaf or two by hand when i’ve got the time. I do make a lot of ciabiatta n’ olive rolls and nan,chapatis,pizza dough by hand as anything else just tastes wrong.

Another supporter for Panasonic. I have had a few bread machines, all failed and could not be repaired (can’t get spares) until I got a Panasonic. Much more reliable and if it does fail you can get spares. And makes very good bread – nearly as good as hand made but with much less hassle so can fit in with a busy life.

Bread makers are a convenient way of reproducing mass produced pap. If that’s what you like just buy it, it is identical to the stuff in the supermarket, it just happens to be warm and make your house smell nice!

So what do you not put in your hand-made bread then? I only put bread, water, yeast, sugar and salt in my machine-made bread.

Why did the baker have smelly fingers?

He kneeded a poo.

Take the dough out of the machine if you need to shape it and spray it otherwise wait for the beeps and tip it out, daily fresh bread doesn’t have to be pretentious.

So you care enough to spend a hundred quid on a machine but 10 minutes kneading and 5 minutes shaping is beyond you?

So you care enough to spend a hundred quid on a machine but 10 minutes kneading and 5 minutes shaping is beyond you?

It was £70 and yes I’m far to busy internetting to knead dough and wait for it to prove

I normally do something else whilst the breadmaker is makingbread. Last night I was making a curry and drinking Pilsner.