4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Chookiehen]

Are all breadmakers the same, or is it worth spending a bit more on one? My old one is sadly on it's last legs after 12 years of use, and needs replaced, but I'm not sure whether to go the 'cheap and cheerful' route, or splash out some of the money I have saved up in my paypal account.

[Egluntyne]

I love my Panasonic.

[Vivihen]

I've had my Panasonic for six years now and it is still going strong, I use it nearly every day. The only problem I have with it has been resolved with the new design.

[TAJ]

It depends what you want to use it for. I like making fruit bread, or walnut loaves - if you want 'added ingredients' then getting one with an extras hopper is worth while - basically everything is not added at the begining, but just before the final kneeding so you get better whole bits of dried fruits, etc.

 

I do not use half the function on mine, but that is one I do use.

 

Tracy

[..lay a little egg for me]

I love my Panny too. I've had it for over 10 years and it is used 3 or 4 times a week. It's great.

[Tessa the Duchess]

I have a Panasonic too, but not the one with the hopper. I use it 2 to 3 times a week, it makes lovely bread.

 

Tessa

[The Dogmother]

I love my Panasonic too and use the nut dispenser to add seeds to my bread. I had a glitch a while ago, but that turned out to be the poor gluten count in the flour rather than the bread maker.

[fluffyknickers]

I have had this one for a few years

 

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/0503703/Trail/searchtext%3EBREADMKER.htm

 

Never had a problem with it and I also make jam and cakes in it that turn out lovely.

 

I dont normally like things with celeb chefs names on them but husband orginally bought it for me and I am happy with it.

x

[Bantambabe]

I too have a Panasonic - got it from Lakeland about 4 years ago. It squeaks a bit these days, but then it has been used 5 times a week for the past 4 years. It has the separate hopper for fruit/nuts which is great for making seeded or fruit bread. It makes fantastic dough for pizzas and chelsea buns and the like.

I've had no problems with it. The bread hasn't been quite as tall over the past few months but that isn't the fault of the breadmaker. It was the rubbish summer last year meaning that the quality of the flour available isn't as good this winter. Just have to compensate with a bit extra yeast and sugar.

[Phoebe]

I too use a Panasonic, which cost around £100. It gets used daily and is brilliant. I had a Russell Hobbs Pro but the tin got spoiled by kids putting it in the dishwasher. The blade also got stuck in the bread all the time. I then tried a cheap ish Morphy Richards model (about £50) with a drop down blade. The blade dropped down well and did n0t make a hole in the loaf, but the texture of the bread was awful.

 

So my advice would be to spend around £100; you will get much better results, and like the others, I would recommend Panasonic.

[Saronne]

I've got a Panasonic SD 254 (without the raisin hopper) It's fantastic. I would certainly recommend it. It's really fantastic for making pizza dough, and I make a delicious brioche loaf (3 eggs per loaf) and other loaves from the recipes that come with it. Panasonic is a bit more than other breadmakers, but it's definitely worth it!

 

Saronne

[chickencam]

I had really good results with my Morphy Richards Fast Bake with the drop down paddle, but I always used Canadian flour which has a high gluten content and makes much larger lighter bread. I use Waitrose strong Canadian or Carrs breadmaker flour.

 

I have since bought a Kenwood Chef Major and now make the dough in that and bake it in the oven. It is not as economical and you can't just leave it to get on with the job but the quality of the bread is in a different league. I still use the same flour.

[Redwing]

We have the Panasonic SD254 (no hopper) and use it daily

 

It was worth the money to have one which could realisticly replace a bought loaf, lots of my friends have breadmakers but see them as an occassional use item for 'special' bread but we wanted one which could make an every day loaf suitable for toasting and making decent sized sarnies and we have not been dissapointed with the Panasonic

 

We buy any strong bread flour and seem to get good results all the time

 

It has settings for other types of bread but I must admit we don't use them much

[Lesley]

We use a MR Fastbake most days of the week and have had no problems with it - we only ever use a breadmaker to dough stage and then finish the loaf in the oven.