Mmmmmmmmm! (Breville Breadmaster)

Member Name: Nibelung

Product:	Breville Breadmaster
Date:	04/02/01 (744 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple in use

Disadvantages: Some mixes not too complete. Paddle leaves large imprint in middle of loaf

My first taste of homemade bread (from a machine) was at my mother-in-law’s. To be frank, it wasn’t as “scrummy” as I was expecting, being a bit airy, like Nimble for slimmers (can you still get that?).

When I took early retirement last year, we concluded that one way my new-found freedom could enhance both our lives was for me to make a weekly loaf. So we started looking for bread-makers.

“Why make your own bread?” they ask.

“Well, now I’m retired, I knead the dough”, I reply. Geddit?

A fortunate accident in the form of a timely Curry’s sale enabled us to buy the Breville Breadmaster for approx. £100.

Initially, we knew nothing about them, except that the Breville had a much larger domed window than many others, which with hindsight sometimes proves useful if the mix doesn’t look as thorough as it could be, affording the opportunity to “give it a prod” yourself.

EASE OF USE

How easy does “Measure out the ingredients, bung ‘em in, set the loaf type and weight, and walk away” sound?

FLEXIBILTY

As well as three sizes of loaf (500gm, 750gm, and 1000gm) it can handle 7 different variations of loaf type plus the ability to mix and prove dough for use elsewhere in a different oven. This can be useful if you want to try your hand a Ciabatta or some such. You CAN make it in the machine but it still LOOKS like a typical un-sliced loaf, even if it tastes like Ciabatta. Better to let it make the dough and transfer to a proper oven in a more authentic shape.

RELIABILTY

In truth, there’s probably not too much to go wrong (he said with fingers crossed). We have made a loaf per week for 18 months with no problems. The only likely source of failure that I can see is the liquid-proof seal below the mixing paddle, which must be similar to those in food processors.

The non-sti
ck coating inside the baking tin is a bit prone to scratching, not just from spatulas (if you must use one), but also from the ingredients themselves. Also, you have to be a bit careful when levering out the mixing paddle for cleaning. This doesn’t ever seem to want to come out of its own volition, unless its left to soak for ages.

FEATURES

There is a handy beep during the first mixing period to allow for the insertion of nuts (?) - this prevents them from being ground to a pulp. The same applies to olives – don’t bother chopping them up, because you’ll end up with tiny black olive-flavoured specks in the finished product. Just split them, and let the mixing paddle do its worst.

A timer allows you to delay the start of baking, so that you can wake to the smell of real bread, or so that it will be finished just as those nice people the estate agent is sending to view your house arrive. Sneaky!

I wouldn’t recommend using the timer with any ingredients likely to go off overnight though like real milk or eggs.

The heat source is by fan convection which I suspect gives a much better distribution of heat, and has the added advantage of creating a mouth-watering stream of bread-scented hot air!

PROBLEMS

Getting the first loaf right was a bit “iffy”, but once we learned not the stand the machine in a cold room*, our loaves stopped coming out like bricks.

* Our new central heating boiler is so efficient, it fails to heat the kitchen at all!

All loaves end up with a perfect imprint of where the paddle used to be – unavoidable, it would seem. This tends to disfigure the pristine symmetry of the middle slice which can be regarded as the runt of the litter.

As mentioned before, the mix doesn’t always go to plan, leaving large clods of flour at the four corners of the baking tin ( did I say tin? it’s a heavy alloy casting actually)
. If you must prod, use a plastic spatula to avoid damaging the non-stick finish. Because of this, I never set it going if I am just about to go out – I prefer to be there during the first mix.

Make sure that it is plugged into a socket that is not going to get mistaken for something else. If the timer is reset, there’s no way to get back to where you were. I know, I’ve done it!

VERDICT

I’m really pleased with it, and we haven’t bought “normal” bread for months. We stick to a wholemeal “Basic Wheat Light” formula, with toasted sunflower seeds as our staple, and this is serving us well. It makes brilliant toast too.

Summary: