a worthwhile buy (Kenwood Breadmaker BM200)

Member Name: adriang

Product:	Kenwood Breadmaker BM200
Date:	02/01/03 (1164 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: looks, size, great taste

Disadvantages: learning curve (minor), recipe book layout

we had been looking into getting a bread maker, and had carried out some research on the web, etc. This model was rated 50-50, with 2 liking it, and 2 hating it. My best friend and his girlfriend was given this model last year, and liked it, although they did have some advice on how to be successful.

One point they made was to make sure the maker is positioned away from drafts, or other hot/cold sources when making bread.

So in this years January sales, we found the Chrome model for sale at a great price, and decided to take the plunge.

We had a short list of either this Kenwood model, or one from Morphy Richards model, which has some very positive reviews online. Because of the deal with the Kenwood, plus the feedback from my friends, it made great sense.

We have had 2 bad loaves, and I am certain these were as a result of not following the instructions correctly. But we have also had lots of success, and the outcome is some great tasting bread. All from buying the ingredients at Tesco's rather than using a pre-packaged mixture.

The only fault I can make is with the recipe book, which often has 2 recipes on each page, usually a smaller and full size option, and this is what caused us the confusion, which resulted in the bad loaves.

Best recipe is number 3, the crusty white loaf. And the smell while it is cooking is fantastic!

An update after 1 month!

We have been using this to make a loaf about every 2 days.

We have still only had 2 bad loaves. Some simple (obvious!) tips to keep the bread edible!

· Follow the same instructions for the desired loaf in the supplied recipe book. As mentioned above, flour for a large loaf, but salt and sugar for a small loaf is not going to work!

· No peeking whilst the bread is rising. Opening the lid lets out heat. On the quick cycle, the warming starts immediately. The basic rule is keep the lid shut until the bread is d
one.

· Pre-mixes from the supermarket do not work with the timer. This is because the yeast cannot be isolated, so will be effected straight away by the water.

· Get the loaf out of the maker as soon as you can after it has finished. There is a keep warm facility, use this if you are not going to be there.

· Do not try to make bread when you come home drunk at 3am in the morning. The idea of fresh bread to help the hang over might be temping but only if you get a good loaf!

· The balance of liquids is important. If it says 300 mil of water, but you want to add milk, eggs, honey, etc. Make sure the overall total is still 300ml.

· Extra sugar or sugary things like honey, seems to make the bread rise more. So you can get the mushroom effect loaves, which taste fine, but make the little window on the top a bitch to clean! Tip is to add extra sweet things is to use the specialty bread setting, and to add when beeps sound to add extra ingredients, add it then.

Read my profile, and you read that I am based in the Netherlands. We bought the maker in the UK, and stocked up on strong flour, and some mixes from Tescos before we came back. We found that the mixes available here in the Albert Hein, Edah and C1000 super markets also work well.

We also found that the super cheap, 25 cents per bag, flour works just as well as the strong flour we bought from the UK, and costs about an eighth of the price.

For every loaf we make, I generally add an egg, as part of the 300ml required of liquid. I found this helps in keeping the bread moist for a couple of days. Remember that there are no preservatives in this bread, so it does not stay as fresh as something from Tescos.

The best loaf I made was a sweet loaf, with honey, and half a tub of dates that were left over from Christmas, which I stoned and chopped, and soaked in a small amount of boiling water to soften them. The water was added to the mix
!

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