Spend some dough to make some dough. (Morphy Richards 48280 Fast Bake)

Member Name: Gary25

Product:	Morphy Richards 48280 Fast Bake
Date:	11/12/08 (597 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fresh home cooked bread

Disadvantages: End up eating a lot of bread because it's so good

For some inexplicable reason, a few of my wife's colleagues at the Dental hospital where she works as a nurse, were extolling the virtues of breadmakers. Several hints were dropped by my beloved that it would make a nice Christmas present but somehow I didn't think a breadmaker would hit the spot - what do you think ladies?

No surprise then that when the Morphy Richards Coolwall Fastbake Breadmaker was advertised as a Makro offer at a ludicrously low price of £29.99 plus VAT, that I trotted off and bought one. This compares to £44.99 in Argos for the exact same model. Check on-line for the latest offers and shop around.

Before I go into detail, the most important thing is, does it work? A resounding "YES" from me. My attempts thus far include,

Basic white bread - success!!
Fastbake loaf - success!!
Sandwich loaf - success!!

Mixed fruit cake - uhh, hands up, not the very first time, but it was wholly my fault. Rosemary Shrager would have tutted and hit me with her rolling pin for not following the instructions. Picture the scene - 3/4 of a cup of melted butter per the recipe. Idiot here crammed the 3/4 cup with butter and then melted it. Realised after tasting the cake that it was the melted amount that should have been measured, DOH!! Second attempt was much improved.

As with all breadmakers, expect a hole in the bottom of the loaf where the paddle has been. Sometimes the paddle disengages within the loaf and you then have a fun game like 'Operation' where you try to get the paddle out without causing too much damage to the bread. Also, don't expect the colour to be brilliant white like the white bread you buy in the shops - that's just a bleaching agent to make it look nicer. More chemicals that are simply not needed.

On taking the breadmaker out of the box, it is cream in colour, but what surprised me was quite how big it was. You can see the shape of it from the picture above, and rough measurements are, H.29cm, D.40cm, W.27cm. There are air vents on each side, at the back and two small ones on the flip up lid on the top. The lid has a see through viewing window so you can monitor what's happening in the baking pan. Occasionally it will mist up slightly with the condensation but soon clears.

The front has a digital timer window on the control panel with two time delay buttons, loaf size button, menu button to select the appropriate programme, and finally another to set the colour of the crust. Underneath these buttons is a start/stop button.

On lifting up the lid inside you will find the non-stick baking pan with handle, containing the metal kneading blade. The pan is located on a rotating shaft and is removed by a small turn counter clockwise and lifting out. Under that you can see the heating elements. The breadmaker sits on four plastic feet to keep it off the work surface. It's called 'Coolwall' and I can vouch that the outside does indeed stay cool throughout. Obviously at the end of the cooking process, the baking pan is very hot and needs to be removed with care with oven gloves.

I have got to say that out of the many, many instruction manuals that I have looked at over the years, the one with this breadmaker ranks as one of the best. It is 24 pages long and every single step from first use, down to each of the recipes shown is absolutely brilliant. It also describes in detail each of the recipes along with a separate breakdown of the rising, kneading and baking cycle times for every single one along with the total cooking time. A comprehensive trouble shooting guide at the back covers any attempts where things aren't quite right. Invariably it would be down to not measuring precisely. The idea is simple though, put in the ingredients, press the button and the machine does all the work!! It regulates the temperature increases, sorts out the kneading and rising, and beeps when it's ready to take out. It also have a stay warm facility for an hour so you don't have to remove it straightaway.

With the breadmaker you get two easy to read plastic measuring spoons. One has a tablespoon, half tablespoon measure with the other end a teaspoon, half teaspoon measure. The second spoon is simply a 1/4 teaspoon measure. The plastic cup measures 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and one cup along with ounces and millilitres. In short, these items cover every measurement that is shown in the recipe book.

The first time you use the machine, it needs to be conditioned and it does warn of smoke being emitted as grease is burned off some of the parts. It certainly did and I had to open all of the windows other wise the smoke alarm would have gone off. After ten minutes it had stopped and there were no further episodes.

No ingredients come with the kit so you need to get your own. All the items I easily found in the supermarket and I was surprised at how cheap the bread flour and yeast actually was. Sad that I am, I find it quite theraputic and enjoyable in getting all the ingredients together in the pan, but it MUST be done in the right order per the instructions.

I'm not going to bore you with what you need to do, as if you get one of these it's all so well explained and simple (apart from melted butter!!). For most recipes you can select 1.5lb or 2lbs for the weight of the loaf / cake, along with the crust colour, light, medium or dark. There is a time delay of up to 13 hours so you can programme it to cook whilst out to leave the house full of lovely fresh bread smells on your return.

A fastbake loaf can be made in just 58 minutes once you switch it on, with the ingredients in of course. A large sandwich loaf takes 3 hours, and I prefer these to the fastbake which tends to be a little too moist for my liking.

The recipes provided, and in great detail in the book, are as follows, but please bear in mind that some are preparation of the dough itself in readiness to bake in the oven e.g. hot cross buns.

Basic white bread
Softgrain bread
Brown loaf
Italian herb bread
Cheese & onion bread
Raisin bread
Sun-dried tomato loaf
Malt loaf
French bread
Wholewheat bread
Granary loaf
Banana and nut bread
Porridge oats bread
Mixed fruit loaf
Chocolate bread
Fastbake loaf (small or large)
White bread rolls
Wholemeal bread rolls
Hot cross buns
Pizza base

**** Also, marmalade, raspberry and apple jam,
Standard cake mix,
Mixed fruit cake,
Sandwich loaf,
Wholegrain sandwich loaf.

As you can see, it is extremely versatile and you can check on the progress via the countdown timer on the front and comparing it with the cycle time for each stage so you know exactly where you are. Powered by a fitted three pin standard plug.

My daughter is extremely fussy and hates 'ordinary' bread but she loves what I've made in this thus far so it has her seal of approval and it surprisingly keeps fresh for several days in a bag. Saying that though, it's never around long enough!!

I really enjoy using this breadmaker and knowing the bread is made from fresh ingredients makes it even nicer. It's a good job I didn't get it as a Christmas present as I've hogged it since day one and I would thoroughly recommend this model for anyone looking to buy a simple to use breadmaker. Top marks on all fronts from me and I can be hyper-critical. Enjoy.

Summary: A superb, easy to use breadmaker

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