Will this really do everything except the washing up?

Thea, I am reading a lot here. I see some great answers. Actually, I'm very interested to know the makings of the bread. Especially the bread rolls, as you have mentioned. Hot in the oven, yummy!

i don't have one but know lots of people that do and they seem great - only thing you have to concentrate on is measuring out the ingredients correctly but they all come with instructions for all different kinds of bread or cakes, and if you already bake then you'll know some recipes of your own. have no idea about rolls though

It wasnt till recently that i started making my own bread. Im really quite surprized that its so easy. I had always dreaded the thought of doing it because i thought it difficult. I always wanted to learn so i just got a recipe and did it. Its amazing simple. Just think about it. I dont have to worry about my bread getting smashed on the way home. I also know how fresh it is. Im so glad i didnt buy a bread maker. I use a dutch oven pan to mix it in. Its very nice for sitting in a warm place too (for rising). There are so many bread recipes. Lately ive been thinking some cheese bread would be good for chicken snadwiches. Mmmmmmmm.

The breadmaker makes light, lucious loaves of bread, worthy of any table. You dump in the ingredients and away it goes, bringing the sweet smells of bread wafting through your whole house. I love it! I only make loaves of bread by hand now when I'm angry or need (knead) to think a tough problem through. Pummeling up the bread makes me feel a whole lot better.

Yes, a bread maker is great. It does all that and makes a lot of things other than bread: pizza crust dough and coffee cake to name a couple. And you can buy premixed ingredients, or use your own from scratch! The only down side is that it generally make just one loaf at a time. Karen

Oh, I love my bread machine, thea! I was always intimidated by making bread, but I remembered my stepmom having a machine when I was a kid, and the bread that came out was pretty good. So I asked my (now ex) partner for one for Christmas 3 or 4 years ago. I use it all the time! I think my stepmom probably only tried the manufacturer's recipes that came with the machine, because I've found many recipes, mostly online, that are outstanding. And now that I understand the baking process, I've started working out my own versions of the recipes that I like the best, so they can all be healthier, no sugar, no white flour, etc. Not only do I make all of my own bread in the machine, I also make bread for other folks too, as a bartering tool for veggies, fresh pork and beef, and a few other things. People rave about the stuff, and I like knowing that I am slipping health food to the folks I love! :) Now, as far as whether you need to attend it: not really. If you have a really good recipe and do all of the measurements just right, everything should come out fine without any supervision at all. Many modern machines even have timer settings, so you can load them and have them start/finish at a certain time, like when you get up in the morning or come home from work. However, for most recipes, I find that I usually need to stick around for the first round of kneading to make sure that the dough isn't too dry or wet and so I can adjust it if needed. I just clean up the kitchen and take a peek at it every once in a while. So long as the dough is right, there shouldn't be a problem with the unevenly baked bread someone else mentioned. The machine, if new, will come with an instructions/tips/recipes book that is a big help starting off. (A tip mine didn't include: spray the pan with cooking spray; prevents flour from sticking to the sides.) Also, some recipes call for a little bit of attendance, like if it has fruit or nuts or some sort of topping like oats. These have to be added during later cycles, so you have to hang around a bit. About rolls: most machines have a "dough" setting that allows you to throw in the ingredients and let it do all of the kneading and proofing (rising). However, you would still have to remove the dough (mine came with a dough hook), and separate and shape the rolls, then bake them in the oven. If you mainly eat rolls, I don't think a bread machine is worth your bother. However, for loaf-shaped goods like breads and cakes, they are totally worth it! Oh, and they also use less electricity than the oven. Sometimes I wish I had two! :) Just FYI, mine is a Sunbeam with 12 baking choices, ranging from white and wheat to cakes and jam (never tried doing jam before!). It lets you choose how dark you want the crust, loaf size, and time you want it to start. The pan is super easy to clean; I usually just wipe it with a dish towel, because it is clean when the bread slides out. When it does need washing, it's very quick in the sink.

I love my bread maker, but I prefer to actually bake the bread in the oven, just because bread done in the little machine has a funky hole in the bottom from the paddle. It does do all the kneading and mixing and letting set and rising, etc. There are settings for just making the dough, and that is what I use. My favorite breads currently you bake as round loaves in casserole dishes. You can pinch it off as rolls and let it rise on a sheet and bake it. I make much better bread this way than I ever did kneading it by hand.

The closest I've gotten to baking bread is 1) frozen bread dough and 2) buying it from the store. One of these days when I have time, maybe. I do love fresh bread. More coffee?

It won't make them into "rolls" you'll have to do that yourself. The breadmaker that I had included a setting to do everything except for the baking part I could take the dough out and make it into rolls or whatever and just bake it in my oven.

In my experience it is just that easy. And after about 6 months of ownership you can welcome that 10 extra pounds you have gained. Something about the smell just says eat me, eat me.

I used to make bread when I was not working outside of the home. Oh the heavenly smell of it wafting in the kitchen. I too would love a bread maker but I did not know that it made cakes! This makes it more attractive to me

You would not regret getting a bread maker if you choose the right one for you. I would definately suggest that you look on ciao.co.uk or dooyoo.co.uk where people write in and tell you about the one they have. I would like to tell you that it is cheaper to make your own bread. It is of course ingredience wise but oh boy go careful as it is so nice that you eat more of it! With ours we make bread, that is name the bread you can make it, rolls and even make jam in the breadmaker. One word of warning though. You must following the instructions carefully and not like I did at one time, you know how we woman do it - yep that will do as a teaspoonful. No you must be precise with measuring out the ingredience or it will make a lot of difference between success and failure with your bread. Also be careful with the little stirer in the middle as sometimes it does get left in the bread although having said that it is no great deal to pull it out! As I said I would definately recommend it.

I do not have a breadmaker but I have check them out in the stores. I just have not brought one as I just buy my bread from the stores and if I want any rolls I either buy the ones that are already and all I have to do is bake them in the oven.

never tried one of these things. its not popular here (and not even available in the markets here). but it seems that bread makers only bake and nothing else (like a mini oven). so you will have to still do the kneading et al stuff. so if you already have an oven i see no reason to buy the bread maker. also i think that a fully automatic bread maker will more look like an assembly line and hence not suitable for your home.. (not sure about it...just my views)

I don't have a breadmaker, but many friends do, and I must say that the only time I am tempted to eat bread is when I visit them. The bread is far superior to the best quality bread available in the shops. Friends seem to have their machines working every day and are very happy with them.

My dad used to make bread only using the bread machine and it always ended up very dense and I like fluffy bread. We found it was great almost effortless for making the dough, but baking in the oven was still the best way to make the bread. For rolls you can use it to make the dough and then separate to bake in the oven.

hi thea as you probably know i am in a retirement center where all my meals are made in the kitchen.but I am interested in this as I always wanted one and wanted to know just how much they really did. the ones I had looked at when I sill di my own cooking were pretty pricy. On a funny note my roommate came home a couple of weeks ago with a blender, a top of the line thing. Her sister came to see her and said what on earth did you get that for, you cannot use it here. Kathy just pouted and said, because I want it. I too wondered how she was going to use it. We do get taken to various stores like Walgreens and I have often bought some ripe tomatoes and some fruit, but still the blender is huge and I am curious what she had planned on doing with it. Perhaps she could make smoothies if she drank at once, as we do not have any refrigerator I am not sure how she would handle fresh stuff. Oh well I am not her baby sitter.

I'd have to say, our breadmaker saves us a fortune on bread. Don't know about cakes, we don't cook them, but it will prepare dough for buns but we would then have to actually cook them in the oven, an experiment we are soon going to try. The loaves it makes are not only cheaper than we could buy, they are far nicer to eat, unless, of course, we are prepared to spend money on expensive bakery bread, and that's not significantly nicer anyway. They also seem not to use a great deal of electricity. Lash

I have heard great things about bread makers and I plan to have one when I get a kitchen again! I like the idea of not having to heat up an oven which can heat up the entire kitchen and other areas as well if you have an open floor plan.

It's a great little gadget, but I just don't like it!Mine is a big machine, and I have very little counter space. So after I use it each time I have to pack it away. It's a pain to hide it and unhide it each time. I am also doing something wrong, because each time my loaves come out bad ... cooked on the outside, raw on the inside, rise too much, don't rise enough, tasting weird. I suspect I am measuring wrong (dang those measuring cups from the dollar store). If you have a friend who has a bread machine, ask to borrow it for a week or two, just so you can see if you'll enjoy it. Good luck!