Homemade bread can be a tiresome and long process and, in some cases, not always successful. A bread machine alleviates the stress of regular baking, allowing you to place all the ingredients into the appliance at one time and return after a few hours to a freshly baked loaf.
The Pros of Using a Bread Maker:
1. Cheaper Overall
Making your own bread works out considerably cheaper than buying a loaf, meaning you can get a much better-quality loaf of bread for less. According to White River Kitchens, it works out around 30-50 pence per loaf.
2. No Knead to Stress
Everyone knows how long the process of kneading dough is and, quite frankly, it’s one of the main reasons people avoid baking their own bread. A bread maker takes this inconvenience away from you, using its paddles to knead bread in no time, so you can simply sit back and relax, letting the appliance do its job.
3. Healthier Options
Using a bread maker means you’ll know exactly what you’ve put into your bread, unlike store-bought alternatives which can be pumped full of synthetic additives.
4. Convenient Clean Up
When it comes to cleaning up, a bread maker is as simple as it can get. Simply wash the bread pan, and you’re finished. Yes – it’s really that easy.
The Cons of Using a Bread Maker:
1. Fixed Paddles
One disadvantage of using a bread maker as opposed to your hands is that the paddles are typically fixed, meaning they remain in the dough when baking, often leaving a hole in the middle of the loaf. Whilst this is not the biggest hinderance, it can be an annoyance to those who aim for gold standard loaves.
2. One By One
In a conventional oven, you can cook several loaves at once – great for batch baking or larger families. However, a bread maker limits you to one loaf per bake, which can be time-consuming when you’re looking to bake numerous loaves.
