Cookworks Breadmaker

A little while ago I told you about the Morphy Richards breadmaker, however the machine actually broke, but as it was still under guarantee I returned it to Argos, this model however was out of stock, so I was offered the “Cookworks Breadmaker” instead with the option of money back too as this machine is £15 cheaper than the original.

THE BREADMAKER
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The actual machine is rectangular in shape, similar in size to a deep fat fryer, and is white in colour.
The package consists of the actual breadmaker, bread pan, kneading blade, measuring cup, measuring spoon, and user guide and recipe book.

HOW DO YOU USE IT?
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The ingredients are easily measured with the cup or spoon included, however this is not as good as the Morphy Richard, where all the recipes listed amounts in cups and not in weight, for example the Morphy Richards asked for 3 ½ cups of flour, you simply filled the enclosed cup 3 and ½ times and tip it in, this one is in weights and the annoying thing is the cup they give you does not hold enough in measurement for the recipes so quite useless really, get your scales out, the measuring spoon however is in Tsp and Tbsp, which is useful.

The most important thing to remember when using the breadmaker is that the ingredients MUST go into the pan in the order of the recipe; this is to ensure that the yeast does not touch the water beforehand; otherwise it will not bake correctly.

The machine does everything for you, once you have put all the ingredients in, close the lid and set it and that’s it, nothing else required on your behalf. The bread is actually cooked by means of an element inside the base of the machine.

MAKING YOUR BREAD
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In the recipe book, you will find 26 recipes to do in your breadmaker, these include, basic bread (white and brown), doughnuts, muffins, Chelsea buns, hot cross buns, pizza dough and more besides.
Of course not all can be baked in the actual machine, anything other than a standard loaf will require manual shaping and cooking afterwards, but this is still a bonus as saves you having to mess about kneading etc.

So lets take a look at one of the recipes, a personal favourite of mine that is cheese, onion and herb bread.

Ingredients:
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• 275ml/9oz Water(tepid)
• 450g/1lb Strong white bread flour
• 22.5ml/1 ½ tbsp Dried milk powder
• 7.5ml/1 ½ tsp Salt
• 7.5ml/1 ½ tsp Castor sugar
• 2.5ml/ ½ tsp Dried mustard powder
• 1 pinch of Cayenne pepper
• 25g/1 oz Butter
• 2 ½ ml/ ½ tsp Easy blend yeast
• 100g/4oz Cheese grated
• 1X Small onion,chopped
• 1X15ml/1tbsp Fresh chopped mixed herbs
OR
• 1X5ml/1tsp Dried mixed herbs

All you then do is add these ingredients in the order above to the baking pan,close the lid, select the setting which for this one is number 2 and start,then sit back and wait for the end product!.The result is a sort of cross between a loaf and a cheese scone, it tastes gorgeous hot and smothered with butter, and also is ideal for toasting once cooled, it really tastes superb.

I Personally leave the herbs out and do it just as cheese and onion, but really you can substitute them for anything.

Each recipe gives you the correct programme from a total of 9, this is easy as they are listed on the actual machine and you simply press select the desired amount of times to get to the correct number.
You then select either dark or light, depending on how well done you want your loaf to be, then hit the start button, you will then see the total time needed displayed, this is 3 hours 45 minutes for a light loaf from this recipe or 4 hours 15 minutes for a darker one.

The clear view window on the top of the machine lets you see what exactly is happening inside and the first few times you bake, you will find yourself peering into it, you just can’t help but watch!
It then goes through all the various cycles from mixing, to kneading to resting, then eventually baking, once cooked the machine will beep twice and an indicator light tells you it is completed.

However If you do not want your bread there and then it does have a keep warm facility, providing you do not open the lid after baking the machine will keep your bread warm for up to 60 minutes.

You should however remove your bread after this time, as it will become soggy if left to long, removal is easy, you simply open the lid and with an oven glove take the handle, twist slightly anti clockwise, and pull the pan out.
The baking pan is non stick, so no risk of your loaf sticking, just turn it upside down and it will slide out, on occasions you may find the kneading blade comes out in your bread, just simply carefully remove it from the loaf.

The pan itself and blade are completely washable, or you can simply wipe them over after use, it really is that clean, as for the machine a quick wipe over and that’s it.

As for weight this machine is capable of making a 1.5lb loaf, (this is the only size you can make with this one, some of the other models offer varying sizes of loaf)
This should keep for up to 5 days if kept in a refrigerator.
The end product is absolutely delicious and not to mention the smell of the bread as it bakes, you just can’t wait to eat it!

TIMER FACILITY
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One of the best features of this breadmaker is the ability to set it to bake at a certain time, ideal if you want to wake up to freshly baked bread, all you do is pop all your ingredients in and set it to start at the desired time and that’s it, wake up to the aroma and have hot bread for breakfast, what could be more appealing.

Technical Specifications
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• Power source - 230v AC 50 HZ
• Power consumption – 600W Max
• Dimensions – 350 x 280 x 230mm
• Weight - -6.1kg

MY VERDICT
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This machine is not quite as technical or well made as the Morphy Richards but it does the job just as well, nothing between them results wise.
I have yet to have any disasters and every kind of bread has come out perfectly, the good thing with this is, you can substitute many of the ingredients in the recipe book for your own and make your own personal bread and know that it will come out perfectly.
The taste is far better than any shop bought bread, and it will be slightly yellow in colour with the addition of butter, so do not expect your shop bought pure white bread.
The major attraction to these machines is the ease of use and the lack of having to do any of the actual dirty work yourself, anyone of any age would find this machine very simple to understand and use.

The drawback is the length of time to bake a loaf (3hrs 45mins minimum), but it is perfect if you put it on before you go out or preset it.

At the moment these are on sale in Argos for £34.99, it comes with a 12 month guarantee or if you pay a mere £7.99 on top this will cover you for a replacement new machine should it break within 3 years.

Overall a must for any kitchen at a price that is very competitive.

© Ana 2002