Hinari HB161 > Reviews > Effortless Bread is not a Sin

Author's product rating:   

Performance	Excellent
Ease of use	Very easy
Durability	Everlasting
User's Manual	Excellent
Value for money	Excellent

Advantages:	Labour and time saving
Disadvantages:	small capacity

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

BACKGROUND

My mother always had a puritanical approach to modern technology - anything that saved labour was a wicked waste of money - consequently before I left home in 1981 we were still using a single tub hoover washing machine and mangle much to the curiosity of the neighbours!

Although I was not so obsessive, my mother's views did rub off on me more than I realised - and when I began to see breadmaking machines in the shops and (god forbid) thought they were a good idea, even contemplating buying one - I almost felt ashamed!

I used to always cook my own bread, spending hours kneading the dough and feeling thoroughly virtuous. The kitchen surfaces would be covered in flour and the sink piled high with bread tins (this was before my biggest sin of all - the dishwasher!) and I would spend hours in the kitchen. To make it economic I usually made at least four loaves - two of which would usually go hard before we could get round to eating them.

Then one day in a fit of indulgence, having seen the Hinari HB161 in Tescos for £29.99 - bought one. Well it was only a basic one - so I wasn't being too naughty.

THE HINARI HB 161

The Hinari HB 161 is a very simple machine - consisting of a plastic box with a heating element and small motor in the bottom on top of which is placed a bread tin.

At the bottom of the tin is a small blade (which is removable for cleaning) that acts to knead the dough. There are 6 simple programs which enable you to make a surprisingly large range of breads, cakes and doughs. Operating the Hinari HB161 is very easy and the instruction booklet is very comprehensive and easy to follow. One word of warning - follow the instructions carefully add the ingredients in the order prescribed - I don't know why but if you change the order it does not work!! Aside from that, operation really is a matter of adding the ingredients and pressing the buttons - you then leave the machine to get on with it - it will beep to let you know when it is finished! You can leave the finished bread in the machine for up to two hours after which it will begin to get a little soggy.

I use my breadmaker mainly for cooking bread (it produces a square 1lb loaf in around 3 hours) and pizza dough (around 1hour). I have however made naan bread and Chelsea buns as well.

My main gripe is it's capacity - I would prefer a bigger loaf and I do have an eye on the bigger and fancier machines with the timer etc… However my little Hinari which is now at least 6 years old continues to work perfectly despite being used almost daily - and the puritan in me will not allow me to replace it.