I purchased my Morphy Richards fastbake bread machine well over a year ago now. When I first got it i thought it was the best thing since...erm...sliced bread! It never had a minutes peace and was on the go around the clock. Now days its still gets used on a somewhat regular basis, mainly once or twice a fortnight. Like lots of those kitchen things after a while they aren't a novelty anymore. However I would still reccomend it as it makes a lovely loaf.
My machine is a rectangle shape, approximately 34cm x 21cm. Nowdays I think they has been updated and come in a different shape.It has steam and ir vents on the side and the back which mustn't be covered. It is white and is very easy to keep clean. Just a quick wipe over with a wet cloth is fine, especially helpful when you have little fingers all over the place. It has a viewing window on the top of the lid so if like me, you can't resist taking a peek, you can see what exactly is going on with your little loaf of bread. On the top is also the control panel to choose the settings. One disadvantage with the design is the weight of it. I don't know exactly how much it weighs and I'm not about to trudge it upstairs to my scales to find out so you'll just have to take my word for it! With it being quite heavey and bulky to move it sits on my work top and has never been put away in a cupboard. Maybe this is a ploy of the manufacturers to keep you using it!
The machine can make 2 sized loaves, regualr 450g or a large 675g. You can also decide on the colour of the bread that you want either regular or with a dark crust.
There are 12 setting on the machine so does it only make standard bead? Does it heck! It can make (if you are so inclined and can be bothered) a variety of things.
Settings 1, 2 and 3 makes the basic white bread in the 2 sizes and colours. Small takes 2h 45m to make, large 2h 50m and large dark takes 3h 10m.
Settings 4, 5 and 6 are as above but using whole wheat/wholemeal flour.
Setting 7 is to make french bread. This has a crispier outside but is lighter in the middle then the other breads.
Setting 8 is to make sweet breads. This is one that I use quite often to make friut bread. Fresh hot fruit bread smothered on butter mmmmm.
Setting 9 just makes the dough to use as you wish. This one can be used to makes rolls, pizza bases, braided bread, dougnuts etc.
Setting 10 makes cakes. This is ok if you have the time to wait as you have to put the ingredients in at different times and I think it's much easier just to make a standard cake.
Setting 11 makes jam. I have always been intrigued by this one but just thoughts of scalding hot jam has put me off so don't think that I'll ever try this one.
Setting 12 makes fast bake bread. This is only really suitable for white bread but you can make a bigger loaf of 800g which is what you would normally buy from the shops. This setting takes 1h 20m so is good if you need you bread sooner rather than later.
Ok so now you know all the setting and can work it yourselves how easy is it to use? Actually very easy! The machine comes with a very detailed instruction booklet that lists all your recipies and all you have to do is follow the directions. Tips that are given are things such as you must put all the ingredients in in the order they are listed (or you get a very flat loaf as I know!), make sure ingredients are room temperature and use the correct amounts. The machine comes with a measuring cup and spoon and the recipies are all detailed in 1 cup of this and 3 spoons of that to make it all the more easier. Once all ingredients are in the pan you slot it inside the machine, close the lid and set which ever setting you want on the control panel. It then goes though a series of needing, resting, needing again then baking. It then bleaps to tell you your master piece is ready for your consumption, once cooled of course.
The general ingredients that I use are bread flour, skimmed milk powder, sugar, salt, butter and yeast. At the beginning to buy all these things can be a little costly but these will last for quite a few loaves and so I think it makes it good value for money especially when you know exactly what is going in there....no chemicals and bleeches and goodness know what else!
One of my favourite things is to wake up to the smell of freshly cooked bread and this can be done on this machine as it has a timer with a delay function. All you need to do for this is measure and put all the ingredients into the cooking pan the night before and set the timer for when you want it to finish and hey presto, fresh bread.
I know my son would reccomend this machine as he loves getting messy and making the bread with me. Its great because he can fill the cups up with flour, empty things in, turn the machine on all without touching anything hot and having something great at the end of it. He's 3 by the way. The machine has a cool touch exterior so even if he did touch it whilst it was cooking he wouldn't get burnt. The inside once it has finished though is very hot so do beware.
So what is the bread actually like? Yummy yummy scrummy. Yeah I know thats not really an explanation. I think it takes a little while to get used to the taste of this bread as it is so different from the stuff we buy from the shops. I have found that the machine can be a bit variable and that one day you get very light airy bread and the next its a little on the heavy side but that could just be my cooking. I have found that we actually eat less bread because it fills us up more. You can buy ready made bread mixes to go into the machine such as cheese and onion which work just as well and are even easyier to use as you only have to add water.
The machine is quite easy to clean to. Once you have tipped your bread out of the pan just give it a quick wash in soapy water and its ready to go again. an annoying though is when you have your perfect shaped loaf only to have to dig the mixing blade out the bottom of it. This happens more often than not but its only a little niggle.
I think that the retail price for one of these now is around £40 - £50 and can be brought from any electrical retailer such as Currys and Comit as well as Argos and Index. This price for a machine that can be used on a daily basis for a variety of things makes it good value for money in my opinion.
So go now, get yours out of the cupboard or go buy one and get your kids in the kitchen. All those half-term "I'm bored Mum" sayings will soon be gone. (And will keep them quiet later when they are eating it!)
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