Morphy Richards 'Homebake' Breadmaker

In the past seventeen years, we have had five different breadmakers. This might seem excessive, but when we bought our first one - the Morphy Richards ‘Fastbake’ - towards the end of 2005 we calculated that making bread at home would save quite a bit of money. And, indeed, that machine lasted us over six years, with regular use, and essentially paid for itself within the first six months.

Our second breadmaker, a Carrefour own brand, was not a success. It was inexpensive, and had probably still paid for itself in six months, but we never really liked it and it lasted less than two years. We bought our third, a Lidl ‘Silvercrest’ breadmaker, in April 2014.  It was equally inexpensive but we liked it, and it lasted us four and a half years. In November 2018 it stopped working.

Breadmakers seemed to have gone a bit out of fashion by then, and our search locally for a replacement was unsuccessful until we spotted a used Philips breadmaker with purple trim in the Thrift Store. It made excellent bread, and was still working three and a half years later, but unfortunately the seal in the bottom was leaking more and more, and occasionally the paddles got stuck. We knew it was time to think about a replacement, but I hate getting rid of appliances that still, basically worked.

IMPETUOUS PURCHASE OF A NEW BREADMAKER

Then, in Stephanis, buying our Roomba, we saw a Morphy Richards ‘homebake’ breadmaker, the last in stock reduced to 139 euros. We’d been given a generous financial gift, and decided to be impetuous and a bit extravagant for once. It was more than we had ever paid for a breadmaker, but it had clear instructions (including recipes), it was guaranteed for two years, and we remembered that our previous Morphy Richards breadmaker had been reliable and had lasted fairly well.

Prices in Cyprus for this kind of thing are often significantly higher than UK prices, partly because the products are imported, partly because they're less popular. We're used to that: there's no easy way to buy one in the UK and ship to Cyprus unless willing to pay even more than the cost of buying one here. And then if there are problems under warranty, no easy way to return the product.

EXAMINING THE NEW BREADMAKER

The basic shape of breadmakers is similar, with a removable metal pan, which has a paddle (or two) that are also removable. The lining is non-stick, so washing has to be done by hand, and no metal tools used. We were expecting that. What we hadn’t quite appreciated was that the paddle (a single one) has a flap, so that after the kneading has finished, it flaps down so there’s less of a hole in the bottom of the loaf, and less likelihood of the paddle getting stuck in the finished loaf.

On the front, the display is digital with a large number of different variations of program (I haven’t used more than three of them), a choice of ‘large’ or ‘medium’ loaves, a few other options I haven’t tried, and a ‘start’ button. I don’t much like touch-sensitive built-in buttons (if ‘buttons’ is the word when there’s nothing physical to push) but many appliances have them nowadays.

TRYING OUT THE NEW BREADMAKER

The instructions for all our previous breadmakers had told us to start with fluids, adding flour next, and leaving the yeast until last. This one instructed us to put the yeast in first, followed by the flour, and the liquids last. I decided to follow the instructions, while realising we might end up with a brick. And since there was a recipe for sundried tomato bread, I decided to start with that.

With all the ingredients in the pan, ensuring the paddle was in the upright position, I slotted it easily into the machine and closed the lid. Then I attempted to push the electronic button for programme 3 (wholewheat).

Nothing happened. 

I wondered if I had grease on my finger, so I washed my hands very thoroughly, dried them carefully, and tried again.

Nothing.

My husband walked into the kitchen and when I explained, he pushed the display, and the numbers changed. He pushed the option to make a medium loaf - with only two of us at home, we don’t need a large one - and then the ‘start’ button. He had to hold his finger down for a bit longer, but it worked.

The programme lasted about three and a half hours; it was quite noisy but no more so than any other breadmakers we’ve had, and to my delight, the loaf came out perfectly.

INSTRUCTION GUIDE

Reviews of this breadmaker are very positive about the instructions and recipes, and I would agree with them. There’s a good introduction to breadmaking in the guide, including some useful troubleshooting points, and recommendations about types of flour and other ingredients.

There are two or three recipes for each of the different settings. I mainly use the one for wholemeal bread, with or without seeds, sometimes with tomatoes. I have adapted it somewhat for our own tastes (less sugar, no milk) and they have almost all come out extremely well.

I've also used the dough setting a few times - I made hot cross buns recently, and pizza dough - and once or twice the 'fast' setting, when I have forgotten to start a loaf in time for lunch. The 'fast' setting requires more yeast and less time; it's also better with more white flour than wholemeal. It works well but feels a bit heavy and yeasty.

I haven't, however, tried using any of the other settings. There are 14 in all, including jam, cake, yogurt, sweet breads, and more. I prefer making cakes in pans in the oven, and jam over the stove, and some of the settings seem little different from the basic wholemeal loaf.

THE BREADMAKER AFTER A YEAR’S USE

I don’t make bread every day. Every other week I make two loaves when we have visiting friends, and freeze, in slices, any that’s left. I often make one other loaf in between times, but we don’t eat a huge amount of bread, unless we have guests.

In the year since we’ve had the breadmaker I’ve probably made eighty loaves, and used it a few times for dough (for pizza base or similar).

I’ve mastered the knack of pressing the electronic buttons although it still sometimes takes me a few attempts to get it going, and the display has faded, so I have to remember what to do, or check the instruction guide.

I think it’s probably more than paid for itself now; the ingredients are no more than 50 euro cents, plus a unit of electricity at about 30 cents. Buying a nice loaf of bread at the bakery is around €2.80.

SLIGHT ISSUES

I said, above, that the loaves have ‘almost’ all come out extremely well. However this breadmaker does seem to be sensitive to high or low ambient temperatures. The instructions say that all ingredients should be at room temperature, and for most of the year that is fine. In the heat of Cyprus summer, however, when the kitchen can be more than 30 degrees Celcius, I find the bread works better if the water is from the fridge rather than room temperature. I’ve had summer loaves rise too much too quickly and then sink, leaving a strange-looking loaf that’s a bit heavy. In the winter, by contrast, I have to use slightly warmer water, if the room temperature is 15 degrees or less.

I’ve also found that sometimes the paddle doesn’t go down properly, and gets stuck in the bread. Since that was my experience of all our other breadmakers, it’s not a huge problem: I have a metal tool from one of our previous breadmakers that allows me to remove the paddle easily. The non-stick surface works well and I’ve had no trouble turning the finished loaves out; it’s best to leave them in the pan for a few minutes before doing so, and sometimes I then forget and leave them to cool in the pan: it doesn’t seem to matter.

CONCLUSION

Although we’ve only had this a year so far, the quality feels better than with either of our more inexpensive breadmakers. If it lasts six years or more like our previous Morphy Richards machine, it will certainly have been worth the extra money. I have no hesitation in recommending this breadmaker if you’re able to find it.

Another Breadmaker

When we first moved to Cyprus, we regularly bought bread at an excellent bakery nearby. I knew that it would be less expensive and more healthy to make my own bread, but I didn't get around to it very often. Kneading by hand was hard work - exhausting in the summer! - and although I had a food processor with a kneading blade, I didn't like to use it too often as it felt as if the motor was struggling, sometimes.

Then just before Christmas 2005 we bought a breadmaker. After a couple of false starts, it began to make excellent bread, and we used it several times per week until the summer of 2012 when something went wrong with the motor. It had more than paid for itself in the savings on bread over six-and-a-half years, so we decided to buy a new breadmaker. It was a fairly inexpensive one, a shop's own brand:

Then it started going wrong. I don't remember what happened, or why we were unable to take it back, as I'm pretty sure it was still under warranty.  Or maybe it still worked, somewhat, but the bread was heavy. Perhaps we had it fixed under warranty, and it still didn't work properly.

I didn't blog about it.. and so have no reference point, other than in our accounts application, where I can see that we bought our next breadmaker in April 2014.  It was from Lidl, on special offer. I remember having a discussion about whether or not it was a good idea to buy another inexpensive shop-brand one, and deciding that we'd try just one more time.

It was a good breadmaker. It had various functions, although as with most appliances I used just a couple of them probably 99% of the time.  I wasn't making bread nearly as often as I did when we had our sons living here, but every couple of weeks our friends with several children come over for a kind of high tea on Sunday afternoons, and I usually make two loaves then, slicing and freezing any leftovers. I sometimes make a loaf at other times, too.

All was well until just over a week ago when we were hosting a birthday party for a visiting friend. I decided to make a loaf of bread for the evening buffet, so put the breadmaker on, only to realise that only one paddle was working.  I tried turning the tin around, so the dough would mix at both ends, and it made some unpleasant graunching noises.  Eventually I took it out, mixed and kneaded it by hand, then put the dough back in the breadmaker, without the paddles, on 'dough' setting so that it would rise.  I made some bread rolls which I cooked in the oven, and they were fine. But I didn't want to do that every time.

Nor did I want to go back to buying all our bread from a bakery. We like home-made bread, and I love the convenience of a breadmaker. Perhaps this one could have been mended, but it was over four years old, and didn't owe us anything; we worked out that using a breadmaker for about six months means it pays for itself in the savings on buying bread.  We hate the fact that so many modern appliances are 'disposable' - getting it mended would probably cost almost as much as a new one, and with no guarantee of continuing to work.

So I went to the website of George Theodorou, where we usually buy large appliances/white goods. Relationships are important in Cyprus, as is customer loyalty.  And they've always given us good service. However they only had one breadmaker listed; it was over 100 euros, and when we checked against Amazon, it was evidently somewhat over-priced and not very highly reviewed.

Last Friday we decided to see what else we could find in Larnaka. Lidl didn't have any on offer, although they probably will at some point. But I didn't want to wait, possibly months. I looked at the website of another shop that sells appliances, but they didn't have any breadmakers at all.  We went to a couple of big DIY shops that sell electrical appliances: Leroy Merlin didn't have any breadmakers. Super Home Centre had one, but it was even more expensive than the one I had seen online, and looked a bit flimsy. We went over the road to Debenhams, but although they have some kitchen things, they don't appear to have any electrical appliances.

We were almost ready to give up, but I suggested we go to the 1st April Street thrift shop, where we've occasionally bought appliances in the past.  And there, in the corner, was a breadmaker. Phillips brand, twenty-five euros.

It looked almost new, so we thought we would try it. It's not a design I would have chosen:

Nor did it have an instruction guide or recipe book included. I was able to find them online, though - the advantage of an unusual looking breadmaker with a purple stripe is that it was easy to find the model via an image search - but decided that I would try, first of all, my normal recipe which has worked in all my other breadmakers.

It worked.

We've got used to longer loaves with our previous two-paddle breadmakers, but this one has the advantage that the bread comes out very easily, rather than getting stuck (which was the worst problem with the Lidl one).

So we're very pleased with this new (to us) breadmaker, and hope it will last us at least as long as the previous ones. 

Silvercrest Breadmaker

For many years we relied on our trusty Morphy Richards 'fastbake' breadmaker. The results - after some experimentation - were mostly good, so long as I was careful to adjust the temperature of the added fluids, depending on the ambient temperature of the kitchen - this is rather important in Cyprus. Then, after about six years of regular use, it passed away peacefully.

We had got used to bread made at home, and loved the huge savings that resulted; so we replaced it with an inexpensive Carrefour own brand of breadmaker, which had the big advantage of two paddles rather than just one, making longer, shallower loaves. However it had many problems: no matter what I did, the resultant bread was heavy, and the non-stick coating quickly started to flake off the paddles. Then it became unreliable, failing in the middle of a cycle several times. Perhaps we should have returned it, as it was less than two years old; but then they would have repaired or replaced it… and we really didn’t like it.

So we did some research, and were coming to the conclusion that we would have to pay about 150 euros to get a good quality breadmaker; even more if we wanted one with two paddles. We didn’t really want to spend that much, so we kept putting it off…

Then we spotted a Silvercrest brand breadmaker in our local Lidl. It had two paddles, and was on offer at just under 50 euros. There were some with white bodies but we much preferred the black ones, which matched most of our other kitchen appliances. We did note that the labelling on the front was in Greek, but the instruction manual had an English section, so we thought we could deal with it.

We wandered around the store discussing it… we knew our son would tell us we were crazy to buy yet another cheap breadmaker. But eventually we picked it up and decided that if it failed, we would definitely return it and would resolve never again to buy a cheap one.

TRYING IT OUT

The manual had the usual safety instructions, a reminder to wash the pan and paddles before use, and explanation of the various settings. I knew from experience that I would probably only use a couple of them - the basic bread, and the dough. My trusty recipe uses mainly wholegrain flour with about 100g strong white flour to make it a bit lighter, and has seeds added part-way through. So I thought I would try that first, rather than one of the recommendations in the manual.

There are three sizes of loaf that can be made: 750g, 1000kg and 1250g. I selected 1000, medium crust, and set it off, noting that it would be ready in about three hours.

I half expected a brick - but the loaf mixed beautifully, rose perfectly, smelled amazing as it cooked… and looked amazing! It was better than anything I had made in the Carrefour machine, and better, even, than my Morphy Richards loaves.

DOUGH SETTING

My son likes to make naan bread and uses a breadmaker to knead and rise the dough, so a few days later he put his usual ingredients in the pan and selected the dough setting. It took rather longer than our previous breadmakers had done - nearer two hours than one and a half - but made excellent dough which turned into delicious naan when shaped and cooked in a frying pan.

TEMPERATURE ADJUSTMENT

One of the things that surprised us a little about our Silvercrest breadmaker is that in the first ten minutes nothing seems to happen. I did wonder if it was working at all, the first time. But the instruction manual explains that the machine is getting the ingredients at the right temperature. Apparently it does that very successfully, since I’ve made bread when the kitchen temperature was 35C, and it still came out perfectly. With our Morphy Richards, I had to use ice cold water or it would rise too fast and then collapse.

NON-MEASURED INGREDIENTS

Our son moved to a place of his own, and ‘borrowed’ our kitchen scales for a few weeks. I did not realise this until I had started putting ingredients into the breadmaker one morning, and looked for the scales to weigh the flour. Had I known, I would have used a different recipe that measures all the ingredients in American cups, but I’d already used millilitres for the water. So I checked a conversion table, which wasn’t much use as wholegrain flour is denser than white flour. In the end I guessed, and then added more flour after the first rise, as it looked too sticky.

To my astonishment, even that loaf came out well. Not perfect: it was rather stodgier than we were used to, but it was quite edible. I was impressed.

OTHER PROGRAMMES

In addition to the ‘regular’ setting, which I mainly use, and the useful dough setting, the manual lists these others:

French bread

Wholewheat

Sweet

Super rapid

Pasta dough

Buttermilk bread

Gluten free

Cake

Jam

Manual

In the five months since I bought this breadmaker, I have not used any of these. Even though my recipe is predominantly wholewheat flour, I find that the regular setting is just fine. I don’t want the hassle of baking bread in the oven so am not tempted by the French bread setting, and can’t see myself using any of the other settings. In particular, I have been warned by several people that making jam in a breadmaker is a messy process, which usually boils over and is not recommended. I don’t know why they include this setting.

I did think the manual setting might be useful - it enables custom times for kneading, rising and cooking - but since the regular setting works so well, I don’t see any need to experiment. Others might like to try something different, but I tend to work along the lines of, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

INSTRUCTIONS

If I have a slight niggle, it’s that the instruction manual is rather over-technical, with a lot of detail that does not interest me, including tables listing every rising/kneading/baking time for all the programmes. It does not, however, give any recipes at all. This isn’t a huge problem, as I’ve found that breadmaker recipe books often need a lot of adjusting, and we have an excellent recipe book (“Fresh Bread in the Morning”) that is appropriate for any breadmaker.

Still, I was a bit surprised not to find any recipes at all; this could be a disadvantage for anyone buying this machine who did not have any experience with breadmakers.

GENERAL

The power consumption for the breadmaker, according to the guide, is 850 watts. I’m no physicist, but this has to be more efficient than using my oven for a single loaf of bread, quite apart from being less hassle. When we’ve made estimates of the cost of making a loaf with a breadmaker, it comes to about half the cost of buying an equivalent sized loaf, even including the electricity. That comparison would not necessarily hold in the UK where good quality bread can often be found inexpensively in supermarkets, but I still like knowing exactly what goes into my bread, and avoiding any preservatives or other additives.

I was pleased to find that this breadmaker came with a measuring cup that goes up to 400ml (our previous breadmaker cups held only 250ml) as well as a useful metal tool for easing the paddles out of the cooked bread if they have stuck. This happens fairly regularly, and the tool is thus used to good effect.

I understand that the Silvercrest breadmaker is only available from Lidl; as with most Lidl offers, it’s not always available. There are quite a few of them on Ebay at the time of writing, in varying conditions and for a range of prices. If you can find a new (or almost-new) one for around 20-30 pounds, I can recommend it highly.

2022 UPDATE

The Silvercrest breadmaker worked faultlessly for about four and a half years. Then one day I discovered that one of the paddles was not working. Only half the dough was getting mixed. I had to remove it from the machine, mix and knead by hand, then return it to rise before baking rolls. They worked, but it was a lot of hassle. The machine was out of warranty, and it had paid for itself in savings on buying bread within just a few months, so it didn't owe us anything. I don't. like the fact that appliances of this kind are now considered disposable: new parts, even if available, would cost more than a new machine.

So, while I still think it was a good breadmaker, and probably worth buying if you want to experiment with making bread at home, or have a very limited budget, its lifespan may be limited. I doubt if I'll buy another breadmaker from Lidl.

Morphy Richards 'Fastbake' breadmaker

 After much debate and some research, we decided to buy a breadmaker last Christmas.  Prices were rising at our  local bakery, and I was too lazy to make bread by hand.  I tried using our food processor for the kneading, but unfortunately it wasn't really designed for that, and the motor wore out.  Breadmakers seem to get cheaper all the time, and I read some encouraging reviews.  So we narrowed the field down to about four possible makes, and decided to buy one. 

It was perhaps a silly decision to shop on Christmas Eve. One shop had completely run out of breadmakers, the other had only two in stock. I would have given up the hunt, but both of the two available were on our list of possibilities.  After much discussion, we made the pragmatic decision to choose the one with English instructions (the other had only Greek and German).  It was the Morphy Richards Fastbake. It claimed to make three sizes of bread, and to have a 'fastbake' setting for white loaves in only an hour.  As well as a large number of other settings which I knew I was unlikely to use.

The breadmaker is white, reasonably attractive looking (as machines go), and there's a hinged lid with a removable metal pan.  It's a bit square, but that means the dough is mixed and baked fairly evenly.  The pan has a removable paddle which does all the kneading.  It's biggish - you do need a fair amount of space on your worktops if you're going to have a breadmaker.  I know from experience that if I pack an appliance away in a cupboard, I'll rarely get it out. 

FIRST USE 
We got it home, we cleaned and prepared it according to the instructions in the accompanying leaflet, and I decided to make the first loaf on Christmas Day.  Unfortunately our kitchen worktops at the time were very cluttered so we plugged it in in a bedroom, loaded the ingredients, and promptly forgot about it.  The smell wafted around the house combined with that of turkey and stuffing, and it wasn't until mid-afternoon that I remembered my new toy.  

FIRST DOORSTOP
I opened it up, and discovered... a brick.  

Perhaps not quite a brick, but it was a sad excuse for a loaf.  It would have made a good doorstop, I expect.  We did manage to hack a couple of slices with the electric carving knife, but it wasn't very nice.  We put it down to experience.

SECOND DOORSTOP
A couple of days later we tried again.  This time the machine was in the kitchen, and I measured the ingredients carefully.   watched as it kneaded the dough, which rose, and was punched down, and rose again, higher and higher... and then sank as the baking process started.  

This time we had a doorstop with a valley in the top, and although it tasted a little better than the first attempt (partly because we ate it fresh) it was quite a disappointment.  For one thing, it was much sweeter than we liked.  It was also rather yeasty, not an even texture, and a bit solid.  

TROUBLESHOOTING
The recipe leaflet had a troubleshooting guide at the back, which suggested my problems could be to do with the temperature of the liquid - too hot, or perhaps too cold - or too much yeast, or too much liquid, or too little liquid.... which wasn't really very helpful.  

ANOTHER RECIPE

It also said that it was possible to adapt one's own recipes, and this was perhaps the best advice in the entire booklet.  I  experimented with a type of bread I had previously made by hand.  

It came out perfectly.  

My recipe  used considerably less yeast than the booklet had recommended, and no sugar at all (but a tablespoon of honey).

RECIPE BOOK
I decided to buy a book about bread, and ordered the inexpensive 'Fresh bread in the morning'.  It had good explanations of how bread works, and what ingredients were necessary.  It told me what I could substitute, and had a far better troubleshooting guide than that of the leaflet that came with the machine.  I might as well have bought the one that didn't have English instructions, as I would then have turned directly to another book for recipes!

Since then, I've tried several different recipes and have mostly had good results.  I did find that in about June my bread started sinking again after rising rapidly, and realised that the hot temperatures of Cyprus can cause problems.  he liquid ingredients are supposed to be warmed before adding them, but I found that if the kitchen temperature was over 25C, it's better to add liquid at room temperature. When the temperature reaches 28C or more, I have to ensure my liquids are refrigerated before adding!  

VARIATIONS
For the first few months, I only used the standard three-hour recipes, with variations.  We found that bread made with all wholewheat flour was rather heavy, so most of my bread is made with half wholewheat flour, and the rest white flour (bread flour and strong plain flour mixed in equal quantities).  My son gets glue ear if he eats dairy products, so we didn't want to add milk or milk powder as most of the recipes advised - but when we used just water for the liquid, the bread was almost too light to cut.  

So we tried using half soya milk and half water, and find that's ideal.  There's no soya taste, but the texture is good, and there's additional nutrition as a bonus.  The breadmaker bleeps after the first rise, alerting me that I can add further ingredients if I wish:  we've tried herbs, grated cheese, chopped walnuts, sunflower seeds or linseeds, dried chili flakes.  All have worked well.  

FASTBAKE
It wasn't until a couple of months ago that I tried the 'fastbake' setting, as I was afraid it might be a disaster.  Since it only takes an hour, there isn't the same problem with the liquid ingredients so I used room temperature water and refrigerated soya milk, and the result was excellent. 

Once the temperature drops below 25C, I'll slightly warm the soya milk.  Fastbake bread is only supposed to use white bread flour, but we've found that up to half a cup of wholewheat flour can be substituted for a little more texture and taste.  Any more than that makes the loaf rather hard, however, as wholemeal flour needs more kneading than white flour.  

DOUGH
The other setting we've used is the one for dough.  This mixes and kneads ingredients, and does the first rise.  Then it bleeps, and the rest of the process has to be done by hand.  This is good if you want to make bread rolls, or bake bread in the oven in a regular bread pan.  It's also good for pizza base, or naan bread. The dough process takes an hour and a half, after which it has to be punched down by hand, then shaped and left to rise in a warm place before baking.  

OTHER SETTINGS
There are other settings on the breadmaker, for cakes and jam, but I haven't tried those.  The cake setting requires two separate bowls of different mixtures to be made, so it seems to me much more effort than simply baking a standard cake in a cake-tin.  I've been warned that the jam setting is a bad idea, since it can easily overflow the container, leading to a horrible mess in the bottom of the machine which is almost impossible to clean.  I will continue to use my ordinary jam pan for jam-making. 

TIMER
One of the features is a timer.  This means that ingredients can be left in the pan overnight, with the idea that the bread will bake in the early hours of the morning, ready just in time for breakfast.  A great idea, but none of our family eat bread at breakfast time so we haven't done this.  Sometimes if I'm going out in the morning I'll set the timer for an hour or two extra, since we like our bread at lunchtime to be still warm, and we find this works well.  Fresh milk or eggs can't be used on a timer, as they might go bad, but we don't use those anyway in our bread recipes. 

SIZES
There are three sizes of loaf that can be made, the biggest being a kilogram in weight, the others 750g and 500g.  The smaller ones simply use less ingredients and have a slightly shorter cycle.  We find that the smallest one tends to be a bit crispier than we like, and while the medium one is fine, I generally make the largest loaf as the texture is the best.  It's more than three of us can eat at one meal, but we often have guests at lunchtime.  If there's leftover bread, we find it freezes well and keeps for at least a few weeks in the freezer.  

STANDARD PADDLE PROBLEM
Nothing is perfect.  As with many breadmakers, the mixing/kneading paddle often gets stuck in the bottom of the loaf.  Even if it doesn't, there's a hole where it was, and this can make cutting the bread a bit difficult.  It's best to leave it for about half an hour on a cooling rack after baking, so it's still warm but not too hot to handle. If you try to cut it too soon after baking, it can fall apart. It still tastes good, but is rather tricky to spread.

CLEANING
I was afraid it might be a nuisance to clean a breadmaker, but it's really no problem at all.  I soak the pan in cold water (and the paddle, which usually has a bit of bread attached to it) and then it's easy to wash an hour or so later. The outside of the breadmaker itself can just be wiped with a cloth, and a little washing-up liquid if necessary, and the inside shouldn't need cleaning at all.  If it does, it should be switched off (obviously!) and any spills wiped with a cool cloth.  I take the pan out of the breadmaker before putting in the ingredients, so that flour doesn't get into the inside of the machine.

COSTS OF BREAD
We've used our breadmaker at least four times a week for the last nine months. We still love the smell of baking bread, and the results.  I like knowing exactly what's going into the bread we eat, and the taste is far superior to even the best of bakery breads.  Even the cost isn't too high: we reckon that, including everything, a standard loaf to my half-wholemeal recipe above (without anything extra added) costs about half the amount of an equivalent bakery loaf of similar size, in our region.  

Having said that, it depends what brands of flour and other ingredients you use;  if you buy flour in bulk, and use fresh rather than soya milk, the cost would be less.  You probably won't be able to make anything as cheap as unbranded sliced white supermarket bread - but since the nutritive value of home-baked bread is superior, it's far better value for money.  

CONCLUSION
I'm sure other breadmakers work just as well, and may even cost less, but we're very pleased with our Fastbake machine.  Just don't take the instruction leaflet too seriously.  

2022 UPDATE
The Morphy Richards Fastbake breadmaker lasted us around six-and-a-half years with regular use. It only took a few months to pay for itself, effectively, in the savings on bakery bread, so although we had hoped it would last longer, it didn't owe us anything. 

While this exact model no longer exists, Morphy Richards still have a breadmaker which they call 'fastbake' so I expect it's similar. For a budget or starter breadmaker, it's probably worth trying.