bread machine scrap - any dough mixers out there?

[dave]

I bought a bread making machine (new) several months ago and basically

- it's junk! After 4 months regular use the baking part of it packed up. Turned out to be the thermal fuse had gone. I replaced that - nearest I could get was 5deg higher - that lasted two weeks and that blew too. Ok, so I decided just to use the dough mixing "feature" and that turned out to be rather good because the bread baked in the gas oven was far better in texture.

Unfortunately the mixing part packed up a month later! Mechanical failure I can't fix: basically the circlips snapped on the drive shaft. I replaced them but they kept snapping and now the actual "winder" part of the mixer had snapped (heh heh great fun eh). This machine was what I thought was a reputable make (Smuffy Pilchards or something). I just couldn't be bothered with the usual joke warrantee.

Anyway, the penny finally dropped that what I would really like is a decent dough mixer - not a bread making machine at all. Took a look on good 'ol ebay and the mixers are hundreds of pounds! So I suppose they are for real bakeries. So finally - my question is, does anyone know if there is a reasonably priced (~£100) dough mixer available that will actual last a few years? thanks Bread roll anyone?

[Clive George]

Failure after 6 months, I'd have bothered. You'd have got a new one without much fuss.

People I know swear by their Panasonic bread makers. Apparently they don't break in the way yours did.

[meow2222]

Any food processor can mix dough. Of the old mixer types, the Kenwood chef seems to be one of the most popular and well respected, and I know they last well.

NT

[TheOldFellow]

Dave,

I've been making my own bread for years. I never used a break maker, nor even a bread mixer. The DIY way is better. It only takes about ten minutes of good, hard, upper-body-strength-tuning, effort to kneed the dough for two 2lb tins (about 1K flour with 600Ml water). It's not worth heating the oven for less than two loaves.

Tradition, not Technology, is the answer here. I hear even the Kenwood (=C2=A3250) strips gears eventually - and beware: they come in plastic and metal gear versions - both fail, it's just the time it takes and then expense of replacement that differs.

Mind you if someone comes up with a way of using an angle grinder to do it.... (without a plate heat exchanger please!)

R.

[Mike Barnes]

I recommend a Kenwood food mixer with a dough hook. We've used ours every couple of weeks for the last fifteen years, the usual batch size being 2.75 Kg, and it's still in great condition, being positively youthful by Kenwood standards. They cost a bit more than £100, depending somewhat on the size, but there are plenty available on eBay, and they last for decades.

[John]

We went through 2 before settling on a Panasonic. It seemed to me that the window in the lid of most were a cause of problems with the bread due to condensation.

[Andy Burns]

Parents have one, they use it most days, so far going strong after 3 or

4 years.

[Andrew Gabriel]

My Panasonic is 11 years old, and probably averages 1.5 loafs per week, plus I sometimes use it just to kneed dough. Still works as new, somewhat to my surprise.

[Rod]

Several years ago we got a Panasonic SD253 (IIRC). Worked fine but the paddle became a bit loose and needed replacement.

Gluten/wheat issues have plagued us since so it is no longer in service. But if I were to go back to making bread I would prefer to use a different technique. Slow, cold rise (e.g. in a plastic bag in the fridge) rather than the 'hot house' technique of the breadmaker. (Actually, I would like to re-program the SD253 to not heat during mixing, to have much longer rests and just to experiment. Never saw anyone who had done so.)

Some people have ended up using various techniques that do not require kneading and I would certainly like to try those before committing to purchase of any sort of mixer. Have a search around - there are many discussions of these ideas.

[dennis]

The don't do the same job.. When you use a bread maker to make dough it mixes it, heats it to raise the dough, kneads it, raises it, thumps it, raises it and then it is ready to bake. I have been using a morphy richards machine for five years now, I have worn out the bread pan twice (the nylon bearing seals eventually fail).

[Ian White]

Yes, you should have. Can't say much for the Morphy Richards bread machine, as the mechanical design isn't up to the job; but the warranty service has been excellent. Over the two years we've been sent a replacement bread pan and a replacement mixing paddle, and when the main bearing seized they sent a whole new machine (including yet another pan and paddle) so we're well off for spares... all simply for the asking.

[meow2222]

I would have thought that was one of the few reasons to get a breadmaker, to make gluten free stuff frequently. On the ones I looked at though they had only one no-yeast-raise program, so only some bread types are possible.

Are they (re)programmable?

NT

[Arfa Daily]

Completely off the original issue, but interesting maybe. We have a number of people who are gluten intolerant, and come into our cafe, so we are aware of the gluten-free diet issue. We are just taking over a new cafe, and were discussing the menu with the current owner. We got around to the gluten-free offerings, one of which included cheese. My wife asked her if she grated her own, and she said no, she bought it ready-grated. Then it's not gluten-free, my wife informed her. How so? she asked. Because they coat it in flour to stop the individual shavings sticking together in the bag it's sold in ...

Several sources have told us this. I wonder how many cafes are aware of it ?

Arfa

[Andrew Gabriel]

Is it listed on the ingredients?

[Rod]

There are many things that do not get onto lists of ingredients - e.g. release agents used on baking sheets.

We have found it very difficult as partner isn't even sure - blood tests have not indicated positive for coeliac disease - but there are *very* strong associations with thyroid disease.

You might wish to be aware of (relatively) new rules for gluten-free in the UK. (Of course, you sound as if you/your wife probably already know!)

====

New rules for 'gluten free' foods

Thursday 22 January 2009

New food labelling and composition rules aimed at helping people who are intolerant to gluten have been published.

Under the new European Union regulations, only foods that contain less than 20 parts of gluten in a million will be allowed to use the term 'gluten-free' on their packaging. Recent evidence has shown that this extremely low level offers better protection for people with an intolerance to gluten. Previously, a food labelled ?gluten free? could have contained up to ten times more than this.

In addition, some foods made using cereals that have been specially processed to remove most of the gluten, but which contain less than 100 parts of gluten in a million, will be able to make the claim 'very low gluten' on the packaging. These include substitutes of certain staple foods such as bread.

The 'Around one per cent of people in the UK are intolerant to gluten, and packaging claims about gluten in foods are very important to these people. The number of products marketed to them is increasing rapidly. Without rules controlling the levels of gluten in them, the amounts of gluten could vary greatly, which could cause serious health problems.

'The new lower limit of 20 parts in a million means greater peace of mind for people with a gluten intolerance, as they can be sure that foods sold as 'gluten free' do not contain levels that could be harmful to them.'

Manufacturers can use the new labelling system immediately, but in order to give them time to adapt to the new rules by reformulating products or changing existing packaging, products do not have to comply with the new rules until 1 January 2012.

[Man at B&Q]

They do, when the OP is asking for something to only *mix* the dough.

Try reading the thread your replying to.

MBQ

[Man at B&Q]

That's not a feature of Kenwood Chefs.

MBQ

[dennis]

Try reading the thread you are replying to. I seriously doubt if the OP wants a food mixer. He wants a dough maker!

[Owain]

Just checked - Tesco Value Grated Cheddar uses potato starch as the anti-caking agent.

Owain

[mogga]

You can get dough hooks for mixers.