Ever since being selected as a Morphy Richards House Proud Innovator (as I explained here), it's always hugely exciting to see an email plop into my inbox from them with news of a new product that they'd like me to try out and review. October's challenge was to try out their Premium Plus breadmaker.
Now, as I told them, we already have a bread machine that is in pretty much constant use but it's a cheapie one from Lidl so I was keen (and so were they !) to see how the two would compare. My first impressions were that the Morphy Richards one was bulkier but had a smaller loaf tin, but on closer inspection, the Morphy Richards machine can make a loaf weighing 1lb, 1.5lb or 2lb, which is actually bigger than my current one which makes a 750g loaf, equivalent to 1.65lb. The machine itself is slightly taller but doesn't actually take up any more space than the other one, although I do find that the cable is a bit short. I have to place it very close to the socket for the plug to reach which means it is in the middle of the worktop which isn't very practical.
One of themost innovative features of the Premium Plus breadmaker is the collapsible blade, that you can see in the picture. The idea is that it rips a smaller hole in the bottom of the loaf when you remove it from the tin. This is THE big failing of breadmachines in general so I was keen to see how this would work in practice.
The Premium Plus breadmaker offers a choice of 19 programmes, from the basic bread programme to gluten free, bread mixes and pizza dough, as well as cake, dessert and jam.
My current breadmaker only has 12 programmes, but to be honest, I still haven't used half of those !
To give it a fair test, I decided to use exactly the same breadmix and same quantity of water as usual with the most basic programme (number 1), to see if changing machines would change the resulting bread. I had a quick glance at the instruction booklet but it's quite simple to use. It only has four buttons - plus, minus, validate and cancel - so I just selected the programme number (one), the size of loaf (1.5lb) and the crust setting (medium). Then you hold the validate button for several seconds for it to start. (You can use a timer if you want it to start later, in order to have fresh bread for breakfast for example, but I didn't use this feature.)
I've often found that the first loaf made in a breadmachine goes horribly wrong (Morphy Richards suggest you grease the pan and prebake before the first use to stop it sticking) but this one came out perfectly.
It slipped out of the pan without the slightest resistance, which is better than my old machine (even when it was brand new).
It does still rip a bit of a hole in the bottom of the loaf but it's a smaller hole and, due to there only being one blade instead of two, you only get one hole instead of two big lumps ripped out of the loaf. We're used to eating W- shaped bread with the usual machine, but this time, I managed to get absolutely loads of complete slices cut without a hole in at all, which looks much better (and stops half of your sandwich filling falling out !).
Madhouse Daddy Mike said he thought the bread seemed lighter and softer. I can't say I honestly noticed any difference but what I did notice was that the whole loaf disappeared in 2 days, so I had to make a new loaf on Monday evening, wheareas usually the loaf made at the weekend lasts until Wednesday !
Before the test, I'd declared that we'd keep one breadmachine and pass the "second best" one on to my friend - who is absolutely thrilled to be equipping her kitchen every time I upgrade to Morphy Richards and pass my old castoff kitchen appliances to her ! It was a unanimous decision that we'd keep the Morphy Richards machine but what made me smile was that each of us had a different reason. Madhouse Daddy Mike likes the sleek, modern design ; I love the fact that the bread comes out so easily and that it doesn'r rip such big holes in the loaf ; and the kids can't wait to try out the fruit and nut dispenser and love the viewing window!!
Something else that I noticed on the Morphy Richards website is that you can replace the baking pan (as well as other parts, like the lid) rather than replacing the whole machine. From past experience, the pan is the thing that wears out quickest because it loses its non-stick properties, so it's great (for the planet as well as the pocket) to be able to replace one item rather than the whole machine.
I was intrigued to see how the two machines would compare. The Lidl one, despite being cheap and cheerful and no frills, does do the job reasonably well so it's ideal as a first machine to see if you get the bread-baking bug, but the Morphy Richards Premium Plus one does have some non-negligeable advantages, in particular the collapsible blade which destroys less of the inside of the loaf.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £139.99
for more information : http://www.morphyrichards.co.uk/
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I use the Panasonic breadmaker and cannot praise it high enough.
ReplyDeleteOOhhh! I'm jealous. I've got a bread machine but hardly use it. I can't make enough to keep up with 7 us is, so a bigger loaf would be a great boost - I hate buying all the pre-sliced stuff and it works out so expensive too. I need to get one of these but will have to wait for the price to fall a bit.
ReplyDelete@mumoffunkids
i m so envious! ive always wanted a breadmaker :D
ReplyDelete