Morphy Richards 48280 Fastbake Breadmaker - White

I have had this for four months now and I am very pleased with it.Using it is quick & simple - just measure out the ingredients, select the required menu settings and switch it on.I have only found a few niggles and none of them would stop me choosing this model again.This model 48280 arrived with the model 48281 instructions & recipe pamphlet. I looked both models up on the Morphy Richards website and there seems to be no functional difference between them [and both are available in both black & white]. So the real difference is probably an internal component that does not affect the publicly-declared specs. This model was slightly cheaper at the time.I chose this brand because I had already seen that spare parts were available so I can be fairly confident that it will outlive its guarantee period.- When I received the breadmaker I went to their website to register it so I could get the full two years guarantee.- Incidentally, I was quite encouraged by some of the complaints in the reviews on their website. One reviewer, for example, complained that the non-stick coating had started to flake off the pan after he had "only" used it 400 times. That is probably three or four years' worth for me.I estimated the [ingredient, electricity, purchase] costs of a loaf made with this breadmaker.- My ingredient costs are for using whole milk instead of milk powder. Milk powder adds about 10p to the cost of a large loaf.- If it lasts longer than two years then each loaf costs less because the purchase cost is spread out over more loaves.- My elec estimate was based on the kneading & baking times given in the manual and is a maximum estimated cost assuming the power is fully on during these periods and fully off between them.Assuming that the breadmaker only lasts for its two year guarantee period, each standard recipe large loaf [which weighs an average of 950g] costs- 91p given that I make an average of two each week {ingredients 47p, elec 19p, purchase cost 25p = 91p}- £1.15 if I only made an average of one a week {ingredients 47p, elec 19p, purchase cost 49p = £1.15}Even the one-a-week result is cheaper by weight than supermarket in-store bakery 800g loaves [JS, for example, is £1.10 for 800g].I use whole milk instead of milk powder because I have no other reason to have any milk powder in the house.- Milk works out as about 10p a loaf cheaper than using powdered milk but that's just an added bonus.- I have not yet used milk with the timer [this is not recommended because the heat of the ingredients can make the milk curdle if it is left standing].In a "Basic white bread" loaf, instead of 360ml water + 4 tbsn powder [which weighs 30g], I use 240ml water & 150ml whole milk. This is successful.- For water & milk, 30 ml weighs 30 g so that eases deciding how to change recipes.- I first tried 190ml water + 200ml whole milk because the amount of milk powder previously used makes 200ml milk according to the instructions on the milk powder carton itself. However, after a few experiments I could not tell the difference when using a bit less milk so I decided on 150ml milk instead.The only problem I had was with the "Mixed fruit loaf" recipe using real milk. I have solved the problem.- It only rose to about two thirds of its normal amount when I first tried using whole milk.- I had to increase the amount of yeast from 1 1/2 tspn [1.5 tspn] to 2 tspn for the loaf to rise fully. It rose fully and it touched & stuck to the inside of the lid a little bit.- I have now increased the amount of dried mixed fruit by 50g and that has proved to be successful in dampening it down slightly so it does not touch the lid.- I might try making a fruit loaf with 1 3/4 tspn [1.75 tspn] yeast instead to find out if that rises fully without touching the lid. But I quite like using additional fruit instead so I am not in any rush.- I also substitute 1 tspn lemon juice & 1 tspn lime juice for 10ml water and I use ½ tspn nutmeg + ½ tspn cinnamon instead of 1 tspn nutmeg. These substitutions add some very nice flavours to the fruit bread. Additionally, I only use 1 tspn salt.- So with all these changes, my fruit loaf recipe is [modified from the MR instructions page 12]Milk 150mlLemon juice 1 tspnLime juice 1 tspnWater 185ml [to achieve a total liquid volume of 345ml]Oil 3 tbsnSugar 75gSalt 1 tspnFlour 576gNutmeg ½ [0.5] tspnCinnamon ½ [0.5] tspnYeast 2 tspn[added at the bings 15 mins later]Mixed dried fruit 160gA few niggles- If the bread rises too much, it presses itself up against the viewing window. This can be cleaned but it is a bit awkward because the lid is not detachable so I have to be careful to avoid water dripping down into the works while I clean it. So I cover the whole opening with a tea towel to catch drips and the bits of baked on bread I remove.- The crust on top is not routinely done as well as the rest is. I have started to lay a sheet of tin foil over the viewing window and it corrects this shortcoming if I also choose the dark crust setting. This has no effect on the bread rising so does not make the cleaning issue [above] any worse.- After about two months, it started to leave some unmixed flour-oil gunge on the sides & bottom at the time the dings go off. If I took no action then I ended up with some unmixed baked-hard flour-oil gunge on the outside of the final loaf. I have some of those floppy silicon spatulas so, when I inspect it at the dings, I run the spatula about for a few seconds to push the gunge off the sides-bottom so they get mixed into the dough and the final loaf is then fine. This problem turned out to be caused by using ‘old’ oil --- My oil was not out of date but using new oil instead avoided almost all the flour-oil gunge forming on the sides & bottom of the pan.-- The old oil that I had been using to lubricate the sides & bottom of the bread pan had been exposed to a comparatively large amount of air because I keep the oil in a large jar that is tall enough to hold my greasing brush to avoid having to wash that brush too often. A very small amount of oil has therefore been sitting there with a comparatively large amount of air above it.-- So I realised that I had been brushing the sides & bottom of the pan with rancid oil.-- This worked without causing problems for two months before the gunge started forming so I will take that as my limit in future.My own experience of this breadmaker differs from that of some of the other reviewers so I have added this mishmash of comments about several of the issues I have read about- Large [2lbs] loaves are 13 x 17 cm on the bottom and, if properly risen, 18cm tall.- I have made large & small loaves using several recipes including standard ["basic white"], herb ["Italian herb" & variations], French ["French"], fruit ["mixed fruit" with variations including lemon & lime juice, extra fruit peel, cherries]. I have also made nutmeg & cinnamon loaves using a combination of the basic white & mixed fruit recipes. I have not made any brown bread.- I have also made a few loaves using recipes from a breadmaking book [basic recipes, French bread recipes].- I have used Fastbake just to find out what it was like. I also used this test to find out what ready-mixed bread powder was like but I forgot to add the additional 2 1/4 tspn [2.25 tspn] of yeast that is needed for ready-mixed bread to rise fully during Fastbake.- The recipe book provides all large measurements in grams as well as in "cups"**. Smaller measures are all in terms of level tbsns & tspns. [** There are also a couple of conversion charts for weight / cup measurements.]- The recipe book provides 1.5lbs & 2lbs recipes for most loaves and 1lb variations for some.- Both large & small loaves have been delightful at an average rate of two a week. I have no idea at all why one reviewer says this breadmaker is better suited to just occasional small loaves.- I do not think this is a "good entry level breadmaker". I think it is a “good breadmaker”.- I found the instructions easy to follow. The first time I used it I had to look at page 5 [procedure] and page 10 [recipe] at the same time which was awkward but it is all so straightforward that I have never had to look at page 5 again. And I think that separating things out like that makes the recipe itself so easy to grasp that it helps to avoid mistakes.- I think that everything is as sturdy as it needs to be & therefore set for a long life. Reading the user reviews on the Morphy Richards website does not reveal anything disturbing.- I find that the bread is as light as I had been used to [supermarket in-store bakery & ready-sliced loaves]. I do agree with the comment that there is something almost cake-like in its soft consistency and I like that.- The included measuring cup, tbsn measure & tspn measure were fine but I tend to use the ones I already had.- I have not found any of the buttons difficult to press.- I did not get a metal hook to help get the kneading blade out of the loaf. I just let the bread cool a bit whilst sitting on its bottom then cut [using a wooden spatula] a half inch circle in the middle of the bottom crust through which I can pull/pivot the blade out fairly easily. I would not use anything metal because I would not want to damage the non-stick coating on the blade & so shorten its life.- I had had a breadmaker twenty years ago and my loaves were under-risen & slightly smelly so I gave up on it very quickly. With this breadmaker, however, every loaf has been successful & fully-risen apart from some deliberate experiments. I now think that, all those years ago, I did not realise that breadmakers needed "easy bake" yeast and I probably kept using the inappropriate "dried active yeast".

We had a basic breadmaker which we used to make wholemeal loaves and after a few years of use, it died. We bought this one a couple of months back after reading the reviews on here. We have found that it gives us better bread. In more detail :1. You need to turn the mix pan a quarter turn before lifting out - and it is easy.2. It makes a very good wholemeal and oat loaf (we have a third of rolled oats in the mix). We have used two of the programmes - the 1 Basic and the 3 Wholewheat on our recipe. The 3 programme is a traditional bread making programme - it mixes and kneads, leaves the loaf to rise, kneads again, lets it rise again and then cooks. This takes three hours forty minutes. You then need to let the bread cool for at least twenty minutes before eating. The Basic programme takes three hours. After a couple of tries we have found that the Wholewheat gives an excellent, well risen, moist loaf - but you must be careful not to overdo the yeast or the water, otherwise it rises too far and collapses back.3. In terms of noise, the kneading cycles are similar to our modern washing machine when churning.4. There is a countdown timer on the front, which is handy as it tells you how long there is left until the cooking is done.5. Cake cycle - we were disappointed. Bought it for the bread cycle, but on spotting the cake option thought "ooh, don't have to get a bowl and a cake tin dirty, this will be all in one". However the instructions said to mix half the cake ingredients in one mixing bowl, the half in a second mixing bowl, and then mix them all together and tip into the bread maker for cooking. So not bothered to try it.Not tried any other functions.

I bought this to replace an old machine. Initially I was drawn to its incredible price but it only became a done deal when I read the reviews!From the very first loaf I was hooked. Being a retired couple I find the 1.5lb size ideal for our needs. If you've never owned a bread maker you'll be amazed at how little it needs from you! It takes about 5 minutes to add the ingredients & press a couple of buttons after which you can walk away for about 3 hours, returning only to swoon over your handy work as you take your yummy bread out of the machine to cool. The machine has all the usual options like the timer, fastbake, stay warm & light, medium & dark crust.The paddle is smaller than in my last machine & where as my old one used to leave a huge hole in the base of each loaf, this one leaves a much much smaller hole - to the extent that I didn't actually notice it when I was slicing the loaf.I do agree with other reviewers that you should try the Internet for other recipes. Whilst recipes do come with this machine, they're not the healthiest in terms of sugar & salt - even if they do taste delicious! Also, these recipes use teaspoon fractions of yeast meaning you really need to buy the small drums of dried yeast rather than the sachets as each sachet contains either 1tsp or more commonly 2tsp. One of the reviewers mentioned this and kindly supplied her own recipe which required 2tsp of dried yeast. Perfect - no messing around & the bread was delicious.The measuring spoons & cups do the job they're intended for but the markings could be better & the cup larger, but I'm nit picking now! All in all this is a very very good machine that just happens to have (on Amazon) an unbelievable price & I am very happy to have given one a home in my kitchen!What else could you make that smells & tastes so good yet needs only 5 minutes of effort on your part?