Andrew James Premium Bread Maker With Automatic Ingredients / Nut And Raisin Dispenser

I'm a big gadget man and I go through phases of buying things I'm curious about. Kitchenware is my latest fad and when I saw the price of this breadmaker in comparison to competitors I just had to buy it. I'm so glad I did, the experience was so good that my Mum asked for one for Christmas!Pros:+Great design+Nice colours, goes with all the other silver & black appliances+Display panel is bright and clear+Controls are intuitive+Recipe book is helpful+SO easy to use and (even better) you can clean it in seconds!+Delicious bread, reliable results+It's as quiet as you'd expect - just a small motor sound while mixingCons-The manual could use tidying up - it's not pretty and you'll have to poke around to find the information you want-No mention of how the dispenser worksMy tips:1) Always use this order when adding ingredients: Water > Oil > Salt = Sugar > Flour > (Milk Powder) > Yeast2) The trap door for the nut dispenser always drops during one of the mixing cycles (I believe the second mix after the first rise). Before you turn your breadmaker on, open the lid and push the trap door shut3) Grease the slightly with butter on the base and edges4) During the first mix cycle take a peek inside. Occasionally some of the dough will stick to the edges and not churn, just push it into the central mass and it should stick immediately5) ALWAYS USE VERY STRONG FLOUR! I use Allinsons flour and it works every time. The two times I attempted to use standard wholemeal flour turned the loaf into a brick

Had this now for about 4 months and love it. I use it every day, sometimes twice and it's not put a foot wrong. It's easy to use, sturdy, good instructions and makes great bread.Some have complained about the blade not being able to be removed for cleaning but they might be doing it wrong. All you need to do is hold the blade and hold underneath the pan opposite the blade and twist the opposite way and it frees up easily.Others have commented on the recipes being wrong and that the point you include the yeast is wrong. No it isn't. Just follow the recipes in the book and they will be fine.Top tips: If you're making a delayed loaf then they might come out a little flat if it's been delayed a few hours (overnight) but still tasty. Wholemeal loafs come out small so bake for a 900g loaf if you want a 700g size one.It makes perfect dough which allows you to drag it out and shape your own bread rolls etc. (About 10-12 mins at 200c fan)All in all this is an excellent bread maker. Trust the recipes, have fun with it and if you use the weights instead of the measures to add the ingredients you'll have perfect bread ever time.Update on this product 2 Dec 2015. The tin had developed a fault when the seal between the paddle and the outside of the tin deteriorated allowing fluid to seep out. Performed perfect up until then so called Andrew James. Within warranty and they honoured it without question by sending out a new tin. Now up and running and as good as ever. First rate product (despite the lettering rubbing off on the control panel quite early) and equally good service. You won't be disappointed

I wanted breadmaker in black and/or stainless steel to match my kitchen, and these weren’t available on the high street so the Andrew James unit was the best option.This breadmaker makes good bread provided you follow the instructions i.e, grease the pan, put the liquid in first and then add the solid ingredients. If you put the solid ingredients in first the liquid forms a glob of thick paste and the paddle won’t mix it. It is even worse if you put it on timer mode – I did that the first time I used a breadmaker and the result is a lump of solid dough that is tricky to get out of the pan.After it is cooked, if you have done the greasing properly you just invert the pan and shake it and the loaf will come free, sometimes with the paddle in the loaf but more often with the paddle stuck to the pan. The paddle comes loose easily if you hold the paddle while wiggling the drive spigot on the underside. After a while, providing you follow the cleaning instructions and just wipe the pan free of any crumbs, a fine residue of oil builds up in the non-stick and eases removal of the loaf.I’ve found that using bread mixes are simple and reliable. My favourite recipe is 230ml of water poured onto a tablespoon of olive oil in the bottom of the pan, followed by a mix of 250 gm of Aldi “Pantry” white blended with 100 gm of Lidl “Belbake Sunflower bread mix. Sprinkle a tablespoon of milk powder on top and bake as a 500 gm loaf with dark crust on menu option 2 (French bread). This gives a loaf that nearly fills the pan, is light and has quite a crisp, albeit not dark, crust.Andrew James ltd are easily contactable for any replacements or spare parts.Less good points are- The lettering tends to wear off the buttons quickly , I had a replacement unit for this reason after 3 months and stuck clear adhesive tape over the buttons, which are still good after 2 years.- The bush on the paddle “axis” in the bottom of the pan wore out after about 270 loaves, or about 18 months at one loaf every couple of days. When the bush wears out the mixer starts to vibrate more and also leaks mix into the base. On the plus side Andrew James stock replacement pans for £10.95.- The layout of the buttons is a bit illogical as the sequence for setting up a bake is : set bake menu, set loaf size, set crust colour, set time and then start. The buttons don’t follow the sequence so it is easy to set the time before the colour or size, which causes the time to goes back to the default for the menu and you have to reset it.- Setting timer delay baking requires pressing the “time” button to the total time required. But the increments are 10 minutes so you end up with a lot of button presses if you want to bake a loaf overnight.Overall though, I’m very happy with This Andrew James breadmaker . The pan bush wear was worse on my previous “Ready Steady Cook” unit and the supplier could not provide a replacement pan.