When I asked my wife what should be the main message of an article extolling the virtues of the automatic bread-maker, she said “I love it. Get one.” I completely agree. And although the rare phenomena of a shared marital opinion alone is reason enough to rush out and buy one, there are plenty of others too.

Imagine. A normal day. You stumble out of bed, motivated only by the clatter of your two-year-old descending to ravage the living room, wondering how to summon the enthusiasm for the day. The warm, homely smell of a fresh loaf hits your bleary senses. Coming to, you can’t resist carving a slice. Steam drifts out as the crust cracks and flakes under the knife strokes. You butter it. The butter melts into the bread. You fold it in half, and eat it warm, reaching for the bread-knife again as you take in the last mouthful…Delicious.

Modern bread-makers are the bees’ knees. Put the ingredients in, tap a few buttons, and simply wait for delicious crusty loaves to appear a few hours later. Or next morning. They aren’t time-consuming or difficult to use.

We were first drawn to the idea by my parent's last year. For months, each family visit showered us in olive bread, tomato bread, onion bread, banana bread...You name it, they made bread out of it. They were all lovely. But, most significantly the plain bread (or “bread bread” as I like to call it) was also really good.

So, the bread-maker went on our Christmas list. First came the mysterious delivery of a book on making gluten free-bread. It wasn’t clear who had sent it, until the later arrival of a huge automatic bread-maker. They had been bought by a friend who lives nearby and thought our desire for a bread-maker and his gluten allergy was a combination not to be overlooked. This is a significant point. If you are allergic to gluten or other ingredients of normal bread, it is well-worth considering buying a bread maker (or donating one to friendly neighbours).

We did wonder if it would be too much hassle to use. I confess that my role in production is in quality control alone and the actual programming is left to my better half. But I am assured that it isn’t hard. (And having observed her skills with the video recorder, I am confident in her assessment). She is adamant that it takes nothing more than a couple of minutes to fling in the ingredients and program it.

It actually takes more effort to go to the local corner shop and pick up a sliced loaf than it does to prepare the ingredients. You just have to be prepared to wait. Besides, “sliced loaf ” has become a by-word for substandard and tasteless in our household now. It has acquired the same status as long-life milk - emergencies only.

Fresh, home baked bread really is so much tastier. It is almost a meal in itself. And it feels healthy too. No chemical preservatives. No geometrically perfect loaves and razor slices. Just real, unadulterated, whole, wholesome bread.

My daughter loves cheese sandwiches. When we bought sliced bread in the past, she would take the cheese out, carefully put it to one side and then eat it, leaving the bread behind. Now, when we give her a sandwich, she still happily removes the cheese – but she eats the bread instead. (Of course, the bread-maker presents a daring new solution to her pickiness – cheese bread).

I did wonder for the first week of bread-making heaven if perhaps we would never run out of bread again, leaving us no longer at the mercy of the opening hours of the local shop. But I realized my error when I was asked to go down to the shop and buy some bread. “What about the breadmaker?” “We’ve run out of flour and they don’t sell the right flour in the corner shop.” Oh.

There is one drawback to making your own bread. And that is cutting it. The rustic charm of those unshapely wedges quickly gives way to irritation and frustration as you wrestle the thick end into the toaster and watch the other end disintegrate. But, if you can’t be bothered to master the art of the perfect slice, after all, there’s always the electric carving knife.

Our bread-maker brought with it the romantic charm of home baking that I expected, but its great practicality has been a surprising bonus. It really is the best thing since sliced bread.