Just as they like to be in charge of the barbecue, many men have an innate need to bake bread. Perhaps it is something to do with their hunter-gatherer genes. And such is the sophistication of modern breadmakers that male bakers know that, providing they follow the instructions, their loaf will be perfect – unlike those cremated summer sausages.

No self-respecting single male these days would admit to being without a third-generation mobile phone or a state-of-the-art breadmaker with crust control, nut and raisin dispenser, jam cycles and enhanced raising times.

While I had the former, I was somewhat lacking in the dough department, so I decided to recruit the help of Carrs Flour Mills, who have learned a thing or two about sorting the wheat from the chaff since Jonathan Dodgson Carr set up its Silloth mill in 1831.

Caroline Dale, Carrs’ marketing manager at the company’s head office in Stanwix, Carlisle, loaned me a Panasonic SD253, regarded as the Ferrari of breadmakers.

This sleek machine, which retails at just under £100, can do just about anything. Put it this way, bakers would go out of business if we all had one. Honestly, I swear it would make you a cup of tea if you asked it nicely.

The SD253 has 18 bread programmes, a digital timer so that you can wake to the aroma of baking bread, a rapid-bake option and can make loaves of up to 2.2lb. Its bread repertoire includes basic white, brown, wholewheat, French, Italian, sandwich, gluten-free, cakes and teabreads. It will also prepare dough for more specialised items such as pizza, naan bread, pitta bread and croissants.

The real beauty of breadmakers is that the most tiresome element of baking – kneading – is done for you. There aren’t even any dishes to wash because the pre-programmed cycle all takes place in the same pan.

Sensing my anxiety about my first foray into the baking world, Caroline offered some words of reassurance.

“Breadmakers need the minimum of effort, but you get out what you put in,” she says.

“If you use rubbish flour, you will get rubbish bread. I would say 90 per cent of using a breadmaker is the quality of flour.

“As millers, we do a lot of work with breadmaker manufacturers. Initially, we were knocking on their doors but now they want to use Carrs Breadmaker Flour because it is the best and the only flour sold in the UK that is specifically made for use in domestic breadmakers.

“Sales of breadmakers really shot up a couple of years ago but have now reached a plateau. People have started trading up now to more expensive makes and making bread is very popular with the healthy-eating set.

“Breadmakers are very popular with men. I did hear that one bloke had devised a recipe for breakfast bread containing egg, bacon and sausages.”

I also went on to the internet to see what Delia Smith, the queen of home cooking, had to say about these space-age machines.

Delia is very complimentary about how breadmakers have opened up “a very pleasurable and sometimes therapeutic experience” to the masses.

She says: “It’s quite simply an outstanding invention, almost miraculous, when you think that a freshly baked, crusty, full-flavoured loaf can be delivered to you warm from baking after just a simple assembly of ingredients and the push of a button.

“Even with your pressured, busy life, your house can be filled with that unique aroma of yeasty earthiness and goodness. That simple pleasure can raise your life experience to another level.

“The good thing about a breadmaker is producing bread with no additives from the best-quality flours. Carrs Flour Mills, the clever people who invented sauce flour, have developed a range of high-quality mixes specifically designed to be used in breadmakers.”

Despite Queen Delia’s endorsement, I still felt apprehensive as I read the SD253 instruction manual. It is like using any new gadget – you are entering the unknown and have to build up your confidence.

Eager to avoid the embarrassment of my dough failing to rise, I chose the most simple recipe – a white loaf – and noted that just by pressing the start button my loaf would be baked by the basic programme, producing an extra large loaf with a medium crust in four hours.

The breadmaker comes with a useful measuring device for water and the smaller ingredients, so it was easy to assemble 320ml of water, one tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and one teaspoon of fast-action yeast.

But how much is 25g of butter? I guessed at about a tablespoon. You really need kitchen scales to weigh 500g of flour, but as I had a 1.5kg pack of Carrs Breadmaker Strong White Flour, I reasoned, with a mathematician’s brain, that I would need one-third of the pack.

I switched on the machine. Nothing seemed to happen. I became anxious but was comforted by reading that the initial process is called ‘resting’. It seemed a bit premature to be taking a rest but I was feeling more confident after about an hour when I heard noises. This was the kneading.

After 30 minutes’ kneading, the dough rises for one hour and 50 minutes before the best stage – the baking – takes up the last 50 minutes.

A delicious smell started wafting out of my kitchen and, like a father-to-be in a maternity ward, I started pacing the kitchen waiting for the beep to signal that the loaf was ready.

When it happened, I nervously opened the lid to see a perfectly formed loaf with a lovely crust. Better still, it tasted better than any bread I have ever had. And all my own work.