So there I was, standing in ma kitchen at half eleven on a Tuesday night, soldering iron in one hand and a spatula in the other. Ma partner thinks I've lost the plot entirely, but she cannae argue wi' the results.

The project started simple enough โ€” I wanted a smart timer that could control ma bread-maker remotely. Nothing fancy. Famous last words.

The Parts List

Here's what I used:

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W (about ยฃ12)
  • 5V relay module
  • Some jumper wires and a wee breadboard
  • An old bread-maker that was destined for the charity shop

The Wiring

The relay acts as the switch โ€” the Pi sends a signal tae open or close the circuit, which powers the bread-maker on or off. Simple in theory. I managed tae short it twice and nearly blew a fuse, but that's half the fun isn't it?

Once the hardware was sorted, I knocked up a wee Python Flask app tae control it over the local network. Dead simple web interface โ€” big green button tae start, big red button tae stop. Even ma maw could use it.

The Result

Now I can start the bread-maker from ma bed. Set it going at 6am, wake up at 7am tae fresh bread. Absolute scenes. Cost me aboot ยฃ20 all in and a weekend of tinkering. 10/10 would recommend.