bread makers making

rhext

I've got a cheapy Panasonic and it works fine.

Not used it since Christmas, however, when I got a Kenwood! I've been making sourdough bread since then, and I fully endorse alfablue's comments.

The breadmaker makes bread which is better than anything you can buy in the supermarket, cheaper and quicker. Sourdough bread is in a league above that. Time isn't as much of a factor as organisation: I reckon it takes no more time to make sourdough than it does to load a breadmaker. It' s just you then have to leave it to prove for several hours before you can shape it and then another couple of hours before you can bake it. Worth it in my opinion, but if I really couldn't fit it in, I'd still be hammering the breadmaker.

t4tomo

I use the bread machine to do the kixing and kneeding, chuck it out and let it first and second prove in the kitchen and then bake it in the oven in a loaf tin. Bread machines are good for mixing (or use a food processor as sugested above) but the oven cooks them much better, but obviously can't do that overnight. Easy to do in the evening whilst you're cooking tea though.

il_principe

alfablue wrote:

I got a cheap Kenwood one off eBay. It worked okay, only I wanted some to be baked a bit longer and couldn't get the machine to do this. Wasn't too keen on the shape, nor the big hole in the bottom the mixing paddle makes. Nevertheless, at £30 for the machine, not too bad.

At Christmas my son bought me a Kenwood Chef food mixer. Since then I have not bought a single loaf, mixing the dough in the Kenwood and baking in the oven. I have also branched out into sour dough bread. Its fantastic, takes only a few minutes actual effort to produce (add ingredients, mix/knead in mixer, 1st proving, turn out quick knead then into loaf tin, second proving, bake). I generally bake two types of loaf every other day. The reults are top quality and better than a bread machine can achieve. I am getting "artisan" type bread probably at a cost of about £1.20 (including energy costs), whereas the typical price for a Bertinet loaf is about £4.

Just want to second this. Making your own bread is fantastic and very rewarding. Also tastes better than machine made bread IME. I have a Kenwood Che as well which does the kneading. Far better investment than a bread machine as the Chef can do pretty much everything from beating to grinding, mincing, blending etc.

welkman

Love my panasonic but also love baking by hand. Never managed to get sourdough to work for me, was trying in january so it might have been on the cold side for the natural yeasts.

jimmypippa

cakewalk wrote:

Gussio wrote:

+1 for the Panasonic. We use ours every day, not just for loaves - great for making dough that you can turn into naan, bread rolls, pizza bases, etc...

After experimentation, decided that it all comes down to the quality of flour and yeast. We buy 25kg sacks of flour (1 wholemeal and 1 white, then do a 50/50 mix) from a mill north of the Chilterns and stick to Doves yeast. Makes wonderful bread.

Nice to have bread which does not have too much salt or sugar in, with zero chemical additives. Makes the house smell nice too 8)

Agree with all that. Good flour is important. Dove yeast is good.

Also make great pizza bases.

BTW I hate kitchen gadgets - however you wil not regret this one.

Total effort to make a loaf? 3 minutes.

I find the bread is best if it's taken out the machine soon after is completed and then left for a couple of hours to cool.

Agree entirely with this, we 're on our second panasonic after the first wore out after 10-years, 6- 8times a week - use it to make pizza dough as well as bread.



Everyoune I know who actually keep up with using breadmakers seem to use panasonic ones. I think some others produce bread that is less good than some supermarket bread.

BTW you don't need to add the milk or sugar in their recipies.

Andy Manc - we no longer have an airing cupboard, so find a breadmaker is easier. I agree that you can produce better results cooking it conventionally, but it is still worlds ahead of most shop-bought bread (not all - my parents got a panasionic after our local baker was compulsorily purchased to make a link road funded by Tesco)...

Applespider

I make sourdough every couple of weekends and then freeze big chunks of it to use over the next fortnight. Works really well - it does take the better part of a day to get 3 loaves but the 'working' part is under 20 minutes spread across that time. The rest of the time, the sourdough is just doing its stuff. And it is magic - from flour, water and some salt to a sticky wallpaper paste, to a smooth dough, to a big 'pillow' of air, to a loaf. Wow! And I make pizza dough at the same time which is equally fabulous.

I use it all through the year so it should work in January. Might be a bit chilly to get the starter going and robust and timings would probably differ.

Take a look on eBay for a secondhand breadmaker though - there are piles of people who decide to get one and then never use it... And the Panasonic does tend to be the most popular.

marchant

We've got a breadmaker, which I've got to admit we've hardly used in the last couple of years but recently, as a way of passing the time my son and I have been buying packets of the "just add water" bread mix and making rolls. I know it's none of your nouvelle cuisine, artisan bread but it's fun, somewhat educational, keeps us occupied (we probably spend more time cleaning up than baking) and we can eat the results. There are some currently cooling on the side.... and they smell lovely

motopatter

I couldn't get a Panasonic today so ended up with a Morphy Richards easy bake premium.

All the recipes include skimmed milk powder??? It says this improves flavour, provide a velvety texture and soften the crust. Yum yum.

Also can I happily mix flours, splitting the two recipes to combine the suitable ratios if that makes sense?

Anyone got a tried and tested simple (not many ingredients) recipe to get me started?

can't wait - hopefully start a batch overnight as I have to get the correct ingredients to start - quick bread yeast, strong white + brown flour.

jimmypippa

motopatter wrote:

I couldn't get a Panasonic today so ended up with a Morphy Richards easy bake premium.

All the recipes include skimmed milk powder??? It says this improves flavour, provide a velvety texture and soften the crust. Yum yum.

Also can I happily mix flours, splitting the two recipes to combine the suitable ratios if that makes sense?

Anyone got a tried and tested simple (not many ingredients) recipe to get me started?

can't wait - hopefully start a batch overnight as I have to get the correct ingredients to start - quick bread yeast, strong white + brown flour.

jimmypippa wrote:

BTW you don't need to add the milk or sugar in their recipies.

I use
1tsp quick yeast (Dove Farms sell 125g packets that cost 99p at waitrose, compared to the 5g sachets that are expensive).

500g Strong white flour
350ml water
1.5tsp salt
1 Oz butter

It seems to work pretty well

motopatter

45mins till my 1st loaf - looks like it's risen nicely

I followed a recipe which did include sugar, milk pwdr etc and I just did 50% strong white + 50% strong brown (as our shop bought bread is always wholemeal)

motopatter

mmmmm, a tastey success. Fluffy and light but also a bit heavy - I guess that's the brown flour.

The loaf is currently a bit big to fit properly into our bread bin. I know it won't last long but what's the best way of storing yer fresh bread? (a bigger bread bin? or tupperware? wrapped in teatowel?)

merci 8)

Applespider

Wrapped in a teatowel or paper. A breadbin will work so long as it's not plastic; wooden seems to work best although I've got a canvas bag that works v well. Plastic will make the crust go soft.

If you're using brown flour again, it can be an idea to add a tsp of Vitamin C powder to it which should make it less heavy.

Congrats - now you need some lovely salted butter to properly enjoy it.

motopatter

Applespider wrote:

Wrapped in a teatowel or paper. A breadbin will work so long as it's not plastic; wooden seems to work best although I've got a canvas bag that works v well. Plastic will make the crust go soft.

If you're using brown flour again, it can be an idea to add a tsp of Vitamin C powder to it which should make it less heavy.

Congrats - now you need some lovely salted butter to properly enjoy it.

my wife failed at separating eggs for a pavlova, and we've got sausages left over from dinner, so it's scram and saus on toast for brekkie

thanks for the advice I may try but I like keeping things simple, and to be honest I am amazed at the result. Couldn't have done a hand job/ oven bake that good as I don't have the patience to see it through properly. But the machine is awesome

walkingbootweather

motopatter wrote:

Couldn't have done a hand job/ oven bake that good as I don't have the patience to see it through properly. But the machine is awesome

Will have to get the wife one then. She has no patience and is rubbish at hand jobs too :shock:

alfablue

welkman wrote:

Love my panasonic but also love baking by hand. Never managed to get sourdough to work for me, was trying in january so it might have been on the cold side for the natural yeasts.

I started mine in January, I too thought it wasn't going to work, it just took a long time to start (maybe 10 days) but once it gets going it is prolific! I have since supplied my son (who is a chef) with my sourdough starter and his restaurant now has fresh baked sourdough every day

Its worth another go, and once you get a good starter you can freeze portions of it so you can start again quickly if anything goes wrong (though mine is still a direct descendent of my first attempt and still smells fresh).

Applespider

You can dry it too and restart it that way - which is useful if you want to mail some to people or take it on a flight

So motopatter - how was brekkie?

alfablue

Applespider wrote:

You can dry it too and restart it that way - which is useful if you want to mail some to people or take it on a flight

interesting, never thought of that. Is there any particular method to drying it?

Applespider

When it is at bubbliness stage (I.e. Not just after you've fed it), spread a thin layer of it onto a silicone sheet or a baking tray. Then let it dry out for a couple of hours. Once dry, you can crumble it into a plastic bag and store somewhere cool/dark. When you need to use it, mix a tsp or two with some water to dissolve, wait an hour and then feed as normal. It may take a couple of days/feeds to completely perk up again.

alfablue

Great, thanks

welkman

One tip with the vit c powder is not to do what I did and crush up a vit c tablet in a pestle and motar. My bread was full of pockets of very sour, orangey tasting fizzy lumps!