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Hallo
Is it better to bake or use a bread maker? My dad swears by his bread maker but as we have a really nice stove would like to do it the traditional way. If anyone has advice/recipes that would be great!
Thank u, Nessie

Problem with a bread maker is that you get that stupid whisk/blender thing stuck in the bottom of the loaf. One good compromise is to use the bread maker to mix the dough up and then place it in a traditional tin and bake it in the oven.

Shirls knows more than I do about this as she often makes our bread. Dunno if it's any cheaper than buying the stuff, but at least you know what ingredients go into it!

Ever tried Dutch sugar bread (suiker brood)? Yummmmmmmmmm.....

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Big silver bird, come land low and slow
Cut your engines, cool your wings,
You've taken me home...

www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Hi
I do as Madmax says; use the BM to knead and then pop it out, let it rise and bake it in the oven.

Current recipe:
12oz wholemeal bread flour
4oz white bread flour
1 teaspoon each dried yeast, sugar and salt
1 tablespoon of veg oil [olive oil makes the bread more panini-ish, if you get my drift]
half a pint of water

Set to dough and use the BM to knead this. The last 1/2 hour of my BM on this setting is just letting it rise; so I take it out when I can, shape it and leave to rise.

Then cook on 200 for about 20 mins.

The last 2 loaves i have added a vit c tablet crushed up, and the bread is fab. Just adds that extra something. Acts as improver [read it somewhere, tried it, love it].

If really pushed for time, I do the full BM thing; but don't like the hole in the bottom; nor the shape.

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic

Yep that is a pain in the bum although you can get them now where the paddles retract during the baking part which resolves this problem. I think morphy richards does one like this at quite reasonable price.

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Imagination is everything, it is a preview of what is to become.

i enjoy making bread by hand. i've tried breadmakers and they are really good because they save time and still produce tasty homemade bread, but i always feel a little removed from the process!
i think if you have the time and inclination, there is nothing like feeling the warm dough under your hands as you knead it. bread is such an important and symbolic food anyway, i always feel there is something respectful and satisfying about making it from scratch using your own time and stamina.
of course, practically i wouldn't know whether the results are better. except that once you start trying out different recipes, i feel perhaps you have more control over the process - you can decide for yourself by the texture of the dough how long you need to knead for, and how long to let it rise for.
plus kneading is good for building up those arm muscles

That's great thank u!
Well, I don't have my own breadmaker yet, so will have a go by hand and see how I get on with the recipe from zazen999... I can almost smell it already!

I agree with red admiral - breadmakers are ok but the product is a totally different animal to hand made bread! You really cant beat doing the whole process yourself - very fundamentally satisfying

My BM was a freebie; and I do have problems kneading my bread due to elbow injury [can pull stuff ok, but pushing is a different matter], long term injury - will never get better so the BM is my saviour. I have to say I did try kneading bread for ages before I got the BM; much pain ensued and whilst I don' t mind suffering for my art...if there's an easier way then I'll take it.

Having said that; if this BM goes kaput then I'll be buying the Panasonic one; 253 I think the number is. There's loads of posts about the wonderous BM on the MSE forums; the first slice of a home baked crusty bread is just a natural wonder of the world [IMHO].

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Andrea :wavehello

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...logs/zazen999/

moon trials completed:
tomatoes
[46% increase in crop per seed sown and 10% increase in crop per plant]

currently underway:
calabrese
garlic

I have the Panasonic and it is fab - although the blade leaves it's mark in the bottom of the bread, I've never had any problems turning the loaf out whilst leaving the blade in the tin. Personally , if I didn't work full time, I'd probably make it by hand but seeing as I'm short on time when I'm in the house, I like the fact that I woke up this morning to the smell of freshly made bread and am now eating it as sandwiches on the day it was made - believe me I wouldn't have been willing to get up early enough to have done that by hand!!!!!! Started making my own as most of the supermarket stuff is plastic rubbish and I can't get to a decent bakery often enough. This way I know exactly what's in my bread and that is worth the price of the maker.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

I suppose cost wise there is precious lillte in it - one does have to buy the flour etc after all...

But the fun, the smell and the taste..... can't be beat.

I have an excellent cibatta recipe - takes a day and a half!

Terry

Can we blagg it from you?

__________________

Big silver bird, come land low and slow
Cut your engines, cool your wings,
You've taken me home...

www.honeyjukes.co.uk

I used to make it by hand when the kids were little, then technology caught up and bread makers became available just at a time when I didn't really need one any longer. I bought one anyway and love it, I'm attempting to cut back on my appliances and I'm not replacing anything which is unnecessary, but I'm afraid I can't live without my bread-machine.

I had a panasonic before we moved - it is in storage now and I MISS IT!!!! (along with my sewing machine...) They are the best, get the one which automatically drops in the raisins/nuts etc when it is time.
I can't wait to get it back when we have a proper electricity supply.

That's the one I've got but have only used the auto thing once or twice as prefer basic wholemeal loaves, for me I wish I'd bought the model below that's the same but without that feature.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

I have been experimenting with my bread maker and have found that

400g white strong flour
230 ml water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 sachet yeast

in whatever order your machine instructions say....a nice loaf and good for pizza bases.

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Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful..William Morris

I bought a panasonic bread maker 4 years ago and it is incredible. When my children were little I used to make my own bread, using a large bowl (a washing up bowl is ideal, but use only for this purpose). I used to make 6 loaves at a time and freeze them. However I have found that the bread maker bread does not freeze too well.

Given a choice I would continue to use the machine, making bread is very hard work and time consuming with all the proofing you need to do.

I hope this is of use to you

I found a bread maker useful for mixing and proving but preferred it baked in the oven. Now the bread maker has stopped working I mix the bread in my kenwood chef and have found the results much better. Time wise it doesn't take as long to mix prove and bake which is an advantage.

I would also be interested in the recipe for cibatta bread, only tried it once and it turned out like a pizza base

I use 200g white / 200g wholemeal, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of yeast, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of milk powder and 1 think about 230ml of water also. Not quite sure how the milk powder bit works but the bread does seem to keep for longer.

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Some of us live in the past, always talking about back then. Some of us live in the future, always planning what we are going to do. And, then there are those, who neither look behind or ahead, but just enjoy the moment of right now.

Which one are you and is it how you want to be?

I use the dough hook on my Kenwood chef it takes out all the boring kneading bits.

My scales are old shop lbs weight ones so for me its :-
1oz fresh yeast in
30 oz hand hot water
then add 3lb bread flour,
1oz white fat/or oil,
and nearly a tablespoon salt.

Give it 3 mins in the Kenwood then put it somewhere to prove for a hour-ish then its back in the Kenwood for 2 more mins.
Shape into either 26, 3oz rolls or 5 loaves (I've got some old Hovis bread tins) and leave for a second proving of about 30 mins.

Then bake until the bread sounds hollow when tapped.

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Bren

Thanks for all the fab advice. Have just got my first ever dough in the boiler cupboard for a while before cooking it. I used the zazen999 recipe and whigger is going to try one of the others. I am not sure I kneaded it for long enough but my arms were aching and it certainly looks like bread!
Once I have got the hang of it I am going to try putting all sorts of stuff in. Pine nuts and cider are 2 of my favourite things so that could be a possibility!

The best time to make bread by hand is when you are in a really bad mood - then you bash the living daylights out of it and get a super loaf

Sadly I am no longer able to knead dough in the way required so as Madmax says, I usually make the dough in the machine and then shape and bake however I fancy. Another superb use for the machine is to make dough for doughnuts - anyone want the recipe?

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

I'm surprised she hasn't posted here yet but my friend kethry makes the loaves by hand, using i think 3/4 wholemeal and 1/4 white flour, and plenty of seeds, the loaves are deelish and i think she said last time they work out about 40p a loaf? which is considerably cheaper than the equivalent in the supermarket.

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