breadmaking

[Croila]

You want bread pics ..? ;-)


Homemade by croila, on Flickr


Homemade by croila, on Flickr

[Two_Sheds]

olives, chilli and onions sound good. Mushrooms ... sound ... er ... a bit ... peculiar?!

I thought so too!

I make cheese & onion bread (grated cheese, fresh chopped onions) and sun-dried tomato is nice with grated cheese too.
I also chuck in a handful of chopped herbs from the garden

[Hilary B]

Mushroom-and-garlic bread might be OK for a party, where you expect to use it all up at once. I wuldn't fancy trying to store it, even for a day or 2.

[Dottie]

I tried a Sharwood's Naan Bread Mix yesterday, on the dough setting. The machine did a great job, but pack instructions to do under a hot grill, did not match up to Indian or shop bought naans. All were eaten and enjoyed, just not as good.

[Caro]

We did some home-made naans a while ago and, from memory, I think they were pan fried in just the tiniest bit of oil - the breads were brushed with oil and dry-fried, I think. They were gorgeous that way.

[kalimna]

May I suggest that anyone who is interested in home baked bread gets themselves a copy of the River Cottage guide. It really is an excellent bread book, explaining concisely and simply why things that are done in bread baking are done at all.
As for the salt issue, whether you taste it or not, you will find bread quite insipid without it. Not only does it affect the action/properties of the wheat gluten as mentioned above, retarding the action of the yeast (which is important for flavour), but the presence of salt is what gives bread a nice crusty, ern, crust. There is certainly no health issues whatsoever with the amount of salt suggested in bread (20g per 1000g of flour).

I would also suggest that, for anyone seriously interested in home made bread they should ditch the breadmaker and use their own hands and oven. What you lose in convenience is easily made up for in texture, taste, personal satisfaction, variety of loaf shape and size. And also sourdough is essentially impossible with breadmakers (to my knowledge).

Sourdough, made with a home starter of flour and water, contains nothing but flour, water and salt. Naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria form a symbiotic culture that is probably the oldest method used to make a raised dough product. The flavour is much stronger (though not saltier) than ordinary bread, and the texture chewier, but it is fabulous stuff.

As for fats in the mix, whatever bread Im making (unless it is an enriched dough for a fruity loafy thing like chelsea buns, or a ciabatta), I don't use any. They really aren't necessary, but can add a moistness and lightness to a loaf, or certain flavours in the case of olive oil or chilli oil.

I have a serious passion for bread, and love making the stuff, and the satisfaction of breaking open a well risen sourdough loaf is much greater even than the smell of it baking....

Just my tuppenceworth,

Adam S

[Two_Sheds]

I would also suggest that, for anyone seriously interested in home made bread they should ditch the breadmaker and use their own hands

... except that some people have arthritic hands or other problems, or no time ...

[kalimna]

Fair enough, if someone is physically unable to knead bread, that would prevent a handmade loaf, however a food mixer is a perfectly good way of mixing the dough.

The time issue is not such a good argument, however. It really doesn't take that long to make bread. Not as quick as a breadmaker, granted. But then instant coffee is quicker than ground coffee, but not really in the same flavour league.

There are certainly arguments for the use of breadmakers, but quality of loaf is not one of them, and most of the others can be answered with a little practice.

Adam S

[lindyloo]

well, i can't make bread without a breadmaker, as it just wont rise! and today i tried my freecycle bread maker for the first time, and guess what- i can't make bread with one of those either!

the guy told me it was very old and didn't bake, so i had to set it for dough, and finish it off in the oven. that seemed easy enough to get around. so, i followed the instructions faithfully, double and treble checking, waited all week so i had some uninterupted time for my first attempt, too. all measurements checked meticulously, and has it risen? no - it has not. i am now just wasting the electricity to let the cycle finish, as once set, you can't seem to cancel and clear the program, so that you can start a second attempt. not sure where i went wrong?? any ideas? it is an old prima breadmaker, and i used very strong allinsons flour, and breadmaker yeast. i wonder if my chicken will like pecking at the homemade 'brick'???

[lindyloo]

so, where did i go wrong? (suggestions please)

i have just managed to get it out of the machine; heres my findings;

it is half the height of criola's pictured bread. and roughly the size of a small loaf. (the recipe was for the large loaf)

the bottom crust is about 1/4 inch thick, and very hard. the hardness continues to halfway up the loaf, but gets less thick. dog now crunching on it, and it sounds like he has a bone !! it will be good for getting rid of all of his tartar build-up, methinks!

the inner texture is moist and rather like a dumpling. it is actually edible, and tatses quite nice with butter and homemade rhubarb and ginger jam. need to watch your teeth on the outside edges though!

the fact that it is edible, means that it is more of a success than my previous efforts without a machine.

it did rise, but not as much as i expected it to do- not quite halfway up the mixing container. in actual fact, the machine DID bake it, as i mis-read the little light up buttons, and set it for wholemeal, rather than dough.

the inner texture seems uniform throughout, once you get into it

it took 4 hours of electricity to achieve , so is rather expensive, and much more so if you broke a crown on the edges!!

it has no smell whatsoever- and i was looking forward to the smell of freshly baked bread!

please, can anyone decipher what adjustments i need to make to the ingredients, to achieve a better result?

[Croila]

Lindyloo, that's very odd that it didn't rise and didn't have any smell. The dried yeast wasn't past its sell by date, was it? Are you absolutely dead certain you've got the ingredient amounts right? The reason I ask is cause you said you had to convert them from metric to imperial. Oh, and I'd say the amounts should be dead on, just reduce the margin for error.

Also, are you absolutely certain you got the programme number right on the bread machine? Just because you said you miskeyed something in when you set it? Sorry if these are silly questions!

If you're 100% sure you've got the correct ingredients (and nothing's past its sell by date), the correct AMOUNTS OF ingredients, and have used the correct settings on the machine, then the only conclusion I can draw is that the machine's fritzed

[Croila]

Incidentally, this home-made bread making business has REALLY put me off shop bread! Was in Morrisons tonight getting some more flour, and I walked down the bread aisle. Nothing there appealed at all and I was just so glad to make my own now! (Albeit with the help of a machine.)

[lindyloo]

thanks for your reply croila. to answer as best i can;

i had to convert a couple of ingredients from grams to ounces, which i did via a internet conversion site. i think i was accurate.

all ingredients were fresh- bought after i started this thread, and unopened til today.
i read the instruction booklet first , then followed the basic bread recipe, double checking all measurements, and referring back to each step as it was described in the method

when i collected the machine, the man said it no longer baked the loaf properly, and to choose the dough setting on the program, then get it out of machine and bake it in the oven

i did that, except the tiny red light which i thought indicated the dough setting, was for wholemeal setting , so it was therefore set for an entire bake cycle. i let it go through the entire cycle, which took over four hours !!!

i don't know whether this is what he meant when he said it no longer baked? ie what he really meant was it baked 'incorrectly' it left a lot of dry ingredients unmixed and at the sides and corners too.

i know a bad workman blames his tools, but i do think maybe the machine is knackered? so am debating whether to try again, on just the dough setting, or, someone has just emailed me to offer me another breadmaker on freecycle- this one a morphy richards, about 5 years old, but only used a few times. i feel a bit greedy, collecting more than one from a freecycle!

[paul44]

sorry, i can't seem to find the breadmaker thread which was going strong a couple of weeks ago; i have just been offered a breadmaker- yeah!!! so, my next question is- what is the best and/or cheapest flour to use, and ditto yeast.

I bought a bread maker, but the bread come out horrible. Maybe I am doing something wrong?

[Caro]

Lindy, Paul,

If your measuring of ingredients is exact, then do you definitely have your liquid at room temperature and are you adding the ingredients in the correct order? If the liquid is too cold or hot, it will prohibit the yeast from acting. Similarly, the yeast shouldn't come into direct contact with the salt.

And Lindy, go for the second breadmaker and don't feel bad! After all, you know the one you have doesn't work properly!