Panasonic Breadmakers Tips and Quick Questions Thread

jb5

The digital display will show "Rest" in one corner, bottom right I think.
Many of the recipes start with a rest period.

cooking-mama

Im having a couple of problems with my new panasonic SD254,(only had it a few days)Firstly the noise when kneading!,its so noisy that i darent put it on timer in case it woke everyone at 5am this morning(or worse still,in case it bounced of the worktop)I thought the panasonic was one of the quieter ones?
Secondly while my loaves have looked perfect and been edible,they seem to be very "damp"...anyone else with similar problems?
PS,in with my instruction leaflet was a print out stating;

"Flour quality can change during the year from crop to crop,try another brand of flour.
Flours containing Canadian and North American wheat often produce best results"

Are these new guidelines?,and what flour brands are canadian or north American?

[Deleted User]

cooking-mama wrote: »

Im having a couple of problems with my new panasonic SD254,(only had it a few days)Firstly the noise when kneading!,its so noisy that i darent put it on timer in case it woke everyone at 5am this morning(or worse still,in case it bounced of the worktop)I thought the panasonic was one of the quieter ones?
Secondly while my loaves have looked perfect and been edible,they seem to be very "damp"...anyone else with similar problems?
PS,in with my instruction leaflet was a print out stating;

"Flour quality can change during the year from crop to crop,try another brand of flour.
Flours containing Canadian and North American wheat often produce best results"

Are these new guidelines?,and what flour brands are canadian or north American?

Have a look HERE for info on the differences between bread flours. I've put a reply to your query on the other thread "Is my BM playing up?" but as you say in this query that your Panny is really jumping it sounds like a fault.

Shouldn't be doing that, the Panny may rattle a touch but noisy? - no.

sparrer

Can someone offer some advice please...
I used my new Panasonic 255 to make my first loaf last night, followed the instructions by the book (was holding it in my hand most of the time!). I used the basic, large loaf, and medium crust settings on the 4 hour timer but think I've done something wrong

Took it out and let it cool overnight then tried to slice it this morning but it was a divil of a job, it just squashed down and didn't 'spring' back again, crumbs everywhere although the crust is lovely.

It also tastes very bland, I used the given amount of salt (LoSalt) so wonder if I should buy ordinary kitchen salt?

Perhaps I should leave it a day then try to slice it again?
Any (clean ) suggestions gratefully received. Thank you
Sparrer

[Deleted User]

sparrer wrote: »

Can someone offer some advice please...
I used my new Panasonic 255 to make my first loaf last night, followed the instructions by the book (was holding it in my hand most of the time!). I used the basic, large loaf, and medium crust settings on the 4 hour timer but think I've done something wrong

Took it out and let it cool overnight then tried to slice it this morning but it was a divil of a job, it just squashed down and didn't 'spring' back again, crumbs everywhere although the crust is lovely.

It also tastes very bland, I used the given amount of salt (LoSalt) so wonder if I should buy ordinary kitchen salt?

Perhaps I should leave it a day then try to slice it again?
Any (clean ) suggestions gratefully received. Thank you
Sparrer

I would say your problem is the LoSalt. It doesn't have enough sodium in it. You need salt to strengthen the gluten to help the bread to rise, and give the bread a bit of taste.

My favourite tip also for anyone thinking of buying a breadmaker is to buy the best breadknife you can afford. It makes slicing even the worst loaves so much easier.

sparrer

Waggle_Dancer wrote: »

I would say your problem is the LoSalt. It doesn't have enough sodium in it. You need salt to strengthen the gluten to help the bread to rise, and give the bread a bit of taste.

My favourite tip also for anyone thinking of buying a breadmaker is to buy the best breadknife you can afford. It makes slicing even the worst loaves so much easier.

Thank you WG , what you say about salt makes sense now. Funny you should mention the knife, I bought a new bread knife just recently but swear it isn't as good as the old one I gave my friends daughter when she moved into her first home. Will go on a salt and knife hunt tomorrow

shazspice

Hi just wondering if anyone can help me, I've just found some yeast and bread flour that went out of date june 09. Does anyone know if it's still ok to use?

Thanks

hansi

If it's sealed and been kept dry, should be ok. These dates are a bit of a con!:rolleyes:

bbruce

That's hardly out of date when you consider how far ahead the dates are on fresh ones. They're almost certainly OK.
Maybe use 50% more yeast to get it to rise in the same time or unplug and replug within 10 mins to extend the proving time.

jb5

cooking-mama wrote: »

Firstly the noise when kneading!,its so noisy that i darent put it on timer in case it woke everyone at 5am this morning(or worse still,in case it bounced of the worktop

The only time my BM made a HUGE noise and hopped around was whilst making up HALF a bread mix.
i.e. The volume of ingredients was small, and during kneading, the dough was flipped around the inside of the pan rather than kneaded. Could this explain your symptom also?