problems with wholewheat bread in the Panny

minimooch

I've been using a breadmaker for about 5-7 years, and my beloved panny for the last year or so. Up till very recently I've had brilliant results, but the last few weeks I cannot make a wholewheat loaf that works at all. White loaves, no problem!

I use the 50% wholewheat recipe in the panny book as I have always done. Flour and yeast all well in date. I'm using tesco wholewheat flour as i have done previously, but I wondered if that might be the problem. I know that a few months back people were having trouble with certain white bread flour, something to do with a bad harvest because of wet weather.

Is anyone else having problems?

morganlefay

I make that recipe in my Panny all the time, and lately I made two loaves which half rose and then stopped, so I had loaves which looked fine for 3/4 of their height, and then had tops which looked like a collapsed little roof. Is it something to do with the protein content of the flour ? I usually use Waitroses Canadian flour and I think the 2 loaves where this happened were a flour I got from Mr T, so I suspect you're right and it's something to do with the flour being different. Sorry I'm no help, but I have now gone back to Mr Waitrose's flour and all is well now.

Mrs_Flittersnoop

You could try crushing a vitamin C tablet and adding it to the flour too. I did that a few weeks ago when my white loaves turned out like bricks and it made all the difference. (and it was Waitrose flour, though not the Canadian one). You can get the tablets from most supermarket and chemists.

HTH
Mrs F x

trying-very-trying

Could you please explain about these vitC tablets. I did try to look for these in Tesco and asda, because I had read about them on this board. I could only find soluble or flavoured ones.

minimooch

morganlefay wrote: »

I make that recipe in my Panny all the time, and lately I made two loaves which half rose and then stopped, so I had loaves which looked fine for 3/4 of their height, and then had tops which looked like a collapsed little roof.

thats exactly how mine are turning out at the mo. never had any problem before.

Mrs FS - will try the vit C idea, have heard the idea mentioned before, but hadn't thought of it. what size should I use, we tend to have those great big fzzy ones, is that overkill do you think? would be nice not to ditch the flour from Mr T

Jazzy_B

I've had problems in the last couple of weeks with Asda and Tesco flours. Lidl flour is still very good.

Ishtar

Not sure what programme the recipe requires, but have you tried doing a 50/50 loaf on the White bread programme? I use this all the time....never been able to get a wholemeal loaf to rise otherwise. You can tweak the quantities to get a more wholemeal loaf, but it does reach the point where it fails (well, it does for me anyway )

D.

Pitlanepiglet

I use the 50/50 programme and have had no problems until I posted on the Panny tips thread about the thing being foolproof :rotfl:

Since then I've tried to teach hubby to use the BM AND the shiny new scales seem to be on the blink when it comes to weighing the water (it's easier than measuring it) so we've had one loaf with much too much water which was really doughy (and got made into bread and butter pudding) and one that was a bit short as it had too little water.

I use Doves Farm Organic wholemeal (on special in Asda) and then Asda ordinary strong white and it's OK.

belfastgirl23

I did wonder about the vit c one too - have heard it referred to before now but no idea what it does - can anyone explain? And how do you add it? Dissolve? Grind?

mummygems

I would be interested in this too as I have NEVER managed a decent wholewheat loaf from my panny, its usually like a brick or if its half decent its heavy.

just_mini_mad

I've been having exactly the same problem with my panny. I use tesco's flour too. My white bread is fine but the 50/50 just isn't rising as it used to.
Kate