Breadmaking - recipes, hints, tips, questions

squeaky

little_lil wrote:

had my first complete disaster yesterday, made wholemeal bread using part white flour and then put through the dough cycle and then the wholemeal one. But it didn't rise at all.

Of course it is highly likely that i didn't measure the ingredients correctly but before i attempt this again and waste another set of ingredients can someone please confirm that you put the machine on the dough cycle and let it run completely and then the wholemeal cycle. Do you leave any time between the two?

Sorry to be such a dimwit but i really have no clue when it comes to breadmaking as it is all so new to me.

Hi, I'm sorry I missed this post earlier.

Yes, it was me who suggested that if you have a problem with wholewheat bread not rising enough in the normal wholewheat program you should use your breadmaker slightly differently.

To start with, it's a good idea not to use all wholewheat but perhaps a 50/50 mix (or even mostly white) of strong white and wholewheat.

Then, instead of using a full program you can either:-

a) Set it to make dough. Then wait for an hour or so before then starting the machine again straight into its normal wholewheat program.

b) Set it to make dough. Set the kitchen timer for an hour and see how much it has risen. If it's moving well but not full in the pan keep setting your timer for 15 min intervals until the dough has risen enough. Then set the machine into the bake cycle.

Note: I know it sounds like a faff about but bread can sometimes really get going once it has started - so after you've done this routine for a loaf or two you can feel confident about setting the timer closer to the expected rise time for your bread.

HTH

exlibris

I had a success with wholemeal bread today!!

I have an old (new to me) Morphy Richard machine which measures in cups. I used 2 cups white and 1 cup wholemeal flour but still cooked it on the wholemeal setting. It didn't rise evenly but the loaf wasn't heavy in any part of it . Success!

blue-kat

any tips for making wheat-free bread in the BM?

thanks
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blue-kat

squeaky

There are a couple of tips on Delia's site. To see them Click Here

gemmaj

I must admit that I haven't managed to read every post in this thread yet, but I'm working on it!

While I'm reading, can anyone explain why.....

I have had my breadmaker years, and never had a really good loaf of bread out of it. Edible, but not right. I tried just about everything I could think of (although this was before I found this board!!). Now I had given up and put a Morphy Richards on my wedding list! Last night I put a loaf on a bit late so used the fast bake for the first time. Also, being a little sleepy, I slipped when putting in the margarine and put in rather a lot!!

But the loaf came out perfect!! Like the expensive fresh baked stuff you buy!!

Any ideas why? Do you think its the fast bake setting, extra margarine or possibly the weather (its very humid!)

Can't wait to bake another loaf, except after all these years of bad bread I'll be heart broken if its a one off success!!

squeaky

Any combination of all of those!

But at least the fastbake and the extra marge are things you can duplicate. Lets hope these are enough to make things work again.

I never use the ordinary bread setting on my machine any more. By swapping just 50g of flour for wholewheat I can get a full size very light loaf using the wholewheat cooking setting. For actual whole wheat I make on dough, wait for however long it takes to rise, then bake it.

Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Let us know if it works!

blue-kat

Hi Gemmaj
sorry to hear you've not had great success with your BM.
I've got a Morphy Richards BM and had very high success rate, would defiantely recommend it.

I use sunflower oil instead of marg - something to try?
good luck replicating your perfect loaf!
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blue-kat

foreverskint

o.k I've succumbed, from reading all the lovely things on this thread, and tinight I have won a new breadmaker on e-bay, a morphy richards one, I know it's not the panasonic one so recommended, but my finances cant stretch that far.

I usually make my own bread using my mixer with the dough hooks attatched, but i have fallen for the idea of waking up to freshly cooked bread in the morning.
So thanks every one thats another £20.00 spent:p
Now I've got to hunt through for all the lovely ideas, can't wait to try them, come on Mrs Postie:j

penrith

I am thinking about buying a breadmaker so i'd like so recommendations about which is the best to get. I want to use it every other day to make a loaf and i wouldn't mind it to make dough for pizza bases, brioche/croissant bread and jam (if poss). I'm not so bothered about the cost of the breadmaker, I'm more bothered about it producing decent reliable loaves that taste great, preferably one that wil produce decent loaves when using cheap normal flour rather than buying the more expensive strong bread flour.

Can anyone give me an idea of which breadmakers they find reliable or ones i should avoid like the plague?

Thanks

squeaky

We have quite a long breadmaking thread which includes comments and advice on breadmakers, so I'm going to merge your question with that thread. Beacause the posts will be listed in date order - all the things you want to know will be above your post.