Breadmaking - recipes, hints, tips, questions

bitemebankers

melm0 wrote: »

I bought some Allinson Dried Active Yeast in a little yellow can, however I have just noticed it says "Not recommended for use in bread makers" on the side. Has anyone ignored this and just used it anyway? I mean, yeast is yeast, right??

I'm afraid not. What you've got there is yeast for traditional baking and it needs to be activated before use, usually by mixing it with some warm milk and sugar and leaving it to ferment for a while in a warm place.

The yeast you need for your breadmaker is easy-blend yeast and normally comes in individual 7g sachets. This yeast incorporates enzymes and yeast nutrients so it can be added directly to the flour and other ingredients and will start working as soon as it comes into contact with moisture.

If you use the traditional Allinson stuff in a breadmaker, you'll get a small, dense loaf. It'll be edible, but not very exciting.

bitemebankers

madmary wrote: »

Ah good! The breadmaking thread. I have been trying for ages to make HM bread without a breadmaker (I have one but I really want to just make bread by "hand"). I can get a decent crust but the crust cooks before the insides. I have followed Paul Hollywood's recipe for a bloomer to the letter and watched him on the video, but I just can't make the bread come out right. This weekend it was OK but a bit dense, my best yet. I have lowered the temp in the oven but any lower and I would have to breath on the bread to make it cook.

What sort of flour are you using? Are you letting the bread rise and prove adequately before baking? Also, what oven temperature are you using?

melm0

bitemebankers wrote: »

I'm afraid not. What you've got there is yeast for traditional baking and it needs to be activated before use, usually by mixing it with some warm milk and sugar and leaving it to ferment for a while in a warm place.

The yeast you need for your breadmaker is easy-blend yeast and normally comes in individual 7g sachets. This yeast incorporates enzymes and yeast nutrients so it can be added directly to the flour and other ingredients and will start working as soon as it comes into contact with moisture.

If you use the traditional Allinson stuff in a breadmaker, you'll get a small, dense loaf. It'll be edible, but not very exciting.

Thanks for the reply

I bought the yeast initially to do handmade bread, but when looking for recipes I was lured by this thread to buy a bread maker!

Do you think if I activate it and use it in the liquid for the maker it might work? I hate waste but the yeast was only about 80p :rotfl:

Raksha

melm0 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply

I bought the yeast initially to do handmade bread, but when looking for recipes I was lured by this thread to buy a bread maker!

Do you think if I activate it and use it in the liquid for the maker it might work? I hate waste but the yeast was only about 80p :rotfl:

That's what I'd do.

melm0

I'll give it a bash and report back on the result Thanks

bitemebankers

melm0 wrote: »

Do you think if I activate it and use it in the liquid for the maker it might work? I hate waste but the yeast was only about 80p :rotfl:

It might work. Personally, I'd go and buy the right stuff for the job because you could well end up wasting other ingredients if you use it. Good flour isn't that cheap. And, of course, you can still use it for traditional baking.

Grouchy

madmary wrote: »

Ah good! The breadmaking thread. I have been trying for ages to make HM bread without a breadmaker (I have one but I really want to just make bread by "hand"). I can get a decent crust but the crust cooks before the insides. I have followed Paul Hollywood's recipe for a bloomer to the letter and watched him on the video, but I just can't make the bread come out right. This weekend it was OK but a bit dense, my best yet. I have lowered the temp in the oven but any lower and I would have to breath on the bread to make it cook.

Any tips?

Mary

I'd also be asking the same questions as bitemebankers just above. But also, I found that the Paul Hollywood recipe done exactly as he demonstrated on the TV needed adjusting. He uses cold water, but if you are making bread all in one morning it just makes proving longer and more difficult to achieve properly. Use the usual warm water recipe (think it is 100ml boiled water, then add 200-220mil cold water, which makes the correct temperature). I do mine on gas mark 6. I'd guess if you are getting a good crust but the inside is not properly cooked is that a) the dough is not proved enough b) the oven temp is wrong, c) in too high a shelf in the oven? Look forward to hearing how you get on.

Cheers

melm0

bitemebankers wrote: »

It might work. Personally, I'd go and buy the right stuff for the job because you could well end up wasting other ingredients if you use it. Good flour isn't that cheap. And, of course, you can still use it for traditional baking.

I've given it a shot just for the sake of it. Whilst I get used to the machine I think a few loaves will be trial and error.
Thanks for the help

madmary_2

Grouchy wrote: »

I'd also be asking the same questions as bitemebankers just above. But also, I found that the Paul Hollywood recipe done exactly as he demonstrated on the TV needed adjusting. He uses cold water, but if you are making bread all in one morning it just makes proving longer and more difficult to achieve properly. Use the usual warm water recipe (think it is 100ml boiled water, then add 200-220mil cold water, which makes the correct temperature). I do mine on gas mark 6. I'd guess if you are getting a good crust but the inside is not properly cooked is that a) the dough is not proved enough b) the oven temp is wrong, c) in too high a shelf in the oven? Look forward to hearing how you get on.

Cheers

I proved the bread for at least two hours each time. The dough rose magnificently. I have an electric cooker and if I put it on the temperature that PH suggests the crust just burns. I adjusted it down a bit, but if I turn it down too much I rather think it would take a week to cook. The oven is quite small but I don't have it on high shelf. I think the problem is my oven.

I was wondering if I made two small loaves rather than one big one if this might do the trick.

The water temperature was body temperature.

Mary

sonastin

madmary wrote: »

if I put it on the temperature that PH suggests the crust just burns

I have the same problem. My best effort yet involved initially having the oven higher (230) for a much shorter period (I can't remember if it was 10 or 15 minutes) and then down to 200 for the rest of his whole cooking time (I think its about 45min in total from memory - haven't got the recipe to hand). The crust around the top was still measurably thick but at least it wasn't black and there was some signs of a crust forming across the bottom on that attempt.