I just bought my first breadmaker!! A question....

mini

I don't know but I'd like to! I got email to say my breadmaker is on it's way, stay in tomorrow for delivery or go shopping for ingredients, decisions, decisions ...

ALIBOBSY

Self raising flour has baking powder in it, so I don't know how that would react with the yeast as well. The reason bread flour is used for yeast cookery is the higher gluten content with make the dough more stretchy. I believe you can use normal plain flour but the bread may not raise as much. When I tried it in my bread maker we got a heavy lump lol.

ali x

SailorSam

I mostly use butter but have used oil and it's been ok.
I don't think the book tells you how much oil, so i just do a few glugs.

ClaireLR

Well the maker is on "rest" setting now so I just took a peek..........there is a huge "splodge" at the bottom of the pan which doesn't even slightly resemble dough at this point.

Ah well, if we don't do these experiments we never will know will we :rotfl: I'll let you know about the finished result, it's not looking good though!

sooty&sweep

Hi

I'd be interested to hear how self raising flour works out.

I've always been told that you need to use strong bread flour. I think it has more gluten.

Let us know how it turns out.

Jen

ClaireLR

Well the verdict is that it does indeed work with SR flour!

When it was kneading/resting the dough I was a bit worried, the "dough" didn't look like dough, it was quite sticky and watery looking. I left it to cook and it's rose perfectly, I would say the texture is slightly heavier than when made with bread flour but it's bread nonetheless and it tastes exactly the same

foxgloves

Normal self-raising or plain flour won't work (or it shouldn't) as it doesn't have sufficient gluten in it to raise the bread properly. That's why you need the strong bread flour, which is always labelled as such. You can use ordinary baking flours to make things like soda bread, etc, where the raising agent is sodium bicarbonate or baking powder but they are generally a no no with normal breadmaking. My partner accidentally used ordinary flour in the breadmaker once and it produced a sort of flat concrete slab....took the birds ages to eat it and I reckon they must still have the bruised beaks 8 years on!

Austin_Allegro

I've used ordinary flour in a breadmaker, in a ratio of 1:2 with breadmaking flour, and it's worked out fine. I also do not use the powdered milk and sugar that the machine's recipe book says to use, and have had no problems.

Io07

Hello! new to this board;but u've inspired me to buy my first breadmaker!!
I've bought the panasonic with the nut dispenser:j and am itching to try it out...
A few questions:
What is "strong" flour?? I have a bag of wholemeal flour I'd bought from an Asian store...is it the same?
Where do I buy yeast?
Any particular brands for either that people can suggest?

thanks!