Milk powder in breadmaker

JoeyEmma

I've had a look through the indexed threads about BM and not found my answer, so here goes.

Why do I have to put milk powder into the BM? Whenever I've made bread by hand I've never used it, however all the recipes for making bread in a BM include milk powder.

I've just got my first BM (a second hand one from ebay) and have my first loaf (complete with milk powder) on at the moment!

tipsychick

I got my BM about six months ago and duly bought milk powder, although I couldn't see the point either.

Anyway when I finished the jar, I didn't bother replacing it and the bread seems exactly the same without it!

JoeyEmma

Like a fool I rushed out and bought some.

Also, I have some fresh yeast. The manual says you can only use easy whatever its called yeast as you need to add it on top of the flour so it doesn't get wet. I'm sure that I must be able to use fresh yeast. Do I add it to the water that goes in the bottom of the pan?

Bossyboots

The idea behind milk powder is that it is safer to use in timer mode when fresh milk might turn sour, particularly in the current weather we have.

gemmaj

"Milk also plays an important role in bread. Like with the fat it improves texture, flavor and it helps keep the bread fresh a little longer. I usually use dry milk powder or dry buttermilk powder; these can be found in the dry and canned milk area of your supermarket. I like the powdered best, but you can also use fresh milk and buttermilk. It doesn’t matter what milk you use non-fat, 1%, 2% or whole milk all work the same. The reason I like the dry milk is that it is easy to work with, you can use it on the timer without having to worry about spoilage and it doesn’t get old very fast.

TIP: If a recipe calls for dry milk and you want to use fresh milk, substitute some of the liquid in the recipe with milk and forget the dry milk. For example if the recipe calls for 1 cup of water and 2 tbsp. of dry milk then use 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup water and leave out the dry milk. You could also use all milk or less than 1/2 cup. Just make sure you keep the amount of liquid to what is required.

For those of you that can’t have milk you can use soymilk, rice milk, etc. use it 1:1."

Stolen from http://www.breadmachinedigest.com/beginners/the_ingredients.html

Swan_2

I find that bread with milk of any kind in it (hand-made or in a BM) makes much nicer toast

there is a scientific explanation, but I can't remember it maybe someone else will know?

thriftmonster

I have to admit I never use it no matter what the recipe - and bread lasting long enough to stay fresh is not a problem in this house

culpepper

yes add your fresh yeast to the lukewarm water before adding the dry ingredients. You cant leave it on the over night timer as the yeast will begin to work immedaitely but you can use it at once.
I now make mine with just water,frsh yeast,flour and a small pinch of salt,ommiting fat,sugar and milk completely.It seems to rise better.
I use 1/6th of an ounce of yeast per 2lb loaf.

thriftlady_2

In my experience BM recipe books give recipes for bread that is like those soft spongy plastic-wrapped loaves.Milk powder helps acheive this kind of loaf.

This is fine if that's the kind of bread you're after-I sometimes use milk in a soft roll recipe.If you like dense,chewy bread with character and flavour then leave out the milk powder;)

JoeyEmma

Just cut into my first loaf and it tasted yummy. Had the crust with a bit of butter on it.

The loaf has sunk a bit at the top. I think its my own fault as I added a whole sachet of yeast. The recipe said you needed 4g of yeast and each sachet is 6g, so I think I added a bit too much causing it to collapse.

Oh well, practice makes perfect.

Swan_2

thriftlady wrote:

In my experience BM recipe books give recipes for bread that is like those soft spongy plastic-wrapped loaves.Milk powder helps acheive this kind of loaf

now that's really interesting thriftlady, I wondered why some of the bread from the machine was like that, I've only had it for a few months (donated by a friend who never used it) & am still finding my feet

I just assumed milk would have the same effect as it did on my hand-made bread, i.e. the better toasting qualities I mentioned above. I think I'll try giving the milk a miss in my next BM loaf & see how it turns out