bread makers

postingalwaysposting

i have only just realised that what i eat affects my attitude/frame of mind etc etc so i am starting to cook from scratch (including all the 'normal' things) now the first thing i am going to change is my bread as 99% of what i eat is bread/sandwichs. There are a few things i want to ask about bread machines before i buy one i will only be getting a cheap one - £20 anyway

1) does the bread last 'long' enough when baked in the machines?
2) what do you need to make a simple white loaf?
3) is it simple to bake using one of these?

thanks in advance

Pink.

Hi postingalwaysposting,

Have a look in the The Complete Breadmaking Collection where you should find lots of threads to help you.

Pink

postingalwaysposting

thanks pink, i did search the forums and now i have change my mind and will be buying a dearer one

mattogier

postingalwaysposting wrote:

There are a few things i want to ask about bread machines before i buy one i will only be getting a cheap one - £20 anyway

Before you do buy a breadmachine...

I have never found that a breadmachine gives a decent loaf - the texture just is not right somehow and many the shape is pants for a good doorstop sandwich.

Consider getting a Kenwood Chef or equivalent. The Chef comes with a dough hook to knead the bread and then you can bake the bread in the oven as a loaf, rolls, plait, brioche, foccacia, pitta etc.

Also you make FANTASTIC pizza bases and get them cooked and on the table in 30mins or less - much nice and better than shop brought or delivered.

The chef also has many avaliable attachments - make your own pasta, cream, ice cream, sausages etc...

If you really want to BE WHAT YOU EAT then I would make this your first choice.

Cheers

Matt

newmoney_3

Be careful with Breadmaker! A lot of people buy them and rarely use them.

We have found that the Bread does taste much nicer when made at home while it is still hot, but do not enjoy it so much when it has cooled down or when it is a day or two old.

Also it is quite a lot more hassle to make your own compared to buying it.

I would try ebay or something like that to see who is selling them before you buy, as I would guess that you can get a decent bargain there.

recovering_spendaholic

mattogier wrote:

Before you do buy a breadmachine...

I have never found that a breadmachine gives a decent loaf - the texture just is not right somehow and many the shape is pants for a good doorstop sandwich.

Consider getting a Kenwood Chef or equivalent. The Chef comes with a dough hook to knead the bread and then you can bake the bread in the oven as a loaf, rolls, plait, brioche, foccacia, pitta etc.

Also you make FANTASTIC pizza bases and get them cooked and on the table in 30mins or less - much nice and better than shop brought or delivered.

The chef also has many avaliable attachments - make your own pasta, cream, ice cream, sausages etc...

If you really want to BE WHAT YOU EAT then I would make this your first choice.

Cheers

Matt

Don't you have to do any kneading at all with a chef then? Does a Kitchenaid do the same thing? Also do you have to buy extras to make dough or does the dough hook come as standard?

Talitha

I love my breadmaker! It's a Panasonic SD253 and wasn't cheap, however, the results are great even with wholemeal bread which many breadmakers are supposed to be naff at.
It is very simple to use (much easier than popping out to stock up!) and makes great pizza base too. As for the bread not being so nice on the second day I think this is just as true of the bread you buy from supermarket bakeries and you can easily freshen it up with a few minutes in a warm oven.

mattogier

[quote=

postingalwaysposting

]i have only just realised that what i eat affects my attitude/frame of mind etc etc

2) what do you need to make a simple white loaf?[/quote]
Use STRONG bread flour and also put a %age of stone ground wholemeal flour (10% to 50% depending on taste and kids!!) you can also add in pumpkin seeds and sunflower kernels for taste and texture.

I use malt extract and honey

instead of sugar, olive oil if you want a
mediterranean style bread and usually half to a
quarter the salt in a recipe.

If cooking in the oven you can either cook fast and hot or slow and "cool" depending on the style of bread you want and how much crust. Put a clean tea towel over the cooked loaf whilst cooling to trap steam and soften the crust.

You can tell it's cooked if it sound hollow when tapped on the base.

A simple starter dough...

1kg strong flower
1pt warm water
1 tbs sugar / honey
1 tbs dried yeast (I use the small orange can of yeast)

Mix water, sugar & yeast - mix well and wait for the yeast to start foaming. Knead into the flour and knead until stretchy.

Job done

My fav is to take the above, divide into two, make two pizza bases from one half (on approx 300 x 400 shallow tray) with toppings of choice - but not too much.

Take the other half and roll out onto same size tray then poke a jar of pesto into it, add olives, feta and Parmesan, leave to rise and then bake very hot for 7 to 10

mins - brilliant

!!!

Cheers

Matt

Josie_Jump_3

I'm with Talitha - the Panasonice SD253 is the way to go. I purchased mine four months ago and have not bought a shop loaf ever since.

mattogier

recovering_spendaholic wrote:

Don't you have to do any kneading at all with a chef then? Does a Kitchenaid do the same thing? Also do you have to buy extras to make dough or does the dough hook come as standard?

The Kenwood Chef (and it's older brother the Major) generally comes with K beater, whisk and dough hook. Mine also came with the mincer which includes the sausage maker and kebe maker.

I went for the Major as it was bigger than the chef and Kitchen Aid and although not as stylish as the kitchen aid has more and more avaliable attachments - I have bought on eBay...

Bean & Peel Slicer (Made 50lbs great Marmalade in Jan)
Cream Maker (Butter & Milk recombined to cream)
Ice Cream Maker
High SPeed Shredder & SLicer
Juice Extractor
Pasta Press

All for under £10 each.

Cheers

postingalwaysposting

well all after spending a long time ready through all the threads (thanks squeaky) i finally purchased a mr fastbake its on at the mo doing a fast bake loaf i will see what it turns out like, but reading the manual i think its going to be a bit of 'hit and miss' but never mind we will see