Could an experienced breakmaker-user help me...

Newgirl_2

Hi all. I have trawled through any threads I can find about breadmaking and am baffled and confused. Can someone give me some direction and easy recipes to help me make use of my breadmaker.

We tried using it when we first got it and things are very hit and miss. I wondered...,

1. What do you think of bread mixes, at least to get some use of the blasted thing until we find a recipe we like!

2. Has anyone got a reliable recipe for a) a white load
b) a wholemeal loaf
c) bread rolls


If I can start with these, I'll get a feel for the temperament of our machine and then I can start playing. The only thing my OH has made with any repeatable success is a fruit loaf but I can only eat so many of those! :eek:

Thanks if anyone can help

Newgirl

odds-n-sods

Bread in teh bread machine tends ot be temperamental in my experience - if it is a humid day , the dough could end up too wet, or on a dry day, too dry, and as you arent kneading it by hand its harder to adjust the recipe. What machine do you have??

One recipe we use that comes out most of the time is:

4 tbsp veg ioil
4 tbsp dried skim milk powder
2 tbsp sugae
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
4 cups granary flour
1 1/2 tsp fast acting yeast

put it all in the machine, either wet first or dry depending on your machine, and on a 3 hour white bread program. Light crust. Our machine came with a 1 cup measure; if you dont have one, this recipe wont work.

dannahaz

Hi Newgirl

What make and mdel of BM are you using? Reason I ask is that some models require yeast first, others don't, and different BMs have differennt quirks. If you don't have your machine's instruction book someone will be able to find a copy on the internet for you.

What sort of yeast are you using? Manufacturers tend to recommend that you DON'T use fresh yeast in a BM, although I know some people use it successfully. You need to use an easy blend (fast acting) dried yeast.

Many people successfully make bread with just yeast, strong flour, salt and water. Personally I like to add milk powder, butter (or oil) and sugar, as this improves the texture and the keeping quality.

Here is the recipe I use for 500g of flour:

1 teaspoon fast acting yeast, I put this in first
500g strong white flour (make sure this covers the yeast completely, you don't want the yeast to get wet too soon)
1 tablespoon butter (or 15ml oil)
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 tablespoons milk powder
350 ml water.

If you are using a breadmix then make sure you get one which says it is suitable for a breadmaker. Mixes are usually extremely vigorous, and don't always work well in some of the cheaper BMs.

Hope that helps

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

300ml warm water...or part water part milk
1oz butter
500g strong white flour
1.5tsp dried yeast
1tbs salt

just wang them in the pan in the order above...put the salt in one corner and the yeast in the other

This one never fails for me -although i take the dough out and bake it in the oven.... gas 7 if your interested

squeaky

Hiya,

To be honest, it's usually a good idea to make a few loaves following the book instructions exactly a few times to get used to the quirks of your machine.

For most machines you need to be very precise about the quantities because breadmakers work on time and not the "feel" of the bread.

That said, there's a lovely thread on some gorgeous bread rolls (linked below) and in fact this recipe can be used simply to make a loaf in the breadmaker too. Don't use the recipe in the first post - it's too big for a breadmaker - but there's an adapted one further down the thread along with some tips.

Great Bread!

HTH

Miró

Never had much success with breadmixes in my Morphy Richards.:o

This is my bestest recipe/loaf yet! Rises like a dream, is soft yet satisfying and keeps well, (but not in our house wherre we eat doorstops:rolleyes: )

Peanut butter bread

water 1 1/8 cups
sugar, white or brown 1 tbsp
salt 1 tsp
peanut butter, crunchy or smooth 1/2 cup
white flour, usually just value, plain 2 1/2 cups
wholemeal or granary type flour 1 cup
dry yeast 1 1/2 tsp

setting 1...about 2 3/4 hrs total time



Edited to add....just made one!!

Whitefiver

Hi,

There are some very useful basic recipes for various BMs on the Carrs Breadmaker site.

Excellent flour too, by the way.

(I find the key is to measure things accurately - especially the flour and water.)

Hope that helps,

Regards,

White.

organic_wanabe

I use my Panasonic SD253 breadmaker to make the dough and then I form it into a couple of loaves which I bake next time the oven is on. I think it gives better - and more cut-able bread - than that which comes out of the breadmaker machine. I still wouldn't be without my BM even although I don't use it for the finished product. It's great that your dough is being made while you're getting on with something else.

On the very few occasions when I use a mix, I do the dough in the BM and then make it into rolls which I cook in the oven. DS and DH love the Sainsbury's cheese & onion mix.

thriftmonster

I would have to agree with Squeaky about using the instruction book exactly - if mine goes a bit funny, it's usually because I've been messing too much with quantities

Cullumpster

I get the sachets of sainsbuys yeast but when i make my bread it always turns out tasing too yeasty, can i only put in 1/2 a sachet?

squeaky

Er... ye-es, depending on the recipe.

Most of the recipes in my book have less than a full sachet's worth (2½ tsp) of yeast required.

Some only need one.

By and large I've found that you can use less than a sachet and get away with it. Especially if you first put the yeast into warm water with some of the sugar - even though active yeast says that you don't need to.

And using either potato water or vitamin C tablets helps as well.

If your plain loaf comes out a bit heavy after all this (if you've reduced the yeast too far) - one of the tricks is to use the wholewheat program even though it's plain flour. That's because these usually allow a longer rise time, so it can help your loaf.

Basically - it's a case of suck it and see

As you learn your limits either your collection of breadcrumbs will grow, or your recipe collection of bread and butter puddings will, or you'll have loads of very fat birds visiting regularly


Tip: As you work on changing and adapting recipes... only change one thing at a time - otherwise you'll never know just what it was that did the trick or made it go wrong.

HTH