Hole in the middle of loaf-breadmaker question/Panasonic SD254

hollydays

Read the threads on breadmakers in the past.Think i remembered reading that some breadmakers leave you with a sizeable hole in the middle of the loaf-but some dont.

OH has just spotted the Panasonic SD254 offer on hotukdeals-£39.99,(half price)and I am tempted,but is this one of the ones that are "holey"? If not I may treat us to one...

Whitefiver

I would imagine that the new Panasonic will indeed have a paddle that remains in the loaf - however I would not let that put you off. The Amazon deal is absolutely stunning if you don't need the raisin dispenser.

I have the previous model, and in the 3 years that I have had it, the paddle has only twice been left in the bread. It does have a very good non-stick coating, and whilst I would not describe it as a hole, it is true that there is a "slot" left when the paddle comes out. We have not had any problem with this, even for sandwiches.

I did have a much cheaper machine before, and I usually had to dig the paddle out after turning the loaf out - then I guess you could say that there was a hole. :rolleyes:

Best wishes,

Regards,

White.

hollydays

So having the raisin dispensor adds a lot more to the price does it?(dont know how much)

Whitefiver

hollydays wrote: »

So having the raisin dispensor adds a lot more to the price does it?(dont know how much)

Current Amazon price is just shy of £100. Depends how much it is worth to you. If you wish to add raisins, then you will have to listen to a beep which will tell you when you need to make the additions.If you put them in at the start, the raisins will get mashed.

I tend to use seed mix, which would probably survive, but then I have a dispenser.

Hope that helps,

Regards,

White.

Farway

hollydays wrote: »

So having the raisin dispensor adds a lot more to the price does it?(dont know how much)

Yes, but I would not worry too much about not having a dispenser, unless you always eat raisin or nut bread. I think most folk make bog standard and rarely use the dispenser

The ordinary one will make raisin type bread, just that you have to bung in the nuts / raisins / seeds when it beeps instead of machine automatically doing it

As other poster said, the Panasonic does leave a slot, but as they said, and I concur, I have never found it to be a problem. The cheaoer [non Panny] machines IME do tend to leave the paddle in which has to be dug out, Panny just slides out

hollydays

ok , Ithink i cant justify paying the extra £60 for raisins,so i will go with the £39.99 (I think it comes highly rated) .Thanks for all your help.OH is "Just buy it ,its cheap",but I am "No,I have to make sure its the right thing"-it drives him mad!

ka7e

If you have the time, you can work out when the last "knock-back" movement is made by the paddle. Then you can remove it without spoiling the dough and it goes on to cook normally.

sillyvixen

the hole in the middle is a issue with bread machines as there has to be some compansation for a machine that mixes and bakes the bread. the hole is from the mixing device. my mum has a bread machine and it is not a problem with sandwiches as long as you use slices next to each other (yeah may be a funny shape but you get all sorts of shapes with a shop loaf) i have a friend who has a problem with the hole and she uses machine to mix and prove the bread and then bakes in the oven in loaf tins or makes into rolls.

thriftlady_2

I have a problem with the hole too:) It annoyed me so much (that, and the fact that the bread wouldn't come out of the tin) that I gave the breadmaker away and began baking by hand. I've never looked back -I make 4 loaves at a time and freeze them. They take about 3 and a half hours from start to finish. Only 10 mins is actual hands-on time. I've got more room on my worktop too.

Here's my recipe (adapted from Delia)
This makes one 2lb loaf, but I triple the recipe and divide it between 4 2lb tins to make slightly smaller loaves -they go further.

1 1/2 lb white bread flour(or 1 lb white and 1/2 lb wholemeal or all granary flour)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp easy-blend yeast(the kind recommended for bms)
3/4 pint(15 fl oz)
hand-hot water

Put all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Stir in the water, bring it all together and turn out on a floured board.
Knead for about 3-4 mins. You may need extra flour if it is too sticky. It will start to feel smooth and 'alive'.To knead, push the bread dough away from you, then fold it back on top of itself, turning it on the board (sorry-much easier to demonstrate than describe).

Put the dough back in the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave for about 2 hours. You don't have to put it anywhere warm unless you want it to rise quickly.

After 2 hours it will have doubled in size. Punch it down to knock all the air out of it. Give it a few kneads, form it into a rough loaf shape and put it in a greased 2 lb loaf tin. If you haven't got a tin, shape into a round or oval loaf and place on a greased baking tray.

Leave to prove for about 30 mins or until the bread rises above the tin, then bake at 230c for about 40 mins. When the loaf is cooked the bottom should sound hollow when tapped with your knuckles.

You can roll the dough out for pizza (no need for second rise), or scatter cheese,ham, or chocolate over and roll up like a swiss roll and bake. You can pull off small chunks of dough, roll very thin and bake on the oven bars for a few mins and you've got flatbreads.

It's really versatile and easy, I could never go back to bought bread now, nor would my family let me. HTH

JoeyEmma

hollydays wrote: »

ok , Ithink i cant justify paying the extra £60 for raisins,so i will go with the £39.99 (I think it comes highly rated) .Thanks for all your help.OH is "Just buy it ,its cheap",but I am "No,I have to make sure its the right thing"-it drives him mad!

That's the exact rationale that I had. £60 extra for it to automatically but your seeds in, is just too much money. I've driven OH mad wanting one and when I saw the amazon offer he just shouted at me to buy it!

sillyvixen

60.00 pounds just to add seeds, yeah whatever, i have two perfectly working hands that would enable me to lift the lid on a bread maker and sprinkle seedsfor free!!