I am in love with my Panasonic breadmaker

jj171

Thanks ubamother

kevinbarry

I too have problems, this time with my new Panasonic bread maker. I have used an older model, the SD 253, for some years, very successfully and loved it. I recently bought the new model, SD 255 and so far have not had a decent loaf out of the 5 or 6 I’ve made. For the first couple of goes I glanced over the new recipes and noticed that the wholemeal one used less water than previously as well as more yeast. I followed the new recipe (I thought) and the loaf was poor, looking as if it had collapsed, kind of brick-shaped rather than with a nice dome - i.e. it had not risen as much as it should, and it also possessed that bumpy irregular surface typical of a collapsed loaf.

So I reread the recipe more carefully and found that I had made a mistake. I had automatically assumed that sugar was still a tablespoonful but it had in fact been reduced to a teaspoonful and I’d put in a tablespoonful! I guess to my poor eyes a “tsp” and a “tbsp” look similar, and I saw what I expected to find.
So I made two more attempts but this time with only a teaspoonful of sugar and the result is worse: the loaf has just not risen enough at all. I leafed through the book and virtually every recipe uses one teaspoonful of sugar to one teaspoonful of salt, for medium sized loaves. This seems most peculiar to me – I’ve always had more sugar than salt in recipes. I believe that salt inhibits the yeast and sugar feeds it, so the relationship between the two must be crucial.

In summary, the length of time for the loaf has not changed at all, but in the new recipe book we have less water, much less sugar, and more yeast to try to make an identical loaf.

Here are the old and new recipes for a medium 100% rapid wholemeal loaf. Does anyone think the new book of recipes could perhaps be misprinted and the “tsp” for sugar should maybe read “tbsp”? Or any other suggestions? My loaves at present are most tasty but solid.

Recipe from the book for the old SD253
Yeast 1 tsp
Strong wholemeal flour 400 g
Sugar 1tbsp
Butter 15 g
Milk powder 1 tbsp
Salt 1tsp
Vitamin C powder ¼ tsp
Water 300 ml

Recipe from the book for the new SD 255 (changes in bold)

Yeast 1¼ tsp
Strong wholemeal flour 400 g
Sugar 1tsp
Butter 15 g
Milk powder [not in recipe now]
Salt 1tsp
Vitamin C powder[not in recipe now]
Water 280 ml

squeaky

You ALSO need to start the yeast off.

Use some of the water that will later go in the BM and warm it up in a glass or cup. Add half of the sugar and then add your fresh yeast. Stir well. (I normally use an ice cube's worth, and yes you can store fresh yeast frozen in portions in an ice cube tray).

Wait until you've got a nice 0.5 to 1cm of froth on top, then add all your ingredients into the BM in the usual way. Not forgetting the remainder of the water and the remainder of the sugar.

JennyW_2

squeaky wrote: »

You ALSO need to start the yeast off.

Use some of the water that will later go in the BM and warm it up in a glass or cup. Add half of the sugar and then add your fresh yeast. Stir well. (I normally use an ice cube's worth, and yes you can store fresh yeast frozen in portions in an ice cube tray).

Wait until you've got a nice 0.5 to 1cm of froth on top, then add all your ingredients into the BM in the usual way. Not forgetting the remainder of the water and the remainder of the sugar.

thanks for this. Will give it a go

BigMummaF

Thankfully the novelty is wearing off & production has slowed to around three [xl] loaves every two days! And you're so right Kadeeae---it does slice much better after a couple of hours:p

I had a go with the supposed granary mix from Lidl & was disappointed with the lack of 'bits', but other than that the basic white has been very well received:DI put 25% milk >75% water & that gave a slightly 'heavier' bread & we've a sandwich waiting to be cut next.

I've had no trouble with the timer, other than working out what time I'll be getting up & when to finish the loaf..

deebee

Just discovered this site which has some great recipes....think I am gonna be busy with my Panny for a few weeks - enjoy:

http://www.wrightsflour.co.uk/en-GB/recipesearch.aspx

Andy_Hamilton

Increase the sugar from 1tsp to 1tbsp

I would not activate the yeast first as the panasonic sits for upto an hour just in the pan, this could allow the loaf to rise too much.

JennyW_2

BigMummaF wrote: »

I had a go with the supposed granary mix from Lidl & was disappointed with the lack of 'bits', but other than that the basic white has been very well received:DI put 25% milk >75% water & that gave a slightly 'heavier' bread & we've a sandwich waiting to be cut next.

I've had no trouble with the timer, other than working out what time I'll be getting up & when to finish the loaf..

Hovis do a nice granary mix, I've used it twice in my panny with great results - the booklet recommends the fast bake for ready mixes.

Alternatively I make a nice seeded wholemeal loaf adding walnuts/sunflower & pumpkin seeds.

I've only had my BM for a week and I've had great results each time - no duffers (as I had with the Tesco BM). Last night made a great fruit loaf (recipie from the booklet). Smelt lovely whilst it was baking (all those cinnammon and mixed spices) and turned out to be a great success

JennyW_2

deebee wrote: »

Just discovered this site which has some great recipes....think I am gonna be busy with my Panny for a few weeks - enjoy:

http://www.wrightsflour.co.uk/en-GB/recipesearch.aspx

will these recipies be OK for the Panny? I'm just worried that if the quantities aren't suitable for the machine, I wont get good results?

JennyW_2

Have made 2 now and they taste and look great, however they dont seem moist enough. Any ideas if there is anything i need to be doing or adding extra?

Also I don't have butter in the house, only Flora Light - is it ok to use this in the recipies?