dodgy breadmaker? bread sponge like and sunken

foreign_correspondent

Hello folks, well I have got the recipe recommended by gunsandbanjos in the bread maker now (great username btw!).
Here is hoping it works!! I am still dubious about the machine though :-)

pigpen

less water!! I find it sinks if there is too much water in the mix

squeaky

foreign_correspondent wrote: »

thanks for the good advice - and, yes you guessed right - I have lost the manual! It is a russell hobbs 4462, and I have already hda quick look online, but with no sucess. If anyone has the basic white bread recipe from this manual I would be very grateful,
thanks
fc x

You could try asking Russel Hobbs customer services...

http://www.buyspares.co.uk/cgi-bin/contact.pl?content=cust_services

They don't list the manual as a spare part - but you never know your luck.

foreign_correspondent

Just found out it was the bl00dy machine and not me!! :j

I had a sneaking suspicion it was not getting hot enough quick enough or something as all recipes were failing... so I decided to post on freecycle and was gifted one by a kind chap today whoo didnt use his - bunged in the same recipe as last time (the one linked to by gunsandbanjos) and it has come out luvverly!:p

He he he brilliant, isnt freecycle fab!? I will be the size of a house now I can bake my own bread at home! :eek: Thanks for all the advice and recipes folks, you are all very kind, as always,:beer:

fc x

gunsandbanjos

Glad you got it sorted:D I have recently started just making my dough in the breadmaker and bunging it in the oven to cook. Great results, do let it cook in the BM when i'm short on time though.

TomsMom

I've just dusted off my Hinari Homebaker HB164 and the two loaves I've made so far have both had a sunken top.

I've followed the recipe to the letter apart from not putting in quite as much salt as it says, I've only got a salt mill so couldn't properly measure out the one and a half teaspoons but that seemed a lot anyway. All my ingredients are fresh as only bought last week and well in date.

I wanted to make a wholemeal loaf and the only recipe was for a 50/50 wholemeal flour/brown flour. I couldn't get the brown flour so the first loaf I made 50/50 wholemeal/white and the second 75/25 wholemeal/white.

I did actually tip the dough out after 2 hours (programme is 4hr 15min) to remove the paddle as I remember from when I used to use it previously the large hole made by the paddle, but replaced it immediately.

Anyone got any ideas why the top should sink?

savingforoz

Hi, Tomsmum. Salt inhibits the action of yeast, so if there's less salt than there should be, the bread can rise too much and then the top will sink down.

Also, I found this happended to me when I bought Sainsburys yeast rather than Hovis. Sainsburys appears to have added flour enhancers that will help the bread rise, so for my machine I'd need to decrease the yeast somewhat to get the same result as I did with Hovis.

So, either make sure the salt is as per the recipe or try reducing the yeast by 1/4 teaspoon.

TomsMom

Thanks Savingforoz, I'll try that next time. The yeast I am using is the Tesco in little packets. I can't remember what I used when I last made bread, but it was more likely to be a named one like Allinson or something.

twinkle_star_2

It can also be a case of slightly too much water - lots of steam from can cause the top of the loaf to sink back down after it has been cooked. Try decreasing the water by 10ml or so. Worked for me!:D

TomsMom

Thanks twinklestar, I'll try that as well.

Actually, the bread didn't taste all that nice . From what I remember when I used to use it before the bread was always very nice. I know I've used a different make of flour and yeast this time so I'll have to go back to the old brand, probably Allinson, to see if it makes a difference.

The flour I used was Tesco stoneground wholemeal and Marriage's Canadian white. OH didn't like the taste either and he not normally fussy.