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Breadmaking - recipes, hints, tips, questions

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  • kah22
    kah22 Posts: 1,833 Forumite
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    flutterbyuk25 wrote: »

    Does anyone know if it was the real butter that would make the loaf better, or could it be the flour?

    I don't normally have real butter in the house cos i'll eat it! But if it makes my bread this yummy then I guess I'll have to :p

    There is nothing to beat the taste of real butter, it puts a ;) on your face
  • flutterbyuk25
    flutterbyuk25 Posts: 7,009 Forumite
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    kah22 wrote: »
    There is nothing to beat the taste of real butter, it puts a ;) on your face

    Indeed, but sadly it also puts pounds on the hips :rotfl:

    x
    * Rainbow baby boy born 9th August 2016 *

    * Slimming World follower (I breastfeed so get 6 hex's!) *
  • andygb
    andygb Posts: 14,631 Forumite
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    If it is any consolation, I have been making bread for about three years now (No breadmaker, just use bowls, and knock out the dough by hand), and I recently stopped using olive oil or any type of fat (including butter) at all. This has not stopped the bread from rising, and it still tastes lovely.
    I do agree that using butter makes the bread taste great though.
    I use either Allinsons or Hovis Premium strong bread making flour, along with the sachets of Hovis instant yeast. I use 700g flour in a large bowl, 400ml warm water (2 tsp sugar dissolved in the water, then add the yeast and leave for a couple of minutes). Mix in 1 tsp salt to the flour, and then add the yeast/water/sugar mix. Lightly dust a clean worktop with flour, and then with a fork stir the ingredients in the bowl until they come together, then empty out on the work surface, and knead until pliable. The texture of the dough, should be stretchy, and just a touch sticky, because if it feels too dry, then the bread can turn out heavy and dense. After kneading and stretching for a good ten minutes (good aerobic exercise this), I put the ball of dough into a large lightly greased bowl, and cover with a wet cloth, and leave in a warm place for three hours (or until doubled in size) to rise.
    I then turn it out on to a work surface again, and knead it, then divide into two equal pieces. I shape them into round, slightly conical balls, and put them each on a baking tray, cover with a large plastic bowl, and leave in a warm place to rise.
    The secret is to cook the bread when it has reached optimum size. If it flattens you have left it too late. Too early and the bread will be too heavy.
    I pre heat the oven at 220 degrees C (I use an oven thermometer), and cook each loaf for 30 minutes.
    Bread making is largely trial and error, but you must be consistently accurate on the measurements.

    Andy
  • kah22
    kah22 Posts: 1,833 Forumite
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    Every time I read this thread I think of the soda farls my mother use to make. Fresh soda farls just off the pan, lashings of butter and the occasional big dollop of damson jam - HEAVEN. They're lovely toasted to.

    Try this traditional recipe courtesy of little sister

    Irish Made Soda Farls
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 cup buttermilk
    Here's What To Do
    1. Preheat heavy based flat griddle or skillet on medium to low heat.(mum used a multi-cooker)
    2. With the flour and salt in a bowl sift in the baking soda. Make a well in the centre, and pour in the buttermilk.
    3. On a well floured surface quickly mix the dough and knead very lightly. Form into a flattened circle, about 1/2 inch thick and cut into quarters with a floured knife.
    4. Sprinkle a little flour over the base of the hot pan and cook the farls for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
    Enjoy
  • northwest1965
    northwest1965 Posts: 2,058 Forumite
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    I too am like andygb, make it by hand. I cant believe how easy it is. The couple of things that I do different is 1. use fresh yeast and 2. leave it to rise anywhere. Sometimes I even just leave it in the fridge. I will never go back to shop bought bread now
    Loved our trip to the West Coast USA. Death Valley is the place to go!
  • kah22
    kah22 Posts: 1,833 Forumite
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    Do any members know the cost of electricity in baking a loaf of bread in a domestic breadmaker?

    I appreciate that there is no one answer to the above question, that there are variables to be taken into consideration: power consumption of unit, how long it takes to bake a loaf, your local electricity costs, etc,. I'm thinking more in the region of a ball park figure.

    While cost is not everything as far as home baking is concerned, for myself taste and knowing where the bread comes from is more important, but it would be nice to have a reasonable guess at what one loaf costs. So anybody have a go.

    Kevin
  • dmillich
    dmillich Posts: 3 Newbie
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    Using Panasonic SD 255, making 910g large loaf - wholemeal/multigrain malted on a 5 hour recipe - and then using inbuilt timer to give around 12 hours total "plugged-in" use. Monitored from the start of the process with an energy monitor - final figure shows that the breadmaker consumed 0.4 KWh in producing this loaf.

    Note that mixing stages etc. consume very little energy - it is the baking that takes the juice - but as the breadmaker is more efficient at cooking a single loaf that putting it in a domestic oven then you get a good figure for the final cost of making one loaf.

    The cost of electricity to mix and bake a large loaf is thus around 5p - depending on your energy supplier, tariff and usage. (I take 11p per kWh - + VAT - as a rough average cost at present prices.) I probably spend more on the 3 heaped tbspns of mixed seeds etc. I add to the mixture for each loaf.
  • kah22
    kah22 Posts: 1,833 Forumite
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    dmillich wrote: »
    Using Panasonic SD 255, making 910g large loaf - wholemeal/multigrain malted on a 5 hour recipe - and then using inbuilt timer to give around 12 hours total "plugged-in" use. Monitored from the start of the process with an energy monitor - final figure shows that the breadmaker consumed 0.4 KWh in producing this loaf.

    Note that mixing stages etc. consume very little energy - it is the baking that takes the juice - but as the breadmaker is more efficient at cooking a single loaf that putting it in a domestic oven then you get a good figure for the final cost of making one loaf.

    The cost of electricity to mix and bake a large loaf is thus around 5p - depending on your energy supplier, tariff and usage. (I take 11p per kWh - + VAT - as a rough average cost at present prices.) I probably spend more on the 3 heaped tbspns of mixed seeds etc. I add to the mixture for each loaf.
    Now that's what I call a moneysavers answer :D and I've added a thanks to your post

    Kevin
  • kah22
    kah22 Posts: 1,833 Forumite
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    Christmas is coming and it is time for presents. A present I'm looking to buy myself is The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook by Jennie Shapter ( Hardback)

    The release date, advertised on all the main book sites appears to be the 1/1//09 but when I go to the likes of Amazon or WH Smith I get the message that the book has not been released and Amazon.com say it won't be delivered until after Christmas. Anybody know what's going on?
  • hob
    hob Posts: 244 Forumite
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    having abit of a sweet craving today, any one got any yummy recipes i can put in the bread machine and have ready for tea?
    i was hoping for somthing like hot cross buns, i dont have any eggs but if needed i will problay have time to go to the store.
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