OT: Breadmakers.

[T i m]

So,

We have some Wrights Wholemeal Bread Mix (just add water stuff) and as the first batch we did went down very well, we were wondering that post Apocalypse, if it might be something we could continue doing.

Now whilst it's not 'difficult' mixing and kneading the dough, I understand many who do regularly make their own use bread makers these days?

Now, we aren't into making cakes (the bread is moreish enough) or specialty breads, just a dimple wholemeal loaf every few days would be enough and so wondered if there was a vfm but compact / reliable machine that could do, or do you have to go to something more 'up market' before you get sufficient control to be able to get the bread that you expect / want?

Like, this mix is supposed to make 1 x 2lb loaf but we only had 1lb tins so made two of them. It says 30 mins for the 2lb load or 15 mins for rolls so went for 20 mins in our straight gas oven and that seemed about right (nice crust, baked though, no soggy bottoms). ;-)

So, can you typically tweak the settings on these breadmakers to give you the sort of result you prefer, or is it set in a program?

We have a soupmaker that seems to just have two settings (chunky / smooth) but the cooking time for chunky seems a bit short for our tastes? ;-(

Cheers, T i m

[Adrian Brentnall]

We've been using a Panasonic SD 2500 breadmaker from some years... I think most breadmakers have a range of 'preset' programs - suitable for different types of loaf, mix & bake or just dough, and so on.

I think ours has 20! We use, at most, 3 of them. Most of the 'mix & bake' programs have settings for the size (weight) of the loaf and the darkness of the crust.

For me - the great advantage is that the act of 'bread-making' is simply down to measuring / weighing out the necessary ingredients, and hitting the 'go' button. 4 hours later the machine beeps, and the bread's done..

Nice & simple, and we can ring the changes by varying the proportion of wholemeal / brown / white flours, and adding things like nuts, seeds etc.

[Sam45]

Bugger, you are doing this too now.

I've been doing it for more than a decade now. Mainly because the hot bread shop which is just around the corner has some real downsides. I prefer a multigrain loaf and his idea of a multigrain loaf is to chuck some seeds into a wholemeal dough. Not my idea of a real multigrain loaf. And he can be quite erratic about when he actually makes the more unusual loaves like that so you can have to go there more than once to get the loaf you want.

And even with the shop just around the corner. its much quicker to weigh out the ingredients, mix and water on a digital scale with the tin on the scales than to walk over to the shop and back.

Yep. much more convenient.

Yep, they will all do that.

The top of the line bread machines do give you more control but that's only necessary for unusual loaves.

And you can tweak that result by varying the amount of water for the fixed amount of mix so you don't need to be able to tweak the detail in the machine settings if you are making one of the common types of loaf.

Even the most basic machines have some tweaks available. And see above on the water.

The top of the range machines allow you to vary all the timings of each phase of the loaf making and to keep those settings for the next time when you find the best.

Because you can tweak the water with bread, its not a problem with a bread machine with normal loaves.

The other choice you have is the style of loaf. I prefer a vertical loaf which gives square slices and a domed top. The alternative is a horizontal loaf, usually with a pair of mixing paddles.

Another design choice is if the paddle(s) retract after mixing before the loaf is baked so you don't end up with a hole in the bottom of the loaf when you shake the loaf out of the tin.

[T i m]

<snip>

Ok, thanks.

Understood.

On the instructions on this mix it says to "Mix for 5 mins (I'm done mixing in 2?), stand for 5, knead for 2, stand for 5. Put in tin, cover and leave to prove for 30-40 mins till double in size.

Bake at Gas Mk8 for 30 mins."

Because it didn't seem to rise much last time, someone suggested I knock it back after the first proving so I did, now I'm leaving it longer to prove so it better fills the tins before baking (and it seems to be).

Do you think any of the programs could duplicate that process or would whatever it does be sufficient (I was wondering how it might differ this being a mix rather than raw ingredients etc)?

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

<snip>

That's good feedback on the reliability aspect. ;-)

Understood. So it might be a matter of experimenting and finding a particular option, even though that's not what you are baking?

Hmm.

Quite ... but I guess we might all use a different 3?

Ok. Given it doesn't seem to last as long as fresh bread, I think we might slice 1/2 the loaf and freeze it in 2 or 4 slices (size dependant).

Agreed. One of the things we have learned during this lockdown is the one thing we can't do without (for our typical brunches particularly) is sliced bread. We have used some of those longish life rolls you just bake for 10 mins that go fine with soup (or a vegi sausage roll) but not so good for beans. ;-)

We aren't particularly adventurous that way, happy to stick with what works and we enjoy and to make that process as easy as possible.

Cheers, T i m

[Lee Nowell]

I have a bread machine but now haven't used it in years. I bought a cheap stand mixer from Lidl years ago and use that to knead the dough - which to me is most of the effort. This way I have full variability and can make what I want. In addition to loaves of bread I make pizza bases, rolls, french sticks, focaccia etc. Tweaking the dough recipe but mainly changing what you do for the final shaping. Since lockdown I have been making sourdough bread every other day.

I guess you could get a bread machine which has a setting to just do the dough but then following different bread recipes is difficult if you can't control the proof time,amount of kneading etc.

From my experience it starts with the odd loaf and because they are so much better than shop bought you tend to expand into areas you never thought of ??. My recommendation would be to go down the stand mixer route and you can use it for other things too

[spuorgelgoog]

Panasonic breadmakers are the mutt's nutt's

That's because you don't use as many preservatives as commercial Chorleywood bread.

You could try adding a little ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) or citric acid, which deters mould growth.

In normal times I prefer rolls, but at the moment I've been using shop sliced loaves as they last longer than rolls and freezer space is at a premium.

If you can't slice bread neatly there are various bread-slicing guide products available.

Owain

[T i m]

Same as the one we borrowed from our neighbour.

I just found it messy, stopping it sticking to my hands. The first time round I used all the flour in the mix so didn't have anything to dust the surfaces with (doh!).

Hmm, whilst that does sound more flexible, I'm not sure I'd want to make those things ... ?

Understood.

I've seen that mentioned here but not sure what it is / tastes like?

If I got a machine I think I'd want it just provide a decent loaf. The reason for the loaf (as opposed to a roll or pizza base etc) id that we want to use it as a 'slice of bread'. ;-)

I get that they might be better for you if they contain better ingredients and fewer chemicals, and whilst what we baked tonight is again, very edible, we wouldn't be baking it just to eat on it's own, rather as the basis of a sandwich or toasted under some beans. ;-)

A agree with you re flexibility and if I could get a small mixer that could both mix and knead the dough, I'd probably be happy with that (we already have an oven that works and the whole process was finished in just over an hour). ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

;-)

So I understand.

I don't think we have seen mould so much as it going dry quicker than commercially made bread, assuming we haven't eaten it that is. ;-)

We have a few (small) slices of wholemeal bread in our under-counter freezer but prefer to keep for when we get caught out and can't make our own.

I'm not a bad carpenter so can handle a saw.

We have just finished off most of the first loaf for supper with just spread and some Bovril. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

[Nick Odell]

I have a fairly cheap and simple Russell Hobbs 18036. You can not alter the programs other than for darkness of crust and quantity of materials but it is not compulsory to use the deemed program only for the deemed recipe and there are a whole host of other good recipes out there to use, misuse or alter as you choose. One of the settings on, I am sure, all the machines is simply to take the hard work out of kneading the dough leaving you to do the knocking back and baking yourself. IMO they are a good investment.

Nick

[T i m]

Don't worry Rod, I'll not be taking your flour from you. ;-)

<snip>

Ok, thanks.

Ok, but sounds like it's getting more expensive than our needs require.

<snip>

That is what we would prefer so it fits in a toaster.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that with the machine we borrowed previously.

Tonight's batch came up well when proven but collapsed back down like before whilst still making some pretty 'light' bread?

I believe we have 1lb tins and the mix makes a 2lb loaf. At 20 mins the crust was hard, as was the bottom once turned out so I'm not sure what's going on? eg, If I had left it longer it would have browned more but I'm not sure it would have risen?

Cheers, T i m

[AJH]

Right I'll be replacing my breadmaker with one of these sometime soon, leaving the paddles embedded in the loaf is a bigger bug than pulling a hole in the bread when it was new.

[spuorgelgoog]

I am a rubbish carpenter and the bread knife has never been the same since I tried cutting meter tails with it. :-(

You know that in 2006 Unilever put the beef back into Bovril? It's not vegetarian any more.

Owain

[T i m]

Doh! What's the hacksaw like on bread? ;-)

I wasn't aware of that.

I knew that, it says 'Beef' across the front in big letters. Even worse to have killed an animal and then waste that by throwing it away. ;-(

We also have Marmite but she was happy to use up the Bovril first so that's what we are doing.

Earlier we had sardines on toast, again because we had them to use up and it's not easy atm to give that sort of thing away (and they could well have been beyond their 'Best by' date). ;-)

For brunch we had grilled Vegan 'fish fingers', saute potatoes and peas.

Cheers, T i m

[John_j]

That's due to too much water.

The problem is too much water.

[Sam45]

Dunno, in some ways its easier to cut the paddle out of the loaf than having the paddle which remains in the tin rip a great hole in the bottom of the loaf and have to try to get the two halves of the bit still left in the still too hot to hold tin and push them back in the hole in the bottom of the loaf where they will often stay as the loaf cools down fully.

[Adrian Brentnall]

Yes - it bakes one or two loaves a week, usually

You probably could.

95% of the time we just use the same loaf program, and vary the ingredients a bit for fun!

Possibly.

There's just the two of us, and it's a slice each for breakfast toast, plus the occasional slice for 'whatever'-on-toast of an evening. We tend to get through loaves before they become unusable hard.

No - the beans roll off the top! <grin>

I keep meaning to bake rolls, but seldom remember to get round to it...

Yes - we don't go mad with it.. Tricky thing right now is that bread-flour (at least over here in Ireland) is less easy to find than rocking-horse sh*t... so I'm having to experiment with different flours...

All good though - saves getting bored!

[S Viemeister]

+1

[Martin Brown]

Yes. It is a lot less faff. More or less throw the ingredients in and set it going. Having a raisin tray is handy but not essential. The not cross buns for Easter are something of a tradition here.

Depends how much you care about the exact results but there is nothing the machine can do to stop you cooking it for a bit longer than the programme intended on residual heat. We have worn one out and are onto our second one. The impellor takes a heck of a beating. Both have been Panasonic models - their original model was a lot more basic.

If you like your bread undercooked and still doughy in the middle I guess you could interrupt a running programme too. Some of the programmes make dough that you can then deal with manually.

We tend to make our bread from the ingredients. Although one bought bread mix was spectacularly unsuccessful mid-winter as I think it assumed it would be used in a modern normal centrally heated home.

[newshound]

I hoped this was going to be a "Blessed are the Cheesemakers" thread :-)