OT: Breadmakers.

Yes don't worry too much about the mixing that's not your issue. If it was you would get floury bits in the loaf. Kneading is the key. This develops the gluten strands in the dough which gives it structure and strength. When the dough rises lots of bubbles get generated and this gluten helps it create and keep the structure whilst it is baking.

The kneading is the hard part. We had a machine, it produced reasonable results if you didn't mind the slighly odd shape and hole in the bottom. We settled on just using it to make the dough which was put into conventional tins and oven for baking. Eventually it wore out, seal around paddle shaft in base of tin.

It's recently been suggested that we get another one. This idea seems to have been dropped since I said strong flour is hard to obtain and there is a Kenwood mixer in the cupboard that might have been used a couple of times...

Cheers Dave.

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I've had to start using my Kenwood again too:)) I had forgotten how good it was:))

No, it's not the paddle you need for kneading, it's the big hook-like thing. Called a dough hook. The Kenwood handles kneading very well, as does the KitchenAid.

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Agreed!

The Kenwood works very well for kneading dough. I drop the ingredients in while I'm doing other stuff in the kitchen, it does its thing, I turn it off and let it rise, then take it out and shape it for whatever tin I happen to be using. Yes, strong flour is very difficult to get now. I've just managed to get a 10 kilo sack of chapati flour, which i haven't worked with before - I'm curious to see how it works with my usual recipes.

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Do report back please?

Unless I get distracted by problems with the boiler, I plan to make a batch with it tomorrow.

And with the attachments, it can do much more than just knead dough!

Unless I get distracted by problems with the boiler, I plan t make a batch with it tomorrow.

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Thanks. I have a sack of chapati and have never used it.

Sorry about your boiler:( Hope it is ok.

And with the attachments, it can do much more than just knead dough!

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It can indeed:) Heh I think I am going to enjoy this:))

If only I dared eat bread...More or less stopped altogether...and it's working. Blood sugar levels are coming down slowly as is the weight.

Cool.

Wholemeal Wheat flour 91%, Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin, Dried Yeast, Chickpea flour, Salt, Rapeseed Oil, Dextrose, Flour Treatment Agent , Ascorbic Acid, Wheat starch, Enzyme: Alpha Amylase.

Yummy! ;-)

OK.

Ok.

Ok.

Ok.

Check.

Ok.

Ok. ;-)

Thanks. The irony is that in spite of it not being the idea size, it tastes ok, so we are enjoying it (as much as you can just bread as such) anyway. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

I have always preferred slow rise. Get a plastic bag and put a little oil in and squidge it around. Drop the dough in. Leave plenty of room for expansion and put a clip on it. Put in refrigerator.

Hours later, check. If it is ready, fine, just leave it until you are ready.

Knock down, shape, and allow to prove at room temperature. Will take much longer than a warm rise as the dough is cold.

In my view, you get a much nicer flavour.

If you find it takes longer, so be it. Accept leaving it overnight.

But don't let it get out of hand and split the bag! It makes a horrible mess.

I was interested that you said Wright's bread mix. I have never seen this before, except that it was the only flour on my supermarket shelves the other day, so I bought a packet, as I'm running out of yeast but there's still none in the shops.

I normally make my own bread manually about twice a week. I don't see the point of breadmaking machines because although they may seem to involve less effort, there must be some effort to clean them. Also they leave a hole in the loaf where the paddle went.

I like to use a half & half mix of white and wholemeal, 1 lb total. Plus a teaspoon of salt for flavour. I'm hoping that the yeast in this white bread mix might be enough when mixed with an equal amount of wholemeal flour.

I normally make a mix of 2 fl.oz of cold water + 2 fl.oz of boiling water, then mix the yeast into the resultant warm water. After about

After 5 mins of kneading to a homogenous consistency in the shape of an enormouse peanut (to avoid too much rising in the middle), I put it into a pre-oiled tin (makes the bread brown on all surfaces), then put the tin into the electric oven at its lowest setting (unmarked but still makes the thermostat click on and off) for 30 mins, after which the dough will have risen above the top of the tin. Then turn up the oven to 250C for 30 mins. Then turn out onto a plate to cool.

So the whole process takes under 90 mins but hardly any labour time.

No there isnt. The tin is coated so nothing remains after you shake out the loaf.

Not the ones the fold the paddle down when its finished mixing and just before it starts baking.

I use 20% german grain bread mix and the rest multigrain.

I don't add salt to anything now, not even a steak. Takes a bit of getting used to but you do get used to it.

The amount of yeast needed is determined by the total amount of flour.

Much more than an a few seconds to weigh the breadmix and water into the tin on a digital scale and then add the yeast.

If you have no yeast but do have flour you could give sourdough a try. You can create a starter from scratch in a few days then can keep that going and make as much bread as you want without yeast. Also in my view much nicer bread. The Bake with Jake channel has a great couple of videos

- how to make a sourdough starter

- full end to end video of making a sourdough bread (not that much different to yeast but timings different etc )

If you need the links let me know and I will dig them out.

If you have some yeast, try halving / quartering the amount of yeast to make it go further. The time taken to rise / double in size will be longer but bread should be fine if you get it to the right point at each stage.

Hi Lee, only got chance to watch the vid just now and have some observations.

(On the second batch I left it to prove around 30 mins, knocked it back, left it to prove for an hour and whilst it did rise more when proving, they dropped back to the same size ones baked.)

The consistency of the finished loaf is quite dense and uniform, no lumps suggesting the mixing was sufficient?

I'd have to say it looked very similar. I need to get myself one of the plastic scraper things. ;-)

Yup.

I think I tried that and whilst I didn't look to see what happened, it appeared smooth again soon afterwards in general (finger marks etc).

What I definitely *didn't* do is form it into a ball the way he did, nor form it into the shape for the baking tin as he did.

I pulled the (2lb loaf of dough) ball in two, moulded it gently back into two balls in my hands then rolled them out lightly to reflect the general shape of my 2 x 1lb tins.

On the second batch, after proving in the tins the dough mostly filled the tins (only level to the top) but they weren't as deep (proportionally) as those in the video.

One thing I noticed on one of the breadmaking machine reviews is that only one machine (the Panny I think) was able to 'make the wholemeal bread properly', suggesting I may be on to a bit of a hiding in any case?

If this Wright's kit didn't work from the instructions given, would they still be selling it (and remembering the two I've done so far were possibly fairly old stock)?

Cheers, T i m

If the whole process from 'we need some bread' to baking some ready for consumption is longer than necessary, I can't see myself doing it.

For us, this isn't about having 'better tasting bread' or managing the chemical content, it's simply 'having some sliced bread'.

Now, if we can get that with the minimum effort, *and* it tastes better (although for us, bread is generally just a medium for supporting the actual food (be it toasted under beans or surrounding the contents in a sandwich) *and* it's has fewer chemicals, then those things will just be a bonus.

I have neither Lee. All I have are a few of these Wholemeal bread mix kits, nothing else. ;-(

That might be of use, if I can get the other ingredients (especially the right flour). ;-(

Ok.

That's fine thanks, I saw them on his list (and might watch a couple just out of general interest).

I would be looking for 'Instant' Lee so my yeast may not last that long. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

For the instant option take a look at "no knead bread". You mix up a batch of dough out it in the fridge and just take out how much you need and bake it. There is a little bit more to it than that but essentially that is it. I tried it a few years ago and it worked a treat

That sounds more like it ... ;-)

So a fairly big batch them, if you are going to get more than one loaf out of it?

I'll check it out, thanks (again, when I can get the ingredients). ;-(

Cheers, T i m

Well, the first loaf is now cool enough to cut. it was made with 250 g Allinson's strong wholemeal, and 300 g chapati. It rose well, baked up nicely, and tastes good. It required about 20 g more water than I generally use for this size loaf (it fits into a 4" x 12" tin).

I may not bother trying to find 'standard' bread flour - the chapati works very well, and the price is excellent.