yummy bread

[AnnaB]

Well done PK

It is now over 3 years since I have bought any bread, I've bought 'tons' of flour, sourced milk powder that didn't contain hydrogenated fat and the bread maker is still going strong.
I do think that one day I will load it and the thing will have died, I then will have to make that one by hand and get onto the web for best prices!
Anna

[Tania]

A bread maker is good for making gluten free loaves too. The mix tends to be more like a thick batter because there is no gluten and I always get better results using the bread maker than by hand.

For anyone that does eat gluten, if you've a Lidl near you, their bread mixes are very nice.

[lancashire lass]

on the subject of breadmakers - some valuable advice!

If you do have a disaster and decide to empty the contents directly into the bin in disgust, DON'T FORGET TO RESCUE THE PADDLE FIRST!

... need I say any more about what happened to me!

[morph]

has anyone got any wholemeal bread recipes which aren't too heavy???

Reading all about bread is making me hungry!!!!!!!!!!! I only eat wholemeal though and don't like it too stodgy - trying to lose a bit of weight you see!!

Would like to make by hand first, then will try and comandeer my husbands grandads bread maker to see how it comes out!!!


Oh, and as I don't have any bread tins, how big do they need to be, to make a standard sized loaf you'd get from the supermarket?

[Citrine]

Mmmmmm fresh home made bread - will have to dust off the bread maker and get going!!!!

You guys are inspiration itself!!

[morph]

I'm doing a bit of research on making bread, and I really don't want to be using sugar, or too much salt. Also, a lot talk about milk powder - is this powdered milk?? Can't seem to find this on tesco's website!?

Also, can I get a normal bread recipe and then put it to use in the breadmaker??

[wendy]

Hi.
Yes there always seems to be too much salt. I only put a small amount in. You need the sugar for the yeast to work. Yes it is powdered milk.
I have got the ingredients from Tesco's before now.
Not certain about the same recipe for a breadmaker. Mine came with recipes and you have to put them in, in a certain order for my breadmaker.
If you make wholemeal in mine you have to mix it with strong white flour, otherwise it makes it very heavy.
Hope some of this helps.
Wendy

[Mo]

For powdered milk try looking for '5pints' or 'easypints'. These are skimmed milk powder with veggie fat added to take the place of cream. Don't know anything about bread making, but we use 5pints for custard to save keeping too much milk in the freezer (our doorstep milkman delivers sour milk, the shop is over a mile away).

[AnnaB]

morph
Salt is not needed in making bread, the sugar is. Watch what powdered milk you buy as a lot of it contains hydrogenated fat.

[maderedundant]

I too have a breadmaker and have found that putting slightly less water than the instructions gives a firmer loaf that is much easier to cut.
My favourite bread is rye bread with bacon and walnuts. Great with cheese. This one is best made by the conventional method though.

Paul

[TassieDev]

Yes you definitely need to use a recipe, such as the one ged mentioned.
You often need to go through a bit of adjustment anway, as amount of liquid needed depends on humidity of your location and even air pressure affects it I'm told!!!

There are stacks of sites on the web with recipes and troubleshooting guides - eg if it was too dense, try adding more X or less X or kneading less or more, etc.

I too have a breadmaker - here it's called the Sunbeam Quantum but I don't know if that's what it's called there!
I used to use it heaps, and made a lot of gluten free breads too. I also love the pizza dough!!! But I could make the whole thing in the machine, didn't need to take it out for the last bit.
Unfortunately the bread pan got a bit scratched (I think some grains must have sometimes got stuck under the paddle while it was going around) on the bottom, and I don't fancy little bits of teflon (or whatever the non-stick surface is) getting baked into my bread!!! So I rang to find out how much a replacement was - about 1/3 of the cost of the entire breadmaker! As we're not big on money right now I haven't got a new one and have been making bread by hand.
I was actually considering getting one of those machines where the paddle folds down at the end so you don't get that hole in the bread, but they were fairly expensive. I guess it doesn't make much difference for 'normal' bread but the gluten free loaves are quite light and airy and having the hole in the middle creates a problem when cutting the loaf - it kind of tears and crumbles.
I found some breadmixes you can make by hand which are 'no knead' mixes and they are actually really nice!! (I was sceptical!) There's a whole range including wholemeal and light and dark rye (yum one!)
They are a good option if you don't like kneading or have revolting flaky varnished wooden kitchen benchtops which you wouldn't want to knead on! You can make them with one bowl and one bread tin.

[Jodi]

For years my mother in law wanted to buy me a bread maker but I never thought I'd get use out of it - another dust collector.

But am thinking otherwise now.....

Tassie, is the no-knead bread avail. in our usual chains of supermarkets? I've tried my small local, but didn't see it??

cheers
Jodi

[TassieDev]

Hi Jodi,

I haven't seen it in supermarkets. The place I buy it is a health shop.
This is the one I buy (not sure if there are other brands):
http://www.snk.com.au/

They make it in Victoria I think so you should be able to find it somewhere. It looks like they also do deliveries.

Celeste.

[Jodi]

Thanks for the link TD, I've just emailed them to find a local supplier

Jodi