Homeade Bread

Recipes, Cooking tips and maybe some 'Home Made' secrets !
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kitla
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Homeade Bread

Post by kitla »

I'm going to have a go. I have a breadmaker somewhere in a dusty corner but its a pain to clean so I'd rather do it without. I was hoping if its fairly easy I could make some every week. Any recommendations or tips for making it easy or more tasty?
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Spreckly
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by Spreckly »

Sorry Kitla, no tips, but I have made bread the hard way, no machines, then used a Kenwood for several years, and finally a breadmaker, or several, they never seemed to last very long. The bread didn't either. I used a mixture of strong white and brown flour, and it gave a nice texture and taste.

Hope yours is successful.
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by fabindia »

kitla wrote: 07 Jun 2022, 07:33 I'm going to have a go. I have a breadmaker somewhere in a dusty corner but its a pain to clean so I'd rather do it without. I was hoping if its fairly easy I could make some every week. Any recommendations or tips for making it easy or more tasty?
I make bread every few days but not in a breadmaker. However, I think that a breadmaker simply take a little of the hard work out of things but other than that it is pretty straightforward. Bread is simply flour, yeast and water so just follow any basic recipe.

The breadmaker makes it easy! For a more a tasty bread, try using a mix of strong white bread flour and wholemeal flour. I use about 75% white flour to 25% wholemeal flour.

Good luck - let us know how it goes.
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kitla
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by kitla »

Thankyou, I think white & brown must be the best way. I tried to make a brown loaf in the breadmaker a couple of years ago, but it came out really dense & brick like! It put me off. I will definately make some, but havent had the time to spare yet.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by lancashire lass »

fabindia wrote: 15 Jun 2022, 17:47
The breadmaker makes it easy! For a more a tasty bread, try using a mix of strong white bread flour and wholemeal flour. I use about 75% white flour to 25% wholemeal flour.
When I bought my first breadmaker (April 2002), I was really impressed and would bake a fresh loaf every morning before I went to work (I'd put all the ingredients in the night before and set the timer) The only downside is that the loaf shape was more square and deep which was difficult to cut into slices for sandwiches. I simply followed the recipes in the accompanying manual but then I started to get a bit too confident and tried to do some tweaks - alas, something went very wrong one day and the dough rose right up to the lid. Clearly going to be a disaster, I chucked it away ... unfortunately straight into the dustbin which was being emptied that day. It was only when I was getting another batch ready the next day that I realised I'd also thrown the dough paddle out as well. I tried to get a replacement paddle and have even tried to use paddles from 2 other breadmakers I ended up buying over the years but it seems to have a unique fitting. I've never been 100% happy with the other breadmakers so it may be that some are better than others? I have been more successful making "specialist" bread (with added grains / seeds / flour) and the pre-packed specialist bread flour mixes you can buy.
kitla wrote: 15 Jun 2022, 22:17 I tried to make a brown loaf in the breadmaker a couple of years ago, but it came out really dense & brick like!
Strong white flour contains gluten which is needed to absorb water which enables the carbon dioxide gases from the yeast fermentation to become trapped and allow the dough to rise giving it a lighter texture than wholemeal alone. Hopefully the suggested mix will work for you - let us know how you get on.

This post has reminded me that I used to like baking a fresh loaf (nearly always on Christmas day for the inevitable sandwiches later on) so I might just pull the breadmaker out and make some ....
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kitla
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by kitla »

Thanks for the encouragement LL. I still havent got around to making my bread, but I will. I like the idea of making something simple like a small loaf or rolls, maybe if I can get it right I'll be inspired to get the machine out again. I'd like to have a go at flat bread/pittas too eventually.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by lancashire lass »

kitla wrote: 24 Jun 2022, 20:01 I'd like to have a go at flat bread/pittas too eventually.
and pizza dough!

I forgot to mention that I would replace the fat with sunflower oil but you could also use olive oil instead
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by Spreckly »

I have been watching no knead bread recipes on You tube, several good sites.

I took the plunge yesterday, and ordered a bread maker from Amazon. It arrives tomorrow. When I had a bread maker, I mixed bread flour with brown flour, and this made a good loaf.
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lancashire lass
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by lancashire lass »

Spreckly wrote: 27 Jul 2022, 20:56 I took the plunge yesterday, and ordered a bread maker from Amazon. It arrives tomorrow.
)t' oh, how exciting. I bet you can't wait to make your first loaf :-D
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by Spreckly »

I have made several loaves so far. The first was with plain white flour, and came out about one inch thick, but tasted good. Second was a packed mix which was spicey, made half the packet, and will finish it off soon. Third attempt was with strong white bread flour, delicious, and am now in the process of making a fourth with the same flour. Unsure what the time will add to my electricity bill though.

Have you braved it yet Kitla?
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kitla
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by kitla »

I'm afraid not spreckly. Having a 3 year old & her mum living here makes it quite hard to get things done. However, from September little Alice will be at nursery every afternoon, so maybe I can start working through my "things to do" list!
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by Mo »

Wouldn't Alice enjoy helping you make bread?
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Re: Homeade Bread

Post by Spreckly »

Really pleased with the bread my bread maker turns out. Just made a two pound loaf instead of the one pound ones, and am looking forward to cutting into it.
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