recomend me a good bread maker.

[cointreauman]

I stripped my local Aldi of all the seeded wholemeal mixes so have bread for a couple of months.

My second set of Salter digital scales let me down so I can't weigh stuff at the moment, but I find the right amount of water is just to the top of the mixer blade, then it's only a question of judging half a bag.

I chuck in half a bag of H&B "omega sprinkle".

I did the same at our 3 local ALDI shops for the Ciabatta and the Multigrain mixes. Got to grab them when you can!

My mother thinks I have become a softy because I bake my own bread but she forgets it all started when I mangled my left hand in a bike crash and part of my rehab was to make and knead dough - never actually naking the stuff till one day a light went on and 25 yerars later I am still baking my own bread. That said I love my panasonic for the easy stuff.

Mayve a Bread Recipe thread might be interesting. I am told tnat Chinese bread is interesting but never experienced it

C

 

[kittyP]

About to crack out the Morphy Richards breadmaker we got from recycle-your-stuff.
Never used one before so going for a basic granary to start me off.
Landlady is over this afternoon to look at some stuff so I hoping the smell of baking bread will please her

 

[gentlegreen]

If you don't already have one, get a digital scale - makes measuring the stuff in a doddle.

I just got one on Ebay for £4.30 - seems fine so far.

Mixes can be a bit variable. With the Tesco wholemeal I ended up adding extra yeast just in case. Hopefully this year I will finally get around to making up my own mixes, and bottles with the right amount of water.

 

[mauvais]

Mine allowed me to pour milk into it without first placing the breadpan inside.

It also let me put my finger in while it was kneading to dislodge a bit of dough, which hurt muchly - the motor is very strong!

Mine let me try to bake bread without the key (?) in the breadpan. Two hours later I had a very special mess.

 

[kittyP]

I have some digital scales but it says to use the cup and spoon that comes with it....?

 

[Placid Casual27]

The cup and spoon are for the little things like sugar, salt and yeast, scales for the pound (or wahtever) of flour, and a jug for the water

 

[kittyP]

The cup and spoon are for the little things like sugar, salt and yeast, scales for the pound (or wahtever) of flour, and a jug for the water

I am using the recipe in the booklet for the first one and it says 3 cups of flour.

 

[invisibleplanet]

I use a basic Kenwood breadmaker every day.

My very first attempt turned out a loaf of bread which looked like one half of an "emergency pair of shoes"

I was disappointed, but it tasted okay and I wasn't about to give up, as I'd promised myself that daily breadmaking would become a feature of our lives, once my finals were finished. I figured it was a problem with the age of the dried yeast I'd used, so bought some more, and the next focaccia-style loaf turned out much better (but still not 'perfect').

Each new attempt edged the bready-product closer to perfection

Having got to grips with it, I now set the breadmaker off every night, anytime between dinner and bedtime.
We go through one 500g loaf a day, and it costs 60p to make, which is a big saving, and it's all organic/no preservatives and tastes delicious.
I began by using white bread flour, but don't use that anymore for our daily bread because it looked so anaemic!
Now I use a wholemeal flour with seeds added.
I do still use white flour for making focaccia with olives (and raisin bread).

Here's one made I made earlier with wholemeal flour & seeds (our daily bread):

 

[Chz]

Scales are a good way to start off, but with the humidity being as variable as it is in Britain it's just a way to get used to what dough should *feel* like when the proportions are right. Once you know what it should feel like, the scales are superfluous and in fact downright misleading. The optimal flour/water mix varies by a lot depending on the weather.

 

[kittyP]

My very first attempt turned out a loaf of bread which looked like one half of an "emergency pair of shoes"

WTF is an 'emergency pair of shoes'? Let alone half a pair?

 

[kittyP]

Just beeped that it's done.
Looking good so far.
Hopefully it will taste good with ok texture

 

[invisibleplanet]

Yes, that does look delicious

 

[kittyP]

Hmmmm!
Had a nibble of the bit that was stuck on the blade and it tastes yummy!!

 

[kittyP]

Yes, that does look delicious

You didn't answer my question

 

[invisibleplanet]

You didn't answer my question

Which question? *looks back through thread*

 

[invisibleplanet]

WTF is an 'emergency pair of shoes'? Let alone half a pair?

In truth, I have no idea really, it was someone else's description of it, however that first failed attempt is referenced forever as 'shoe bread'

 

[kittyP]

In truth, I have no idea really, it was someone else's description of it, however that first failed attempt is referenced forever as 'shoe bread'

 

[kittyP]

OMG it's the best bread I have ever tasted!!
I may be slightly bias