Fyi Bread Making

[wired]

I've used a breadmaker for years and am very happy with the results, until 3 weeks ago. The bread hadn't fully risen, brown for the bottom half and dough coloured on top. I tried different flour and yeast but the results were the same. I did suspect the breadmaker but was told by the manufacturer that very little can go wrong with them. From a google search I found that lots of people have had this problem this year and it's all to do with the flour in this country, insufficient gluten ( I've written to the flour producers), I got some Canadian flour this week and we're back to lovely, well risen bread.

[Old_Geezer]

Surprises me. What brand had you been using ?

[EcclesCake]

I'm surprised by your experience. What flour had you been using previously
.

[seadogg]

Have you tried batch baking by hand and freezing the loaves till you need one? A bit of effort to knead 2kg. of flour but even that can be lessened by having a decent mixer and you have bread for at least a week depending on your needs.

[Mamyalynne]

How interesting - could you link to some of those Google results please.

[Old_Geezer]

If you have a bread maker the kneading and batch making are less of a concern. Never hurts to have one in the freezer though.

[wired]

I'd been using Allinsons Strong white bread flour and yeast, I wrote to them and had a reply this morning. "in the past 2 years, the wheat harvest across the world has been affected by some extreme weather conditions and this has affected both the quality & the quantity. In fact the 2012 UK wheat harvest is considered to be the worst in more than 20 years due to the exceptionally wet summer".I know that flour producers add gluten and frequently Canadian wheat but obviously the problem is worse than usual. Just wanted to let ABers know before you start on batch cooking for the festive season.Yes I usually have bread and rolls in the freezer and I will try and locate the web site that I'd found on the google site.