Bread Maker

[Francis Asis]

What does a bread maker actually do? Obviously it makes bread but i mean do you bung all the ingrediants into it and it mixes them and kneads the dough and puts it in the airing cupboard for an hour then bakes a loaf?

[annie0000]

Yes

[Sachs]

Hi Francis,
a breadmaker can take you through the whole process mixing/ kneading/ baking. Or you can just take it to the dough stage & finish off in a conventional oven.

[Francis Asis]

Thanks for your answers. i might just get one.

[spacechimp]

Sorry to hijack your question...

Do you have to use flour treatment agents to make bread in a breadmaker? And is the bread like shop-bought bread, or like proper bread?

[annie0000]

We put everything in at night and then set it to start in the early hours and have a lovely fresh loaf ready in the morning. We substitute olive oil instead of marg/butter and put a spoon of powdered milk in as well - makes brilliant bread - it does make the crust quite hard no matter what setting you have it on, so bear that in mind. If you like really soft bread, you may be better baking it in the oven after it has made the dough and proved it.

[hippyhoppy]

it's proper bread. The one I used to have (which was a dinosaur!) had a timer so I used to wake up to fresh bread in the morning - gorgeous! And they normally come with recipie books for weird and wonderful variations. One word of warning.. after the original flurry of bread making, you might find the machine is left stuffed in the back of a cupboard somewhere.. so don't spend a fortune... good luck - enjoy!

[annie0000]

spacechimp we use dried yeast and strong flour - it tastes like homemade bread, not like shop (factory) bread.

[dundurn]

At its simplest you buy a pack from the supermarket, put it into the breadmaker with the correct amount of lukewarm water and switch on. A 2lb loaf will take about an hour to bake.

At the other end of the scale you can start from strong (i.e. gluten-containing) flour add water, salt, yeast and maybe a few extras - some oil or butter may be called for, milk powder can also be used, wheatgerm, cornmeal etc - it all depends on the recipe. There are some very good breadmaking books available with recipes from all over the world.

You can use the breadmaker to mix and bake many of the recipes. Others may just use the machine to produce a dough and you can carry on and do the baking in a conventional oven; plaited and flatbreads for example. It also takes a lot of the effort out of mixing up pizza dough!

In terms of flour treatment agents they may be used, particularly in the pre-packed breadmix varieties, but they're certainly not necessary in every case.

The one disadvantage I personally find with a breadmaker is that there is always a little paddle in the bottom of the pan which does the mixing/ kneading. When the loaf is baked in the pan the paddle is baked into the loaf and it leaves a hole in the bottom - most annoying when I toast the centre slices - the honey falls through!

[lorri24601]

I have to agree with goodbye girl.Maybe i just have a duff machine,but mine comes out tasting really strong of yeast,the middle slices where the paddle is have huge holes in them, the crust is so hard its in edible, and if you dont eat it within the hour it drys out and feels stale.Or maybe im just doing it wrong lol and any pointers in right direction would be greatfully received lol :-)

[buildersmate]

You must have bought a duff machine - but only the Panasonic, which is now down to about �90.
I had to smile reading the reply from goodbyegirl who says it is too long-winded, ingredients have to be input in a set order. That sounds like a description of hand-made to me.
The ONLY rule is the yeast goes on the bottom, flour next, then the rest on top in any order. How hard is that then?
Time? - I've got it down to 90 seconds now including removing the ingredients from the cupboards and replacing afterwards.
The only time my crust goes hard is if I forget to remove the loaf when the little beeper goes off.

[annie0000]

lorri - If you add a tablespoon of powdered milk and use oil in the recipe, it stays fresher tasting for longer, but tbh we tend to eat most of the loaf in a day anyway :o)

I agree it tends to be crustier - i use mine on the least crusty option, but if you bake it in the oven yourself, it temds to be less crusty (and you don't get the hole!).

As for tasting yeasty, can't say I have noticed. Do you use powdered dry yeast?

[hippyhoppy]

Hold on - my newly 10 year old son has told me that bread makers are cheating! (I don't agree, just passing on his point of view!)

[missrandom]

my bread was rubbish, took the machine back in the end and said it was faulty, really i think it was bread making skills or lack of them!

[annie0000]

We had to stop making it every day, as I was eating my lunchtime sandwiches by 8.30 every omrning as every time I opened my drawer at work to get something out, all I could smell was beautiful fresh bread!!!

[lorri24601]

Thanks for the tips Annie i will give them a try, and yes i use the dry yeast,maybe im using too much :-( well you live and learn lol, will get powdered milk and try that though :-) thank you

[Rosetta]

Does it depend on the make you have. I have a Millers Choice and its only fit for making bread for crumbs.

Lorri, what make do you have as your experience sounds like mine, which I have also put down to being a duff brand?

[annie0000]

i have a prima that I have had for 8 years - it takes a bit longer to make a loaf than the newer ones, but I don't have any complaints.

[lorri24601]

mine is hinari, had it a while now, but hardly used because of the problems i said lol

[lorri24601]

maybe i should buy a newer model an try that :-)