ive just been looking at what people have been saying about bread makers and i just thought id tell you all what i make in mine
bread - and all sorts of bread related stuff
cakes
jam
stewing fruit for pies and stuff
dog biscuits
dog food
they are a very usefull tool
i get my flour from an organic flour mill somewhere in penrith - my husband does the pest control there and gets loads when he goes
Waggi, I have a brand new breadmaker, have had it for a week and we are already a dress size larger!! (just kidding!) I love it, best purchase I have made in years, so haven't got around to trying anything exotic in it, still working my way through the basics! ;D (Hot coss buns going in today ;D ;D)
Last weekend I made my first baguettes in mine (well the dough!) They were absolutely yummy. We ate them warm out of the oven with so much filling bits kept dropping out (cheese, salad, advocado, pesto).
Want one.
:'(
Derbex, check out e-bay, they are often on there, mines the panasonic somthingorother with the nut n seed dispenser, (researched it and it got top scores) got it on amazon after ringing around local shops who quoted me £99.00 :o saved meself £20.00! 8)  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008WFDI/qid=1111673629/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_0/026-9190567-1369243
Aqui, could you be so kind as to share the baguette recipe, cos the one I tried just tasted like regular white bread, and I was looking for something more "french" tasting!
DP
Will do Doris. It was the one out of the recipe book that came with the machine. Mine's a panasonic too. Is it the same recipe you used? (I let mine rise for longer than it said in the recipe, as I forgot about the time whilst out gardening!)
I have a morphy richards one and I love it :) Its the only gadget i've got that the novelty has never worn off.
Wardy , i use organic flour and follow to the letter and it always seems very nice . Possible there could be a fault with your breadmaker ask them to change it while it is still early days or they will find allsorts of excuses not to. We love our one had it 2years Murphy Richards.
Got one ;D
It's a Panasonic too, but no seed & nut dispenser -£69 from Dyas & £5 off your next purchase.
Works well -nice crusty loaf not chewy at all. I've been using the Dove's Farm organic flour (whit & wholemeal) quantities from the breadmaker book but ingredients from the back of the packet, so no milk powder, less suger, olive oil &c.
Just one question -how do you cut fresh bread ???
Jeremy
Hmm. Mine's not usually chewy unless my hubby's been experimenting again and has produced one of his mutie loaves!
Well ok, crusts are chewy but they're crusts whereas the middles are fluffy and airy and quite unlike the compressed bath sponge you get so often in supermarket bread these days.
I find the defining attribute to breadmaker bread is toast. It's just... different. Crispy on the outside rather than just hard. I think it's the toast that is responsible for me being overweight again!
Oh - just thought. Make sure you have yeast which is specially formulated for bread machines and (importantly!) has added vitamin C (ascorbic acid). If you put in normal yeast, which irritatingly is much cheaper and comes in large pots as against tiny sachets, it really doesn't rise properly.
We even had a duff batch of supermarket own-brand breadmaker yeast which after two loaves we decided was either old or inactive as loaves were 2/3 the size they ought to have been. Went out and got more McDougalls breadmaker yeast and the loaves went back to being fluffy and we went back to becoming fatter.
moonbells
I got a 125g (4oz?) packet of Allinsons Easy Bake yeast for £1 or £2 from Budgens -they have it in Tescos too- at a teaspoon a time it's going to do at least 20 loaves maybe lots more. I think I've some sachets of the same stuff too.
It's just yeast & Vit. C. (+ rehydrating agent?)
Jeremy
I always use Sainsbury bread flour as I find the others not so good and Allinsons Easy Bake yeast which you can buy in Tesco 125g which is alot cheaper than little packets you just store it in the fridge but I bake a loaf everyday.
(sorry a bit long)
Wardy - here's the Panasonic basic recipe for a medium loaf:
1/2 tsp yeast
400g flour
15g butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon milk powder
1 tsp salt
280ml water
The Panasonic book also handily says what effect these ingredients have:
sugar: adds sweetness and flavour
adds softness and fineness to texture
Helps keeping qualities
food for yeast
fats: tenderize the bread
add flavour and richness
help keeping qualities
any can be used but they recommend butter
milk: enhances flavour
increases nutritional value
don't use liquid milk on timer program else it may go off.
salt: strengthens gluten structure and makes it stretchier
inhibits yeast growth
enhances flavour
too much - yeast doesn't work well but too little and gluten structure is
weak so both result in a loaf which is small and dense! Don't use coarse
ground salt.
Maybe this will help you diagnose any problems. I find my digital scales immensely useful, and since they've got a zero and add more function, we just park the whole tin on top and weigh stuff into it... Even more usefully, 1ml of water weighs 1g so we would just weigh 280g of water for the above recipe with no peering at measuring jugs at nose height...
moonbells
ps my favourite is multiseeded white bread. Gives me an excuse to grow loads of poppies and sunflowers on the plot !
Quote from: waggi on March 23, 2005, 16:22:32
ive just been looking at what people have been saying about bread makers and i just thought id tell you all what i make in mine
bread - and all sorts of bread related stuff
cakes
jam
stewing fruit for pies and stuff
dog biscuits
dog food
they are a very usefull tool
i get my flour from an organic flour mill somewhere in penrith - my husband does the pest control there and gets loads when he goes
How do you make jam in a breadmaker? Also please the dog biscuit recipe.
Quote from: wardy on January 05, 2006, 09:32:33
Never mind jam! Mine won't even make a decent loaf so Lord knows what the jam would be like ;D Made a white loaf last night and it'll need a chain saw to cut it. Can't take it back to shop or husband will sulk ;D
If it's not fit for purpose (ie it's not making edible bread!) then you are perfectly entitled to a refund under UK law. Not sure if this holds for sulking husbands though. Doesn't work for mine! ;D
Honestly, I'd take it back - after all, your hubby probably doesn't want you to have an expensive kitchen decoration that you can't use!
I'd take it back, together with one of your loaves to demonstrate. Preferably to exchange for another (different?) one rather than let them repair it!
moonbells
Hi Wardy,
Can't recommend the panasonic SD253 enough. £25 cheaper from Amazon than elsewhere. We bought one on a recommendation from a friend, now my parents, in laws, brother in law and 2 more friends have bought one. We get the plain white flour from lidl and any posh or fancy stuff from Caudwells mill, Rowsley. Trouble is, you might need to take up digging to burn off the extra ;)
I have an LG which I got for NEctar points in Sainsburys about 6 years ago. It works like a charm, however if I get the quantities even slightly wrong or the yeast is slightly too old forget it. It's very unforgiving.
Quote from: Bagpuss74 on January 05, 2006, 14:37:40
We get the plain white flour from lidl
Hi Bagpuss
Are you saying the LIDL's plain flour is as good as bread flour, or do you modify the recipe? I'd love to know, as I get a few bits from LIDL's and it would save me a bit of money...
mat
My favourite recipe for my machine is a recipe book hotxbun recipe scaled up to be a medium sized loaf size. I then modify the recipe - extra sultanas and mixed spice are added; amounts are not measured - just until it looks right to me - I like lots! About 20 minutes before baking is complete, I quickly open the lid and brush apricot jam over the top. Yummy... but doesn't last long, best eaten same day.
I need to buy a new one sometime, my kenwood had a bit of a design fault which I lived with, but...
mat
Haven't been on site for a while before this week so sorry this is a bit of an old topic but thought I'd let you know about Doves Farm yeast. Only about £1 from lakeland and lasts for weeks/months in fridge if bag is rolled down. Has always worked really well for me and you can make loads of loaves form one packet (at least a couple of months supply making 2-3 loaves per week!)
Sparky
You can freeze yeast too and just take it out as you need it.
My son arrived home with a breadmaker this Christmas, and I'm a confirmed fan now (will be trying out mat's giant hotxbun today!). If I had to buy one for myself, a viewing window would be essential to watch the dough ball rolling around ::)
Which? selected three Best Buys in 2004 - see below. Only problem might be developing bingo wings if not kneading by hand >:(
Panasonic SD253 £90
The best bread maker on test was the Panasonic SD253, £90 from John Lewis or £80 from www.24-7electrical.co.uk.The bread was a hit with our testers, with one noting that it was 'superior to shop-bought'. The only criticism was that 'it makes you eat more bread because it tastes so lovely'. Some users were critical of the relatively long baking times, but our bread expert believes longer programs tend to result in a better loaf, and she felt the bread from this machine 'looked great, and had a nice colour and shape'.
It comes with a whopping 100 recipes for breads and cakes, and has a raisin dispenser so you don't have to hang around to add fruit. On the downside, it's the only one without a viewing window so you can't spy on your loaf as it cooks.
Dimensions (hxwxd) 37x34x26cm
Loaf capacity 1kg
Cost of white loaf 55p
Baking time 4hr
Total Test Score 78%
Morphy Richards Cooltouch Fastbake 48280 £40
A close second, and a much cheaper option, is the Morphy Richards Cooltouch Fastbake 48280, £40, from Robert Dyas, or £47 from www.amazon.co.uk. All our testers were fans. One said it baked 'a very good loaf, light with nice texture'. And our expert felt the raisin bread had 'texture as good as home made', with 'a toasty smell and glossy crust'. There's no automatic fruit dispenser: instead, a beep reminds you when to add raisins. Another point in its favour is the accompanying recipe for chocolate bread, which was a big hit with our users.
Dimensions (hxwxd) 30x29x4cm
Loaf capacity 0.9kg
Cost of white loaf 67p
Baking time 3hr
Total Test Score 74%
Team International BBA52 Rapido £50
Another good value machine is the Team International BBA52 Rapido £50, from www.teamuki.com. It was popular with testers, with one calling it a 'very impressive machine that makes excellent bread', though some couldn't get the crust dark enough for their liking. Our expert said 'you can't fault the white loaf - as good as shop-bought' but she thought the raisin bread was a little undercooked. The machine's fairly easy to use, and has a raisin beep but no dispenser. Handily, it has a paddle extractor for getting the mixer out of the baked loaf with minimal tearing.
Dimensions (hxwxd) 33x36x27cm
Loaf capacity 0.9kg
Cost of white loaf 68p
Baking time 3hr
Total Test Score 63%
That was an interesting review. The most interesting bit was why the Panasonic's loaves were so much cheaper when the largest one is actually bigger than the other two's!
I worked out that with Tesco cheapest bread flour (51p/1.5kg) and doing medium loaves (400g flour a shot) you pay 38p a loaf. It's a false economy to make large ones if you haven't got a large family, as the lack of preservatives mean it goes green or hard a lot faster. Best to make a small loaf and eat it up before making another! The rapid loaf function is excellent - 1h55mins to fresh bread! And though you can't use the bake raisin setting there, you can get away with adding poppy seeds at the start.
Also I wouldn't worry about the lack of window, as you can peek in the lid while it's paffing the dough about. The only time it's not advised is during baking as the loss of heat can cause collapse, but that's why they don't have a window in the first place.
moonbells (5-seed loaf on timer right now! Should be perfect for when I get home...)
Quote from: moonbells on February 20, 2006, 12:18:48
I wouldn't worry about the lack of window, as you can peek in the lid while it's paffing the dough about
Thanks for the excuse to treat myself to a Panasonic when my breadmaker leaves home moonbells :'( ;) And the suggestion re small loaves - another excuse to have fun baking more often. Paffing, wonderful ;D ;D ;D