The Breadmaker Thread

aonb

we are on breadmaker number 3 - the Panasonic SD-2500 - bought it on Amazon and we are seriously impressed with it. The previous machines we had, we were never really impressed with as the loaves were always too dense. My husband for medical reasons was told to cut out bread or to buy a bread maker. He is an engineer so has taken the refinement of his bread making recipes to a fine art I dont really care for wholewheat breads, but with a 50/50 (or maybe less) of white/wholemeal from the Panasonic I am happy to eat any of it. We use the recipes in the cookbook that comes with the machine for French Loaf or Italian Loaf and I have to say it is very elastic and light every time. The process is a very long one - longer than our other bread machines for sure, but the elasticity and lightness and non-denseness are 100 times improved.

While on the subject, we use ODLUMS Strong White and Strong Wholewheat flours. These are the only strong/machine quality flours we can find. Does anyone know of sources of other flours that are strong/bread machine quality in the Kildare area?? (Newbridge/Naas/Blessington type areas)

millie35

I order doves organic strong white & whole grain spelt flour from amazon. I've also ordered bachheldre strong white in a 16kg bag which is very good flour and great value.

evolving_doors

cofy wrote: »

The amount of cheese and mustard is for the small loaf, I would reduce the amount of water by about 30mls.
I normally set it overnight.
I set it at dark crust.
Salted butter.

Cheers for the basic bread recipe...turns out I just needed to follow the recipe...also I was throwing in a whole packet of yeast (7gm) ones as opposed to 3/4 teaspoon...

Anyone have a recipe for a cinnamon and raisin Ian Rankin type bread?

aonb

millie35 wrote: »

I order doves organic strong white & whole grain spelt flour from amazon. I've also ordered bachheldre strong white in a 16kg bag which is very good flour and great value.

for heavens sake!! I never thought to even look at amazon for flour! Thats brilliant, thank you!! Will go and look now... (seems mad to order flour from UK to be delivered here )

cold case

Can anyone give me an idea of the cost of these 16kg of organic strong flour ordered from amazon uk, including shipping / postage costs please?

cofy

Armelodie wrote: »

Cheers for the basic bread recipe...turns out I just needed to follow the recipe...also I was throwing in a whole packet of yeast (7gm) ones as opposed to 3/4 teaspoon...

Anyone have a recipe for a cinnamon and raisin Ian Rankin type bread?

That's what happened with my first attempt. I did not realise that you need far less yeast with a bread maker.

Good luck with your quest for the recipe for the cinnamon and raisin bread sounds great.

millie35

cold case wrote: »

Can anyone give me an idea of the cost of these 16kg of organic strong flour ordered from amazon uk, including shipping / postage costs please?

Sorry for the delay in replying, it's 20 sterling for a 16kg bag of bachheldre strong white flour. It's the best flour I've used so far very consistent.

evolving_doors

cofy wrote: »

That's what happened with my first attempt. I did not realise that you need far less yeast with a bread maker.

Good luck with your quest for the recipe for the cinnamon and raisin bread sounds great.

OK I found the recipe... Its recipe 3 in the manual.... Duh!

cofy

Armelodie wrote: »

OK I found the recipe... Its recipe 3 in the manual.... Duh!

I've only just spotted it now, is it the Spicy Fruit Loaf?

evolving_doors

cofy wrote: »

I've only just spotted it now, is it the Spicy Fruit Loaf?

Ya it's a bit more 'bready' with the panasonic recipe whereas the Ian Rankin ready made shop bought one is a bit more 'cakey' if you know what I mean...

Woolygloves

Can anyone advise me on using brown strong flour in my breadmaking to make pizza dough? I have a recipe I like for white flour but don't know how to use brown flour instead. Thanks

aonb

The only STRONG brown flour that is widely available is the ODLUMS one (purple bag) We have been using this (mixed with strong white flour ) for a while, with very unsatisfactory results. The strong brown flour necessitates a little extra yeast, and will definitely make a much DENSER pizza base which you may not like. We have recently moved over to the DOVES and MARRIAGES strong flours - available in Avoca Rathcoole if thats any use to you - with much improved results (still not great though) and excellent results with the STRONG BROWN MALTED flour in the Doves label. We always find that as I say, a bit more yeast required, and usually add a little more oil. All experimentation really, til you find what you like or what works for you...

Woolygloves

Thanks. I've a strong brown flour from aldi. I made pizza dough with about 1/4 brown flour and the rest strong white and it was great

dixiefly

Just came across this thread, very informative. I have a panasonic breadmaker but go through phases of making bread and then leaving it for a while.

Has anyone used 00 flour for making pizza dough in the panasonic breadmaker? And has anyone partially replaced it with wholemeal and/ or semola flour in the breadmaker?

Dizzyblonde

By coincidence I've just taken my breadmaker out of hibernation for the first time in months (I'd been trying to eat less bread). Mine's a Panasonic too, and I use half strong white and half strong wholemeal flour for my pizza dough. I prefer it to all white, it has a much better flavour. I don't use the Panasonic recipe amounts though, I use Jamie Oliver's pizza recipe.
I used 00 flour before but didn't find it made enough of a difference to warrant searching for it in supermarkets. I'm not a purist though.

katydid

Planet X wrote: »

Recommend me a good one please. About to take the plunge and buy one. Browned (excuse pun) off with shop sliced pans etc.
Some threads recommend Panasonic ones. Want a good one.
Cheers.

I have to say, I was a breadmaker addict until last summer. I wore out three of them. Then I realised that with a bit of planning, and roughly FIVE minutes kneading, I can make grand bread.

Having said that, if you insist, stay away from Russel Hobbs. I bought one from Argos this summer when my Morphy Richards packed in after three years regular use. On first use, it overheated and ruined the bread, and when I brought it back and got another one, the second one was also faulty and didn't even switch on.

That's when I decided to go old school, and I haven't looked back...

CJhaughey

I posted this over in BA but Currys have an offer on Kenwood chef Premier atm, I picked up a 1000w machine with a few attachments for €249.
OK it won't bake the stuff but the dough hook makes dough really easy.

fenris

I did a breadmaking class in The Firestone in Delgany, one evening from 6 til 9:30, very good fun and we even learned something!
Learning how to really handle dough is the biggest benefit, also debunks some fond beliefs about bread baking like putting sugar in with the yeast etc.
Getting the feel of properly kneaded dough is also a big plus as it stops you doubting yourself and adding flour /water unnecessary.
We made white, grannary, foccaccia and a variety of savoury soda breads, the whole lot came out of the oven within 5 minutes at the and of the class, with no sense of being rushed along the way.
The bread hook on my kitchen aid is getting a lot of use!

deandean

dixiefly wrote: »

Has anyone used 00 flour for making pizza dough in the panasonic breadmaker? And has anyone partially replaced it with wholemeal and/ or semola flour in the breadmaker?

Yea I do. If you have a Musgrave's card, they have a sack of Italian 00 grade strong white flour for about 20 euro. It's either 20Kg or 25Kg. I use this for pizza bases, as well as for bread. For bread I use 60% white and 40% strong wholemeal.

For the pizza bases (menu 22), use COLD water - even leave the jug in the fridge for a few fours, this slows the yeast. When the dough is mixed, put olive oil on your hands and coat the dough balls before putting them into plastic bags (stops a skin forming).

Leave dough in the fridge for three days, the time improves the taste . Take it out an hour before cooking.

And if you like your pizzas, you just gotta buy a Ferrari G3 pizza cooker. It is the best thing ever....but that's another thread LOL!

GoodBridge

deandean wrote: »

And if you like your pizzas, you just gotta buy a Ferrari G3 pizza cooker. It is the best thing ever....but that's another thread LOL!

say more things about that thing

phater phagan

Not to throw a spanner into the works - but, I've been reading this thread and almost convinced myself to buy a breadmaker, but when I did some Google searches about it, got a lot of people saying that they did not like the taste of the bread from the breadmaker. The general opinion appears to be that a dough whisk or mixer, hand knead and then a traditional oven baked loaf was superior to the machine baked one. Now I'm thoroughly confused.

katydid

phater phagan wrote: »

Not to throw a spanner into the works - but, I've been reading this thread and almost convinced myself to buy a breadmaker, but when I did some Google searches about it, got a lot of people saying that they did not like the taste of the bread from the breadmaker. The general opinion appears to be that a dough whisk or mixer, hand knead and then a traditional oven baked loaf was superior to the machine baked one. Now I'm thoroughly confused.

I've made lots of bread with a breadmaker and lots without. There's no difference in taste, I can honestly say. But then, I didn't actually bake with it, I just used it to do the kneading, and I baked it in the oven, so on second thought I can't REALLY say for sure!

Dizzyblonde

phater phagan wrote: »

Not to throw a spanner into the works - but, I've been reading this thread and almost convinced myself to buy a breadmaker, but when I did some Google searches about it, got a lot of people saying that they did not like the taste of the bread from the breadmaker. The general opinion appears to be that a dough whisk or mixer, hand knead and then a traditional oven baked loaf was superior to the machine baked one. Now I'm thoroughly confused.

I make bread both ways, and the thing about the breadmaker is convenience - you can wake up to freshly baked bread in the morning, or come home from work to the smell of baking bread.

aonb

we have a breadmaker
my husband puts a loaf 'on' before he leaves for work
If we didnt have a breadmaker, we would buy shop made bread, as we dont have the time or inclination to make it from scratch.
We have the breadmaker because the ingredients of our bread consist of 1. good quality flour 2. good quality yeast 3. tiny bit of sea salt 4. tiny amount of butter or good oil. 5. water.

The secret with good bread from a breadmaker is 1. have a good machine 2. use good ingredients

We buy Doves/Marriages flour from a mill in Bennetsbridge. Makes a MASSIVE difference to the taste/quality of our bread. We use Doves yeast. We buy 50 grade french bread flour, and canadian flour and malted wholemeal. All make a huge difference to the bread. We have been experimenting with machines (this is our 3rd) and ingredients for years.

We buy seed mixes and toppings to vary flavours and types.
We are 'foodies', love our breads etc and are really very very pleased with the bread we are producing @now... but with our first machine, and the ingredients we were using initially there is a WORLD of difference

eviltwin

I don't like the taste from the bread maker either. I just use mine as a mixing and kneading aid. I bake in the oven.

phater phagan

Thanks guys. I think I'll do the kneading with one and bake it traditionally. I really just want to do brown soda bread.

Cheshire Cat

phater phagan wrote: »

Thanks guys. I think I'll do the kneading with one and bake it traditionally. I really just want to do brown soda bread.

If you want to do brown soda bread a breadmaker is NOT for you. Breadmakers are for yeasted breads! i make my brown bread with a wooden spoon, as the dough tends to be quite wet.

You could invest in a handheld mixer: cheaper, much smaller and more versatile. If you head over to the Cooking Club you can find some nice brown bread recipes.

phater phagan

Thanks Cheshire Cat. I'll do that. My regards to Alice.

BenEadir

Hi all,

Is like to get away from store bought bread and bake out own from 100% wholemeal flour, natural live yogurt, seeds etc

Argos have bread makers ranging in price from €50 to €200 but I've no idea what spec is good, what I should be looking for etc.

Would appreciate some tips and advice.

Do Aldi sell them from time to time? If so are they any good?

Photo-Sniper

Biggest waste of money ever.

You can make bread (all kinds) with your two hands.
One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday morning is bake bread.