Bread Makers - NEW QUESTION

Ours has been on top of the fridge for ages - makes great bread but wholemeal takes ages. It's great waking up to the smell of baking bread when you get the timing right but a pain when you get the timing wrong and wake to the beeping of the ready signal!

Ours is a Panasonic one but a few years old so not a current model.

We used either butter or olive oil - both give good results - never tried any spreads apart from butter.
 
I use bread mixes and my own recipes and the difference between that and shop bought bread does not bear thinking about,home made is just light years ahead.
I also found after we had an electric knife as a Xmas pressy that this is a useful adjunct as you can cut much more uniform slices
 
1st loaf is out of the machine and on the cooling rack, was extremely easy as well. Looks and smells like bread so that's a good start. :D

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Hope it tasted as good as it looks. Ordered ours last night so should be baking by the end of the week

Di
 
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fabs said:
Thanks for the replies, I can sense a pattern here. :D

As for packet mixes, I'm not the biggest fan of those at any time so would definitely go the way of the recipes. I also love the idea of setting the timer so we can wake up to fresh bread.
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In your pricemark we have the kenwood bm250 which is great for everything bar the overnighter. I have tried 3 times and it has never mixed properly when left overnight so if this is a key factor, I would not recommend. Other than that it is very good at everyhting else including jam making!
 
seashaker said:
In your pricemark we have the kenwood bm250 which is great for everything bar the overnighter. I have tried 3 times and it has never mixed properly when left overnight so if this is a key factor, I would not recommend. Other than that it is very good at everyhting else including jam making!
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Ahhh would help if i had read the entire thread hehe well done on the bread!!
 
Reading about how useless Kitchen Craft thermometers and Pyrex jugs are these days, for losing their markings, someone mentioned the risk with the Panasonic measurer, and also that it was too small for the liquid measurement, I think.

Interesting indent in your loaf there, Marc. Is it just from increasing the pan's rigidity?
 
fabs said:
OK, next question. Once you've made the bread, how do you store it? The bread I made yesterday was wrapped in a (clean) teatowel and kept in the breadbin and it was quite dry this morning although we used it up for toast anyway.
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Once it has cooled down I put the loaf in a plastic freezer bag, put a twisty tie thing around it and keep it in the bread bin.
It also freezes well, I always have 1 or 2 in the freezer.

Once the loaf is finished the large freezer bags are used in the small pedal bins for rubbish!
 
fabs said:
OK, next question. Once you've made the bread, how do you store it? The bread I made yesterday was wrapped in a (clean) teatowel and kept in the breadbin and it was quite dry this morning although we used it up for toast anyway.
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Home bake will go stale much faster than shop bought for oddles of reasons, but partly due to the flour that's used.
Try adding some salt, which acts as a preservative, but don't overdo it! :D

fabs said:
I'm a pretty good cook but could never get to grips with baking.
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From now on to be known as Fanny! :p
 
DemiLion said:
Home bake will go stale much faster than shop bought for oddles of reasons, but partly due to the flour that's used.
Try adding some salt, which acts as a preservative, but don't overdo it! :D
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A teaspoon of salt goes in as part of the recipe.

DemiLion said:
From now on to be known as Fanny! :p
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Better than being a Jonny! :p
 
swag72 said:
I use olive oil in all of my bread instead of butter.
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I used Olive Oil in my Morphy Richards & Russel Hobbs machines but I found that Bertolli Olive Spread was so much better in the Panasonic, a pity because I really like Olive Oil - great on toast made with fresh bread!
 
fabs said:
OK, next question. Once you've made the bread, how do you store it? The bread I made yesterday was wrapped in a (clean) teatowel and kept in the breadbin and it was quite dry this morning although we used it up for toast anyway.
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If you do find that some of the bread is getting a old & bit dry stick it in the freezer, when you have enough you can make Bread Pudding - great when you get the seed, olive, sun dried tomato or walnut flavours coming through :)
 
DemiLion said:
.......
Try adding some salt, which acts as a preservative, but don't overdo it! :D
:p
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too much salt - if in contact with the yeast - will kill/inhibit the yeast
 
The only problem is that is is only good on the day you make it. I got rid of my bread mkaer now use the dough hook on the Kenwood makes much nicer bread, but you do have to prove it then the dough hook does the rest. Still only lasts oner day though :thumbsdown:
 
Briony said:
The only problem is that is is only good on the day you make it. I got rid of my bread mkaer now use the dough hook on the Kenwood makes much nicer bread, but you do have to prove it then the dough hook does the rest. Still only lasts oner day though :thumbsdown:
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I make what Panasonic call the Medium Loaf, which is the smallest it does :)
It uses 400g of flour and lasts 3 days easy and that is using seperate ingredients not mixes.
 
Suvv said:
I make what Panasonic call the Medium Loaf, which is the smallest it does :)
It uses 400g of flour and lasts 3 days easy and that is using seperate ingredients not mixes.
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Exactly what I've been doing but it only last about 18 hours, but that's because it gets eaten. :D


Hmmm, got homemade soup in the freezer which we're going to have tomorrow evening, might just have a go at making the Pizza Loaf.
 
After becoming annoyed with there being no baker in my local town anymore, or having to go to Tesco far more often than I would like, I recently been trying to bake my own. I love bread, so wanted to learn anyway, I had tried once a couple of years ago and given up. :bang:

I've only tried wholemeal so far, tried it about 5 times up to now, each getting less dense and chewy as I go.

My first attempt by hand, well, it would've probably helped if I knew what kneading actually was!

Then at christmas we got a food processor, with a dough hook....
First time I tried I could smell the burning, then also realised the amount of cleaning of the FP parts this created. I tried this a couple more times without it getting much better.

Then I bought this book: Bread: River Cottage Handbook No. 3
It is very good, written in a way that is passionate, enthusiastic and inspiring.

I also then watched this: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/river-cottage/episode-guide/series-14/episode-7 which showed how simple it really is.

I decided I would retry things by hand, as I know it can be very simple this way. The only downside to this is that I would never have fresh bread first thing in a morning. But I wanted to master it first as it was something for me to enjoy doing, as well as the end product being a superior bread, and I love eating bread!

After seeing how easy it is to do by hand and after reading a good amount of the book I had another go, which came out lots better, not perfect, but better. Will try again this weekend. :)



And this is the bread 'machine' you REALLY want! ;) You know you want to, if only I had the room!

That aside, although I haven't finished that book yet. It is brilliant, couldn't recommend it enough, lots of different types in it too. :)

Now I just need to find a suitable baking stone to improve things. :)
 
We actually use flora light when we make ours and its fine. Don't forget bread doesn't usually contain a fat anyway. Making by hand is usually flour, water and yeast. Salt is good to enhance the flavour.
 
photon said:
Taken at random: http://www.hovisbakery.co.uk/hovis-range/farmhouse-wholemeal/

Many breads are enriched with fat or oil, for flavour and/or mouth-feel.
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I meant normal boggo bread that is made at home. Just pointing out that the fat is definately not necessary. For certain breads it is, such as olive oil breads and brioche, but when we all made our own loaves fat wasn't put in and certainly isn't needed to make bread in its most basic and one of the most tasty forms. ;)

Ps, that is shop bought long life crud. I certainly wouldn't use it as an example of bread making! :)
 
I err the other way. For Hot Cross Buns, for example, the dough gets laden with butter, eggs and milk. And I'd never use the disgusting spice essence the "real" bakers use.

But then I don't bake as often as I should :( With the amount of marmalade I've been boiling up over the past fortnight, I think I need to leap that hurdle :D
 
photon said:
I err the other way. For Hot Cross Buns, for example, the dough gets laden with butter, eggs and milk. And I'd never use the disgusting spice essence the "real" bakers use.

But then I don't bake as often as I should :( With the amount of marmalade I've been boiling up over the past fortnight, I think I need to leap that hurdle :D
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Hot cross buns are a different matter! The richer the better!

Home made marmelade too. Very nice. Even better on a baked ham!
 
menthel said:
Home made marmelade too. Very nice. Even better on a baked ham!
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Coals to Newcastle, I bought some marmalade in the market yesterday, to see what a fellow old goat can produce. The next stall had belly of wild boar, and I was sorely tempted...
 
photon said:
Coals to Newcastle, I bought some marmalade in the market yesterday, to see what a fellow old goat can produce. The next stall had belly of wild boar, and I was sorely tempted...
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Sounds so good! Making me hungry!

fabs said:
One of the reasons I wanted a breadmaker, trying to improve the healthiness of what we eat. (Tomorrow's Pizza loaf is the exception and will be a special treat. :D)
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As is the thought of pizza bread!
 
When I make bread it usually keeps 3 or 4 days. I have a special breadbin from lakeland though. I usually make a loaf and divide into half or thirds and freeze the rest.
 
I love bread and have had 3 breadmakers in the last 3 years.........

Two of the machines were store own basic versions - Tesco,s if I recall (the second Tescos machine was the relacement under warranty of the first one.) The third was a mid range (about £50) although not a BIG name. I would not regard our usage as excessive-probably one or two loaves a week, however the cheaper ones only lasted approximately 6-8 months.... The mid range one lasted about 18 months. All the machines sufferred from a motor failure which meant that the blade would no longer turn. :bang:

A salutory lesson regarding you probably get what you pay for! Also the importance of keeping your guarantee safe!

I would be interested to hear about the reliability of the Panasonic, as we really miss our home made bread and I am tempted to splash the cash again!
 
Hooky said:
I would be interested to hear about the reliability of the Panasonic, as we really miss our home made bread and I am tempted to splash the cash again!
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I have had a Panasonic for just over 2 years and I make 3 or 4 loaves a week. No problems at all so far and it produces consistently good bread. :)

Morphy Richards lasted 11 months.
Russell Hobbs lasted 4 years but I had to replace the loaf tin twice and parts of the drive broke after 18 months, I managed to repair it myself but it wasn't an easy job.
 
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