Bread maker

[Tigger]

Thanks Johnboy - taht's very kind of you. There's a mill in Derbyshire that sells French flour (I know, don't ask) and we've bought some from a deli in Worcester that also sells Greek and Italian flour. Whilst the bread from all of these is good, it just doesn't taste like the authentic French stuff.

We'll keep trying.

[chicken4]

I'm getting the best wedding Anniversary present i've aver had - a panasonic breadmaker.

It arrives in the morning so today i picked up a couple of Hovis granary and Hovis white bread mix. Thought it may help produce something the family could eat but want to make it from scratch next time - the recipes that are in the manual sound lush

So any tips for a complete newbe,

[John]

Hello Chicken4
Good luck with the bread making!
I'd suggest starting off with a simple white loaf. This is the easiest recipe to get right and will get you familiar with using the machine.
Can't say I'm familiar with the Hovis white 'bread mix' - I think you might get better results by adding all the ingredients individually as it suggests in the machine's manual.

John

PS Most of the manual's recipes mention including sugar but this is not essential (I never bother with it) and the amount of salt suggested can be reduced slightly if you want to lower the salt in your diet.

[chicken4]

Thanks John,

This morning i picked up some strong flour from Mr T although i have found a mill where i can buy a sack full of flour and although not cheaper sounds like better quality and a wider choice.

[John]

Hello again C4

I forgot to mention something I'd said earlier in this thread and that is to get yourself some accurate digital scales - ones that measure to +/- 1 g. Bread making, unlike cooking generally, is more of a science than an art and I only started getting consistent results when I weighed the flour, fat and water parts of the recipes.

Happy baking.

John

[chicken4]

Hello again C4

I forgot to mention something I'd said earlier in this thread and that is to get yourself some accurate digital scales - ones that measure to +/- 1 g.
Happy baking.

John

Yes, i'll get some mine should have been replaced years ago but i'm so used to cooking by adding some of this and some of that.

[chicken4]

Just an update made a nice loaf today which the children had with some eggs and have made two fruit loaves.

So far so good - the children couldn't believe their eyes when a real looking loaf of bread came out of the machine and tasted good too!

[Elle's Garden]

I have just bought a Panasonic bread maker off E-bay - very exciting. I have read through the thread and taken on board all the points about quality flour and crisping your crust. Just a quick question regarding the salt. I only have rock salt in the house currently - will I need to buy table salt?

Thanks,

[John]

Hello Elle
Welcome to the wonderful world of breadmakers.
I assume that you don't mean rock salt as in the stuff that goes on the roads but a kitchen salt of some form. It doesn't matter what type of salt you use - sea , Maldon, cooking etc.

Happy breadmaking
John

PS Do follow the recipe exactly as far as salt goes as it is there in the dough to control the activity of the yeast.
PPS If you are new to breadmakers try the white loaf method first as this is the most reliable.

[glallotments]

I have just bought a Panasonic bread maker off E-bay - very exciting. I have read through the thread and taken on board all the points about quality flour and crisping your crust. Just a quick question regarding the salt. I only have rock salt in the house currently - will I need to buy table salt?

Thanks,

We have a Panasonic too and have been using it for several years now with brilliant results. Seems from this thread you either love or hate them but we wouldn't be without ours. Breadmaker certainly wasn't as quick the manual way

I echo John's words - correct amounts of ingredients are crucial.

[Elle's Garden]

Thanks John and Glallotments - it is indeed Kitchen rock salt, not stuff I scraped off the road (because we had none around here - way too rural!)

I have paid great attention to the detail revealed in the thread, so shall be very careful with measurements etc, and will definitely stick to the easy stuff for a while until more confident.

[glallotments]

It's great for making dough for pizza bases as well!

[JohnN]

We bought a Bifinet machine from Lidls which has been going happily for about 2 years . It cost £20 - why pay £100 for a Panasonic? (OK, yeah, perhaps the Panasonic does all sorts of fancy things but all I want is wholemeal bread). I normally use Waitrose Strong Canadian flour, but if we go visiting NT places where they sell special flours I can never resist trying them. They do a good one at a mill at Batemans, Kiplings house in east Sussex. The most important thing I've found is to make sure the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar and yeast) are well mixed BEFORE they go into the machine. I also use olive oil, rather than butter or marge.

[Elle's Garden]

Well the first loaf has about 1 hour to go - so fingers crossed there! JohnN, the instructions seemed to place quite a lot of emphasis on making sure the liquid doesn't touch the yeast until the mixing process begins. But you indicate that you have better results mixing everything before putting it in. Does your machine have a rest period before it starts? I am completely new to this, so still looking for all tips and hints!

[JohnN]

Elle,
It was only the DRY ingredients I mix in advance! My machine guide suggests that the liquid (warm water and olive oil) goes in the pan first and then the dry stuff poured in carefully on top. This seems to produce good loaves, though I've never tried putting the liquid in last - can't see it would make any difference
Good luck, Elle.