baking bread

[stitch]

anyone know about making this by hand?
i use dried yeast, activate in warm water and sugar for ten minutes, then mix with strong floour and a bit of salt. knead for a couple of minutes. let risse about an hour before baking.

but it doesnt seem to rise very much. and most definitly cant do a second rising. also tastes very yeasty, and condensed. should i change the yeast? the flour? or buy a breadmaker?
any help much appreciated.

[misdee]

think u need some breastmilk in there


seriously, buy a breadmaker.

[stitch]

lol

but which one? they all vary in price soo much. also, i am sad, but kinda enjoy pounding the dough. imagine it is dh face....

[Smasha]

Had a breadmaker....the smell of fresh bread was lovely, however the bread was like a brick!!!
Gave us really bad indigestion!!!!
My advice, is stick to the Baker's

[assumedname]

What flour are you using? - sounds like it's not strong enough.

Alternatively, buy a Panasonic SD-253, good bread, even wholemeal.

[stitch]

the last lot was cheapy stuff from lidls.
thanks, will try using tesco stuff

[suzywong]

you need to knead it for at least 8 mintues. Time it by the clock, and bang it down on the counter a few times very hard every minute. It's good for your arms.

You should also add a little butter or olive oil.

And bread should prove twice, so knock it back after the first rising by bashing it with your fist (my favourite bit) and gather it in to a ball again and leave it for another 35 minutes before shaping into a loaf and baking in a hot oven.

[stitch]

thanks suzy, will try again.

[suzywong]

2 minutes!
tut, you lightweight, put your back in to it girl

[stitch]

[slug]

To make decent bread you need flour with a high gluten content. The ordinary stuff you use for baking isn't really the best stuff for breadmaking. Look for 'strong' or 'breadmaking' flour.

If you're baking by hand you need to do two risings. Get the yeast activated then knead for a good 10 to 20 minutes. This us where the gluten strings are formed which create the structure to hold pockets of air and make the bread light. Let it rise till double in size, then punch down, knead a little more and shape into the loaves. Let this rise a second time, preferably with a damp teatowel over the top so it doesn't dry out, then bake.

Alternativly get a breadmaker. I have the Morphy Richards fastbake, which is half the price of the panasonic, but came second on the Which best buy list. The only downside is the opportunity to beat the life out of your favourite hate object is lost.

[merglemergle]

Buy a Panasonic breadmaker! Sorry, but I have suffered through not just my own inability to make bread but also years of eating my hippy father's brick like, unrisen, burnt bread. It was years before I would eat anything other than sliced white bread (and that's still one of my favourite treats...bread pudding...mmmm).

I am so inacapable of making bread that even when I get the breadmaker to make dough for me, I cannot get it to bake properly. I would so love to be able to make bread though, very of anyone who can.

[Iklboo]

Definitely a breadmaker. I've got the Morphy Richards one too and it's great. You can even buy different types of mix these days from supermarkers for wholemeal, ciabatta, sun-dried tomato, cheese & onion. Just chuck it in the breadmaker, add water and voila! PLus they do cake mixes for breadmakers now that are lovely too.

[squigglesmum]

I use fast action yeast, and then you don't need to prove twice. I use two sachets for three pounds of flour (according to instructions on packet), mix it in with the flour dry, then add water, knead for about ten minutes and put straight into bread tins. Strong white flour rises a lot more than strong brown or granary though. My brown bread always ends up being really heavy, so I either use all white, or half-and-half white and granary.