To give up with homemade bread

[OlderMummy1]

I have a lovely bread maker and we love homemade bread.....especially thickly sliced white bread with loads of butter which is doing our waistlines no good.

I mad a wholemeal loaf today and attempted to slice it. What a disaster! It either crumbled or the slices were too thick. I've got a Lakeland bread slicer but it's useless.

Has anyone got any suggestions for thinly sliced bread? Or is it impossible without the huge industrial slicer they use in Tesco?

Did you leave it to cool before slicing? I find slicing warm bread leads to crumbling.
I prefer doorstops anyway

Don't give up - home made bread is the best!

My advice is ditch the bread maker. Buy some bread flour, put 500g in a bowl, add a sachet of yeast, a knob of butter, some salt (not on top of the yeast) and loads of sunflower seeds. Knead vigorously for 5 minutes and leave to prove for an hour in a bowl. Rub a bit of oil on the dough before leaving to prove. Knock it back by giving a second knead. (The sign it's ready for this is when you flick the raised dough it should crumple back into a wrinkly mess.)
When you've kneaded for a second time, shape into rolls or bung into a bread tin. Leave for one more hour in a carrier bag in a warm place.
Bake.

It never fails!

Do you add gluten to your whole wheat bread? I find it makes a world of difference. Have you tried an electric knife on your bread once it is cool?

Wholemeal tends to be more crumbly when I make it, too. Try a mix of white and whole meal flour. Or slice as normal, but just have half a slice?

Not tried the Gluten. Will give that a go. Can I just get it from the supermarket?

Gluten will help to keep the air-bubbles in and give you a better rise. It won't necessarily make it easier to slice. Very fresh bread is hard to slice, even my white loaves from the bread-maker are hard to cut thin slices from if it's not stone-cold. It's hard to resist warm bread straight after it's been made but you might have to if getting thin slices important to you.

Yes, try half white flour, half wholemeal. I add some oil to the yeast/water/salt/flour mix, preferably sunflower, groundnut, hazelnut, olive oil - or a good knob of butter. Blend in with all the rest of the ingredients.

Other things you can try: use a recipe with an egg (or more! Eggs make for an expensive, but light and delicious loaf which holds together very well), or add soy lethicin or gluten. I would also say to ditch the breadmaker. It's helpful for wholewheat dough to be kneaded for longer, to develop the gluten that it does have.

I don't use 100% wholemeal, just too rich. about 50/50.
always use (strong) bread flour.
and yes to waiting until cool.

Honestly, just make it by hand. It really is very easy, and it means you can adjust it to suit your tastes.
Gluten is developed in the kneading process, it takes a good ten minutes, but you will see it forming, and the dough getting shiny and stretchy.
You will fall in love all over again!

My advice is ditch the bread maker. Buy some bread flour, put 500g in a bowl, add a sachet of yeast, a knob of butter, some salt (not on top of the yeast) and loads of sunflower seeds. Knead vigorously for 5 minutes and leave to prove for an hour in a bowl. Rub a bit of oil on the dough before leaving to prove. Knock it back by giving a second knead. (The sign it's ready for this is when you flick the raised dough it should crumple back into a wrinkly mess.) When you've kneaded for a second time, shape into rolls or bung into a bread tin. Leave for one more hour in a carrier bag in a warm place.

You might need some water in that mix!

OP - I use the breadmaker to do the dough and then take it out, prove, shape, reprove then bake in the hottest oven you can muster.

Cool before trying to slice.

And yes to the wholemeal flour thing, half and half at most.

Try the Five Minute Bread recipe (book on Amazon). Brilliant. Much better than the breadmaker, and no more work, really.

Also, Lakeland do a bread slicer holder thing, which allows you to cut thinner slices, and guides your knife, removing the reality of having a bit of loaf left that is three inches thick at one end, and one at the other!

Oops, forgot that slightly crucial ingredient...

I live in California so no idea where you can get it from. It won't make it easier to slice but will make it fluffier and less crumbly and more like white bread.

1/2 and 1/2 with olive oil works every time in our Panasonic.

I bought a bread box from Amazon - clear plastic thing. It comes with a good slicing guide.

How good is your bread knife?

Wholemeal loaves take a lot more water than white, keep adding more water as you knead it if you feel the dough is getting tight. 5 minutes kneading wouldn't be enough, at least 15, remember it's impossible to over knead by hand. Or use a starter dough with wholemeal. Some good recipes here www.breadinfife.co.uk/recipe-list.html

I've more or less given up with the bread maker since a new artisan bakery opened locally - their bread is fantastic!

If I do use it, it's just to mix the dough which I then form into rolls & bake.

Let the bread cool before you cut it.

Use a proper bread knife.

I loooovvveee my breadmaker

Yes let the bread cool.

Decent bread knife helps too

Panasonic is the best. Keep going. Sometimes water needs very slight adjustment. Also you can get extra strong bread flour. Really like Canadian extra strong from Waitrose.

Make it by hand. You will never ever get bread as nice as you can from making it by hand in a bread maker. IMO bread needs hands to really work magic.

I have a book where you can have a fresh loaf every day very easily once you have done the first step.

www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/09/back-to-basics-tips-and-techniques-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day

I think it is that one.

An electric carving knife e.g.

www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-Electric-Carving-Knife-White/dp/B0000C76WW

very good for slicing bread - completely pointless for anything else, but thin slices of bread it's great.

Agree about ditching bread maker. I use a kitchen aid with dough hook attachment and whir the dough round for about fifteen minutes before leaving to rise. I buy wholemeal or whole grain flour. Sainsbo's do an awesome one.