Anyone here make all there own bread?

[LauraNorder]

I can't believe I didn't do this years ago.

For Lent I decided to make bread (In a breadmaker) everyday and stop buying sliced bread - and I've amazed myself and done it, ok I have a few weeks til the end of Lent but it's now a habit and I can set the bread machine up in a commercial break.

If you have a bread machine really you should try it! I've had a bread machine for years but hardly used it.

I usually do a smaller mix than the one mentioned above.

500g bread flour ( I use half wholemeal, half strong white)
1 sachet yeast
1 - 2 tsp salt

then
320 ml hand hot water
2 tsp honey
1 1/2 table spoon olive oil

We dont eat that much bread and so a smaller loaf is better for us.

the thing i like about making a 1kg batch is that i can use it for several things eg, make pizza or focaccia for with tea out of one third and a loaf out of the rest, or rolls or bread sticks for lunches (or muffins on the hob for breakfast if in a rush)

If the dough can do a meal as well as a loaf all the better!

Bacon i have read similar things about slow, cool risen bread. Our breadmaker is gathering dust for that reason! And a shop bought baguette t'other day had a shocking effect.

i do too, and sourdough. keep the starter in the fridge and refresh as needed. I use a kitchen aid stand mixer. The river cottage bread handbook is really good and gives you all the ratios etc so you can work out your own recipes. Also bread matters and dan leppard (has recipe identical to the m roux, interesting)

get quick release baking spray, I never have to chisel loaf out of the tins any more. I've also got a lovely Silverwood baking peel, doesn't warp or stain, well worth the money. And also dough scrapers are invaluable and dirt cheap.

I make all our own bread in a Kenwood Pro mixer and an oven. Mainly sourdough, but some commercial yeast. I make a miche/boule every few days, baguettes (yes, you can) and a malted grain commercial yeast; those are our basics, but at weekends I make croissants, brioche and bagels. I've done this for eight years. We never have any other bread.

You don't need to knock risen dough back. It's better to fold it. Turn it out, press out lightly, and fold it in half, then put it back and repeat.

Let dough rise somewhere cool - even the fridge overnight.

I like the description I once read of shaping dough - do the folding Moonface says, then pout your hands on either side of it and keep turning it like a steering wheel.

Yes - I bought a bread machine in December 2008. I have probably bought literally 5 bread based products since then & make everything myself. I've mad bagels, hot cross buns, pitta, naan, & loads of different kinds of bread - I even experimented with sourdough which I loved but none of the rest of the family like.

I make loaves in the breadmaker for convenience - fresh bread for sandwiches etc but when I have time I much prefer to make the dough & use the cool rise method - I have a spare fridge in the garage & keep a shelf specifically for my trays of rolls :)

I seriously recommend this book by Dan stevens on bread making it is truly fab.

I recommend the doves yeast (in an orange packet too) You need to keep it in the fridge once open & bake regularly so you use it up before it goes off but it is much more cost effective than sachets.

You can't do 100% wholemeal bread in a breadmaker can you?
I had been thinking of buying one, but didn't want to have to use half white/half brown flour.

I'm a new convert too. Had done it before but not on a regular basis. I got a bread machine a couple of years ago and even if I just use it for the mixing and rising (shaping by hand, sookin in oven) it hasn't quite done it for me; so I am back to the trusty kenwood mixer with dough hook.

I am currently using an own brand flour and have been impressed with the keeping quality of that. I intend to get some other barnds to try and have started with lidsl, which I have heard is good (and really cheap!)

IslaValargeone I make 100% wholemeal bread in my machine daily - it even has a wholemeal setting.

I think that possibly earlier models advised you not to - (perhaps more strain on the mixer paddle). You do need more water though as wholemeal flour absorbs it more - nothing a bit of experimentation can't sorte out though

Thanks loony, I might have a rethink now. Do you have a Panasonic? that seems to be the one most people favour.

I've got a breadmaker which was used a lot but gave up because the crusts on the loaf other than the top were always rock hard and DC's wouldn't eat them. I'd love to make my own bread again but has anyone got any ideas on how to avoid the hard crusts?

loonyrationalist I just wanted to ask why you keep the Dove's yeast in the fridge? My Pa always keeps his in there, but I leave ours in the cupboard as it says to keep it cool and dry and I figure our 'flour / spice cupboard' is cool enough generally.

I've found that Pa's bread doesn't rise as much as ours.

Sorry for the hijack OP!

ChrissyHynde, try putting less sugar in. My current machine recommends only 1 teaspoon rather than the tablespoon the old machine recipe recommended and it certainly makes a difference to the crust.

chrissy to make a soft crust bread I bake in the oven.
I use the sponge method and it works really well. I usually use brown flour or half and half white/wholemeal.

mix 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of water and half a teaspoon of water. let sit for at least 6 hours (I do that before leaving for work).
after that add another cup of water, 500g flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon oil.
knead well and let rest for about one hour.
knock back and put in a bread tin.

for a soft crust:
put in the oven to prove for another half hour to hour, then turn on the oven to 175 (fan oven) and bake for about 50-55 min.

for a crusty crust:
prove for another half hour to hour. heat up the oven as hot as it goes and fill a baking tray with boiling water. when the oven is really hot and steamy put in the bread and turn the temp down to 170 and bake for 45-50 min.

and half a teaspoon of water dried active yeast

My breadmaker is a Prima one & this also has a wholemeal function - its the longest cycle on the machine.

I made bilberry buns yesterday with 7g dry yeast and 500g bread flour and they tasted v.sour/yeasty.

Should I use less yeast than that and let them rise overnight? Would that help?

IslaValargeone - yes I have a panasonic & it is fab :) My dad has a Morphy Richards (I think) and that does a fair job too.

PigeonPie - I found that after a couple of weeks the yeast started to be less effective when kept in the cupboard. When keeping it in the fridge I don't notice a change in efficacy between the end of the last packet (so from the fridge) and the start of the next (out of the cupboard)

Winnybella - maybe ;) Generally using minimal yeast & proving slowly gives the best flavour but it wouldn't really affect the yeastiness.

Ahh ta Loony - I'll go and pop ours in the fridge now!

PS - our machine is a Panasonic too, as is my DSis's and my Pa's. Still the best as far as we're concerned after at least 8 years and different incarnations.

loony-do you mean that whatever I do, my buns will be doomed to that yeasty flavour? I can't taste it in bakery-bought buns, so there must be something I'm doing wrong.

I don't mind that flavour in bread, but in sweet buns and rolls it's just strange.

Winnybella - not doomed no

Many sweet bread recipes use half plain flour & half bread flour. I'd use 1/3 less yeast & an extra spoonful of sugar - will help the yeast use itself fully during rising. you might need to do further tweaking to the recipe though - any spares can be sent this way :)

I use a bread maker to make all our bread. I've been putting linseed and pumpkin seeds in too from beginning so DS doesn't mind them. Anyone tried to make panettone in a bread maker (just the dough)? Did not work for us and I love the the stuff so would like to make it. Or maybe some tips for by hand?

DH sets up bread machine last thing at night (Panasonic, slightly older model than the MN recommended one).
We live a long way from the shops and it's a lot of petrol to just get bread for school sandwiches (not to mention the fact that once in a supermarket you always buy several other things you didn't go for)
(both DH and I drink black coffee and the DD's will have toast rather than cereal so milk can wait, but bread was a real pain - DD2 will not survive on crackers or couc cous salad for lunch)
I do still buy drench sticks and reduced interesting bread for a change and DH makes up parmesan and tomato bread mix sometimes.

French - Stupid spell checker, it was meant to put the capital F on not change the word

Yes, all in the Panasonic. Not sure what an earlier poster meant about improved nutrition with hand baking, I use very good quality flour and only a few other ingredients. The improvement over shop bread is so great that I think we can live with any slight disadvantages of the bread machine. I have tried hand baking but like pastry, success eludes me.

We get a good result in the breadmachine with only 20% white /80% wholemeal: it helps if the white flour is the best you can find (Canadian or something like that).

Greenlotus obviously breadmachine bread is far superior to shop bread.

But the nutritional qualities of bread are improved by slow rising (ie, less yeast, cooler temp and no sugar). I can't recall exactly off the top of my head and will look it up later, but it's something to do with the way the yeast acts when working more slowly upon the flour...iirc it effectss the gluten differently (making it easier to digest) and produces more b vits. Though as i say i'll double check and get back to you llater.