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.

Has anyone yet said that flour is much cheaper by the sackful? We use Shipton Mill.

DH can't eat wheat so i make my own bread with a mix of Kamut, rice and sometimes spelt flour.The BEST thing about this is you don't have to knead or prove just mix in the bowl...

....cont. with warm filtered water, tiny pinch sea salt and fructose and leave covered in a warm place till it rises to top of bowl.

And it's much less brick like than my mum's bread machine spelt bread!!

I too have just started making my own bread in machine,up to yet i have found that it does not keep very long.
Has anyone tried to bake tiger bread I have been doing a bit of searching and found a few recipies but not yet tried it.

Moonface I don't blame you for taking it to the next level , it's interesting the science behind everyday things like bread.

It's interesting I changed my breadmaker from a Kenwood to a Panasonic, the Panny uses half the yeast and a much longer cycle, as well as managing to create a wholemeal loaf without lemon juice or milk powder.

I get my flour from Claybrooke Mill, they recommend you use it within 6 weeks of milling (for wholemeal) but having a big sack does make it less likely you'll run out in the middle of a weekend.

Annie, home made bread (especially white) doesn't keep very long because it doesn't have preservatives I suppose. Like when you are in France there is no way you can eat yesterday's baguettes. Can you do a smaller loaf or freeze half?

Which yeast do you folk use? We get the sachets of Sainsbury's own, but I'm sure we don't need a sachet each time and could get a tin or something. But the tins of yeast in Sainsburys say they're not for bread machines. I'm confused!

I always use allinsons dried active yeast. it says on the tin that it is only suitable for handbaking but I use it in my breadmaker (spongemethod) you just have to put the yeast in warm liquid and it works well.
I find fast action yeast makes my bread rise fast and then sink in the middle when baking. that doesn*t happen if I use active yeast.

this is how I make it:
mix 1 cup of flour, one cup of water and half a teaspoon dried active yeast. leave for 6-8 hours or even longer (I do that before leaving for work).

then add another cup of water, 500g flour, a teaspoon salt, a tablespoon oil. switch on the mashine.

so far this has worked every time.

Thanks for that mousy - I have a tin of that yeast which I bought by accident & have avoided using it in the machine. Will give the sponge method a go.