making your own bread

[littlebearsmummy]

Apologies if this has been asked before, but are bread makers really worth the effort? With 2 very small children and both my dh and I working full time, I want to make life easier for us...will a bread maker help? We go through masses of bread a week and the idea of making our own really appeals. However, is it a pain to make (in terms of buying ingredients, cleaning the thing etc..) and will it cost more than buying a couple of loaves a week. My mum would be happy to give me hers so we wouldn't have to buy one. Thanks

Hullo
Yes they are really good, its brilliant to be able to choose and have control over what you're eating - it makes a real different.
A useful thread is on MSE here

I've got a Panasonic, it needs little in the way of cleaning, has a timer so can be run overnight and you can make it quite cheaply.

Bread machines are great, I have 4 kids and I work full time also (3 of the 4 are teenagers). I havent bought bread in 3 years.

What I do is take the dough out just before its last rise after its knocked down and put it in a bread pan to rise and bake it in the oven. ( I didnt like the shape of the loaves that baked in the machine. too short and tall iykwim )
I leave them to cool overnight and then slice and freeze in large freezer bags,the kids just pull out the 1 or 2 slices they want.They keep for ages in the freezer.

I make my own rolls the same way,pull the dough out before its last rise,split into sections and shape into rolls,cover and let rise then bake. These too can be frozen in bags.

I usually make my bread for the week over the weekend but its very easy to throw together after work and literally takes minutes. If you leave it to bake in the machine its zero trouble as you put the ingredients in,takes seconds, then remove the finished product,even going it my way is no trouble as you soon get used to how long its gonna take until you need to get it out,it becomes second nature really quickly.I know you can buy machines that give you the "right" shaped loaf but they are stupid money,4 times the price of a regular one.

I even make my own pita breads,really really easy and its really cool to watch,yep Im a sad puppy :o

They are FAB
and much much easier than running out of bread and having to get to a shop.

I have the panasonic one, and its great. I definitely recommend it and the seed dispenser is fab too.

I ONLY make bread (but buy rolls / wraps / pitta bread for variety sometimes)

Just need flour (buy in bulk if you have a dry damp free place to store it) salt, butter, yeast (I prefer doves yeast to sachets) & water. It take me about 2 mins to add the ingredients, and 4 hours later i have a lovely loaf. (2 hours if on quick mode but normal mode makes tastier better bread IMO so unless in huge rush, normally use normal)

I typically stick a loaf of at 5pm ish, ready for 9pm ish, then cools over night and ready to be sliced for toast / sandwiches in the morning. (If you try and cut it while hot / warm, its a nightmare, leaving to cool IS important)

I also use mine for pizza dough.... really really yummy, and i make big batched on tomato sauce that i keep in the freezer so easy to have a home made pizza so long as we have cheese (+ other toppings) available.

You can always use the timer so it finishes when you are around, ie you can set it up in the morning, and time it to finish in the evening when you know you will be in.

I also add stuff to ours... i use all sorts of flours, (sometimes i mix them too) and add things like poppy or sunflower seeds, (yummy) hence the seed dispenser part is fab!

I've had one for about 8 years now. For the two of us I use it about 2-3 times a week. I have my standard bread recipe memorised and can lob all the ingredients in the loaf-tin in under a minute. For special occasions I make fancier loaves. Usually I make the loaves in the evening, give them overnight to cool and then they're easier to cut in the morning.

I've got a bread maker and it's my most used kitchen 'gadget'

well worth the money, especially if you do have to watch what the family are eating. IMO, home baked bread freezes and defrosts much better than shop bought too.

I also make Naan bread dough, pizza dough, roll dough, fruit bun dough

and trout can i have your recipe for pitta dough please?

TIA

Making your own bread is definately a good idea. I used to use a bread machine, but now do it by hand witha "half-sponge" method. I started one off this morning before work. It will take about 15 minutes (split over 40 minutes) when I get back tonight before supper. Then after 1 hr (when you can be putting kids to bed or doing homework) knock back and pop in tin. Ihr later(ish) bake.

Sometimes I start off on a Friday night and then finish off in the morning when teenage kids still asleep.

Very little time overall, and much tastier because the long ferment for the half-sponge intensifies the flavour (and improves keeping qualities). Barely bought bread for a year.

Ours is great. Cheap and cheerful Cookworks one from Argos that does the job nicely. Our favourite is to take the dough out, shape into rolls then bake in the oven for ten mins (as suggested above). Apparently you can also make jam and cakes in there, though I've never tried it...

Works out at about half the price of a normal loaf. I also use Doves Farm yeast because it's easier to measure out.

AuntieMonica here you go Pita recipe,makes about 8

1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup glutin
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast

Toss into a bread machine set it to the dough cycle and let it do its thing

when its done turn out onto floured surface and cut into equal sized pieces( 6-8 depending on how big you like your pitas)

roll each piece into a ball by hand then using a rolling pin roll them out till they are 6-7 inches round ( or there abouts, you want them pretty thin )

cover with a towel and let rise about 1/2 hour till slightly puffy

Preheat the oven to 500 F, needs to be HOT

I bake mine on my wire cooling rack,I find its perfect for this,they need to be done on mesh type thing though not a solid baking sheet

Place 2 side by side in the hot oven and bake 4-5 mins, if you watch through the glass on front of oven door its really cool watching them puff up like footballs

This is really important, when you take them out the oven put them into big freezer bags lay them flat,seal the bag and dont open again till they are cool.

There you go, wicked easy and really really good :o

that's great trout

i'm going to try these later!

thanks so much

AuntieMonica could I have the Naan bread & fruit bun recipe please!

of course!

Plain Naan Bread

1 tspn dried easy blend yeast
1/2 lb strong white bread flour
1/2 lb self raising flour
small pot of plain full fat yoghurt
COLD water... how much depends...

put all ingredients bar the water into bread maker pan and set to mix/pizza dough. gradually add enough water to ensure all the flour comes away from the pan sides and knead until very smooth. (i have panasonic bread maker, 45 min pizza dough programme is excellent)

turn dough into a large bowl and knock back down.

place dough, in bowl, covered, in the fridge for at least 2 hours, up to 8 if possible.

heat your grill to the highest setting (or fire up your tandoor ) and remove the dough from the fridge at least 1/2 hour before cooking to rise to room temp. cover grill pan with tin foil and lightly oil this.

split dough into 4/6 pieces and pull into 'teardrop' shape, brush lightly with oil on both sides and cook very quickly for 1-2 mins on each side.... take care the dough doesn't catch on the grill flame/element though

serve immediately

you can add fried crispy onion or any seeds at the mixing stage if you like

Fruit buns

1/2 tspn dried easy blend yeast
9oz strong white flour - using 100ml warm water

or
3/4 tspn dried easy blend yeast
9oz strong wholemeal flour
1tspn sugar
1oz butter
1tblspn dried milk powder
1 medium egg
110ml warm water
1/2 tspn mixed spice )
1/2 tspn cinnamon ) or any of your favourite spices
1/4 tspn fresh ground nutmeg )

4oz of your favourite dried fruit - i like apricot and cranberry, look good too

this is almost a direct copy out of the Panasonic recipe leaflet, but it really is a fab recipe!

4merly can you let me have your sponge method recipe

ilovemykitchenaid, here you are:

For the sponge
1 dsp Active Dried Yeast
350gm Bread Flour
450ml warm water (300ml cold + 150ml boiling)
Mix to a sloppy mess in a large bowl big enough to cope with a tripling in volume, cover with cling film and leave out on the side overnight.

For the dough (following morning)
350gm Bread Flour
1.5tsp salt
1dsp sugar
50gm butter
Rub this to resemble crumble mixture, then add to the sponge from the night before. (I sometimes replace butter with 2-3 tbsp Olive Oil, no rubbing in required).
I usually throw in a tbsp sunflower seeds and a handful of pumpkin seed. Sometimes a handful of bran as well.

Mix up, then pour out onto work-surface and knead for about 5 minutes and let it rest for 10 minutes in a bowl (covered with a tea towel), then knead again for 5 minutes, rest for 10. Do this two more times then flatten, roll up like a swiss roll and pop it in a greased & floured loaf pan, cover with a tea towel and wait until it rises to double its starting size.

When it is ready, dust with flour, slit the top with a sharp serrated knife and put in a very hot oven (Gas 9) for 15-20 minutes, then turn down to Gas 6 for a further 20 minutes. Take out of loaf pan and return to the oven upside down for 5 minutes.

I usually use 50gm Spelt, 300gm White and 350gm wholemeal. If you use all white flour, it tends to be a bit wet (this is where the addition of some bran can help).

Bon Appetite!

Sorry, a 2lb loaf pan.

We have just bought one, Panasonic 257 as it got rave reviews from Good Housekeeping or Which and we love it. The DC's constantly ask for home made bread. I use a granary flour and it tastes like I bought it from a bakery.

We still buy wraps but we are working our way through our recipe book that came with the machine, we have made french bread, ciabatta, wholemeal, white etc

At the moment we use the breadmaker to do everything but we'll definitely be making some rolls and so we'll use the dough setting on the machine.

I usually make the dough in the breadmaker and then finish it off myself, either as a loaf or rolls, that way I get homemade bread but spend very little time actually doing anything. The dough takes a couple of minutes of throwing in the flour etc, and then 1.5 hours in the machine.

If I'm struggling for time I let the breadmaker do all the work, usually using the timer so I wake up to that nice fresh baked bread smell.