bread in an oven with a timer

[squiggletea]

I have just been very lucky and become proud user of an oven with a timer - with an end time. I've been looking at bread machines, but really don't have space (I keep lurking on the minimalist threads aswell). The short tall loaf with a hole in the middle doesn't really appeal either.

Does anyone make bread successfully like this, ie putting shaped dough in the oven at 10pm and waking up to lovely bread at 8am?

TIA

Blimey, I would think that is going to be an interesting one.........trial and error.

Obviously the bread is going to rise after you put it in the oven, and continue to do so as the oven turns on and the temperature rises to cooking temperature. When the oven turns itself off, it will take a long time to cool down, so the loaf will continue cooking. Furthermore, you will not be there to test the loaf by knocking on the bottom for the hollow sound which indicates that it is cooked through. I think that you will have many failures along the way, but it would be an interesting project, to be sure.

Your bread machine doesn't have to be in the kitchen. You can put it anywhere you like.
Bread machine bread is delicious, and it's lovley waking up to fresh bread, but I fear the oven on timer option is doomed to failure for all the reasons above.

Warning: be prepared to put on a stone from eating home made bread - it's impossible to slice thinly.

Thanks for the replies.

I have been trying to clear some space in the futility room, but it lives up to its name really. I know a bread machine is a sealed unit but I'm not sure it would always be hygienic (and I have low standards!) (Imagine: Come and try my new bread machine bread mil; Ooh let me look at the machine; Oh it's only a bit of dirt...)

Formerly - I envisage being up before it's ready so could test it - that bit I can solve. It's the oven warming stage (and the very long prove). Does anyone know any particular types of bread that would be OK starting from cold? I know most like a hot oven to start.

Fortunately the DCs like bread pudding - that'll be another stone!

Its worth a try. Before you bin the bread maker device.
My suggestions based on many years of home bread baking, but these are only suggestions apart from a I've not tried them.
a- do 1st prove of dough in normal way overnight, but in loaf tin/s, 1st thing in morning knock back just a bit but leave in tin then bake. Go and have shower get dressed etc while bread bakes.
B- if using timer .... Gently pre warm oven before you set dough to prove. No need to have heat on all night tho.
C- experiment with how much yeast you need.
D- if B makes it all go to ballistic forget b and go for a slow cold rise.
E- the raise to temp period in an electric oven works OK ish as a second prove period.
D- oil your tin.

Good luck , do report back.

Thank you for the long list of tips. Sorry for not replying - the computer's been dead and September has been manic.

Based on the fact that life is so manic, I think it's definitely going to be a breadmaker. Need to do a bit more tidying before we find a space for it!

Definitely a cold rise. I've managed some tasty tea cakes overnight in the past - overproved but acceptable (Paul and Mary probably wouldn't agree, but they didn't last long around here)

I'm hoping to go for 'wholesome' - it might not be slimming, but hopefully nutritious

What about doing breakfast rolls instead? Final prove overnight in the fridge and stock them in the oven in the morning for 10 minutes, you could time your oven to come on 10 minutes before you get up so it's ready to go when you come down?

That's a great idea - loaves do seem to take ages to cook!

Update: I did Agirlcalledjack's White chocolate tea loaf (with milk chocolate) and used the timer last night. Best loaf I've ever made!

Admittedly it's pretty cold in the kitchen at the moment and enriched doughs rise more slowly (so says Paul )

But with a breadmaker I could do 'healthy' bread every day, not just the weekend, so the jury's still out!

You can also increase the rise time by using less yeast - I have a french bread recipie that uses only a couple of grains (1/16th of a teaspoon or old dough), but the proving time is measured in days. Have a play about with it to see what suits your overnight kitchen temperature / fridge.

The good thing about a long rise is the bread is tastier because the proteins and starches have time to develop.

We have homemade bread most of the time through a combination of long rise / extra yeasty short rise ( for breads flavoured with other things) and freezing loaves / dough made at the weekend.

A couple of really good (if a little geeky) books are The Bread Bible (Rose Levy Beranbaum) and the Breadmakers Apprentice (Peter Reinhart).

That's interesting Unescorted. Is the french bread one mix then left for a while, or do you need to come back to it? I have done sour dough a couple of times but that was very much a summer holiday project. Lovely bread but I couldn't persuade DH to eat it...

My kitchen is already pretty cluttered (between mega-tidies) and time is short during term time. My dilemma is whether a bread machine would be worth it if I can just chuck it all in or whether it would just be more clutter - and if the cleaning would be worse than a bit of kneading anyway.

I could probably read about bread for a long time. I'm on a recipe book ban at the moment, but I could request them at the library.

Has anyone used the silicon bowl/basket/'tin' thing? How was that?