Panasonic breadmaker gurus required - advice please

[catinthehat]

I've just bought a Panasonic 253 and am slavishly following my first recipe. Now then - do I add the teaspoonful of yeast as per the recipe and keep the rest in the little 7 gram sachet? Or do I throw caution to the wind and chuck the whole sachet in, (as the yeast manufacturer implies it's OK for a large loaf)?

I always stick religiously to the amounts they say in the book and I've never had a failure yet ... just fold the top over on the little sachets and use it for your second loaf!
Good luck ...

Dove's Farm do a larger 125g packet of yeast, which you can keep in the fridge. I put it in an airtight plastic box as well.

The whole breadmaker thing is FAB, and I love my Panasonic!

CookieMonster - most kind (and a sub 3 minute reply!). I'll take your advice.

Frogs - looks like a good site for other ingredients as well. Thanks! feels v pleased

Ahm

Could you tell me where you got your panasonic from- it's not the one in Lakeland is it? I'm thinking about getting one so would love to know how you get on with it. Friends have told me that it does white better than brown - any experience anybody??

poppyseed, I think it does white and brown equally well - just depends which you prefer. I sometimes mix wholemeal and white flours to get a sort of halfway house ...

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I've had a failure with my Panasonic... forgot to add any water, once

Poppyseed: I don't much like the wholemeal bread ours does. Can buy much better in health food shops or even the supermarket, that are also no preservatives, etc. The difference might be the quality of the yeast, though, I think, and truth be told, I don't put in the exact amounts the recipe calls for (am a bit haphazard on measuring....) We mostly do 50-50 wholemeal/white, which is ok, and I love the fact that I know exactly what's in it.

I got mine from amazon for £79 about four weeks ago.

I've found that small loaves work better than large ones, in terms of being easier to cut. Wholemeal and white both work fine, I"ve also used a mix of the two, according to the proportions given. I haven't yet tried the nut and seeded loaves.

I set it up each evening in pretty much the time it takes me to boil the kettle after supper, and put it on the timer to be ready for 6.30 in the morning.

yurtgirl, yes I think it is around £99 - it's one of the most expensive ones around, but well worth the extra in my opinion as it's so reliable.

frogs - that's a good price!

Yes, mine was the Amazon £80, arrived this morning. It was the best price DH could find last week

frogs - yummy yummy, fresh bread at 6.30........

Just taken my loaf out of the Panasonic and wanted to join in to rave about how good it is! I find that mine seems to make realy good wholemeal bread. Waitrose sell a great Canadian stong wholemeal flour which seems to make a tasty loaf. But I have found that although the texture of my white loaf and taste is good, it seems to rise more in the top rh corner and be slightly more pale and soft there - although I do a dark crust. Anyone else find that. Any ideas?

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Got my Panasonic 253 from Amazon for my birthday recently, it's great. I have stuck to the amounts in the book.

The 5 grain bread is lovely

I've just got one of these from Amazon, and so far have followed recipes to the letter. I put my yeast in a little container and leave it in the fridge - but when I have used up this packet I think I'll switch to the Dove. So far, our favourite is the honey and sunflower seed which is a mix of granary and white. I have also made a 70% wholemeal which IMO was better than the 50% half and half, but haven't got round to buying the Vit C to do a 100% wholemeal yet. Anybody recommend anything else to try?

Zebra, if you want that really solid wholemeal type loaf, I have a (non-breadmaker) recipe for a Grant loaf which involves a very wet batter and no kneading.

Hi Florenceuk - I have the Panasonic (bought on Mumsnet recommendation) and we make 100% wholemeal without Vit C and it's fine. So go for it. Made pizza dough in it as well...mmmmmmm. The best pizzas we've ever had. The kids went mad for it. One tip though - if you like your pizza dough thin use the amount to make two pizzas rather than just one. We found using it for one made the base too thick for our tastes. Fruit loaf is gorgeous as well. Oh no, it's only 9am and I'm starting to get hunger pangs already!!

BTW frogs where can you buy the Doves Farm yeast? I've heard of it and don't want to faff about with little sachets anymore. Also, does anyone know where I can get Doves Farm flour as well?

bunjies, I have done the pizza dough too and I agree, it's delicious.

I have found the granary is lovely and there is one called malted, I think, which is part granary, part white flour, which is also tasty.

I can get Doves in Waitrose - haven't seen it anywhere else.

The Co-op sell it round here...

Doves Farm stockists

I'm sitting here drooling too...

Try using the dough mode and make foccacia .. sprinkled with olive oil, red onion and sea salt... yum!

I make wholemeal without adding vitamin C, and it seems to come out fine. Sainsbury's sell Dove's Farm flour, but I buy it from my local wholefood shop, which is also where the yeast came from. It came with a free recipe book too!

ooh, haven't had ours long either and we've only done bread - going to try the pizza tonight. How long will the dough last once I've rolled it out? Will it hang on a couple of hours?