Bread baking

[cheesybeans1234]

I'm a reluctant baker and getting lost looking at baking websites because they all assume some knowledge!

I have the Panasonic bread maker and have been happily using it for many years. What I'm interested in is using that to make the dough then baking the loaf in the oven. This is purely to get rid of the annoying ripped hole in the base of the bread maker made loaf.

Can I make the dough today then shove it in the fridge to rise overnight and bake it from cold in the morning? I'm assuming not because that seems too easy!

Does anyone have any really easy hands off ways to make bread maker dough into an oven bake loaf? Preferably so that I'm not tied to the house for the whole duration? Thank you!

Normally you would make the dough, let it prove (rise to double its size) then knock it back, shape it and then put it in the loaf tin to double in size again before baking.

I only once baked from cold and it wasn't very successful, but that might have been me rather than the process.

Why not make the dough now, cover and leave to rise for an hour, then knock it back and leave for an hour, then bake? You don't have to be there all the time. It wouldn't matter if you left it on its first prove for 2 hours.

Thank you 4merly. What I'm aiming for is something I can put into an everyday routine, as I usually do with the bread maker. I see that to bake overnight so it's ready in the morning.

So maybe make the dough at 8pm every evening then chuck it in the oven at 7am in the morning. With nothing in between. Anything that involves doing something every few hours won't be practical once normality resumes and I'm out of the house 9am til 6pm most days.

I think I'm after the impossible!

Google says you can chill dough overnight but to let it warm a little for best results before baking.

OP, I used to use the Half-Sponge method (not using a bread machine) which fitted very easily in to the daily routine. Try this at the weekend and see if it would be adaptable to a weekday.

Mix all the water, half the flour, and all the yeast together in the morning (you don't need to knead anything at that stage). Cover with cling film and leave all day whilst you are at work. Then, in the evening add the rest of the flour, the yeast and anything else you might normally add like seeds or a bit of oil, then mix all that up and knead (or let the machine do it), let that rise whilst you are cooking/eating dinner, then knock back, let it rise again and bake. It literally takes 5 mins in the morning, 5-10 mins straight after work, then 5 mins after your evening meal. Who thought you could bake a loaf of bread with only 20 minutes work?

Sorry, typo.....in the evening you add the rest of the flour and the SALT (not the yeast, you put that in in the morning).

You can leave dough to rise in the fridge overnight. Time will do its job

It’s the second rise you need to do in the morning (maybe not, haven’t tried)

Just let it warm up a bit before you put it in the oven.

Thank you all for the suggestions I think I've got a few plans to work with. I'll report back with any huge disasters or success stories!

Can you set the timer on your bread machine to do the dough for 7am then just chuck it in the oven?

I personally have no problem with the hole in the bottom of the loaf. So easy just to bing it all in and viola fresh bread in the morning no hassle 😂

This is how I make bread, but I make sourdough so the timings would be slightly different for normal yeast as sourdough is often slower at rising, etc, anyway and it improves the flavour.

I make the dough up in the late evening and leave over night in the fridge to rise.

At some point the next day I knock it back, fold and shape and return to the fridge to proof.

I can leave this stage for a few days, but usually I take it out early the next morning and slash the top then leave it resting on the side whilst the oven preheats to 220°C (with a tray already in). I add hot water to this tray when the loaf is put into the oven....this creates steam that helps with the oven spring. I then bake as usual.

There is very little hands on work and no kneading so it really is mostly waiting and timings.