Do I need a breadmaker, or just more organisation?

[Habbibu]

I'm ok at making bread by hand, but am disorganised, and never seem to plan the timing right to get loaf proved, shaped and proved again for when we actually need it. There are no good bakers near us, supermarket bread is not v. good, and also suck you in to buying lots of other stuff.

So - do I buy a breadmaker, or can any hardcore baking people who do it by hand give me some timings for how you manage regular breadmaking? Tips on temps for proving would also be good - just don't say airing cupboard as we don't have one.

You could weigh out your dry ingredients into the pan in the evening when you would normally switch it on. Then in the morning add your water and set the timer to finish in the evening.

If I leave the loaf in after it's done, the condensation makes it really soggy at the bottom, and although it dries out, the loaf is not as good so it is important to take it out as soon as you can.

i've certainly left a loaf in for a half hour or so to no ill effect, though.

DH is in charge of taking the bread out in the morning and he often just takes the pan out without removing the bread. Maybe if it's left in the warm breadmaker then you don't get the condensation issue. In fact, thinking about it that's obvious isn't it! Warm inside, colder outside...duh!

We make by hand - and don't bother with the first prove - just kneed, shape, into bread tins and allow to rise then cook. We normally make 2 loaves at a time to make it more efficient in terms of oven use - and it lasts superbly kept in a bag in the fridge.

you deffo can't leave it in the pan, iykwim? if you've taken it out then it has to come pout completely. tell your dh to pull his finger out.

YOu do not need a bread maker

I make bread every day, i don't knead it, i can't be arsed to warm water and if i forget the dough just sits for another day

AND i just got a prize in village fete for my bread. FIRST PRIZE.

Look at youtube 'newyork times no-knead bread'

EASY EASY EASY, sometimes i put it in the fridge for a day or so if i have too much bread to eat until i need it. Sometimes i leave it to rise for 8 hours, sometimes24, once 36 hours, still made great bread.

Don't bother with warm water or warm room, only thing you need to do is remember to add salt or it tastes horrible.

AND to be honest i add less water or it gets too glooppy.

VOILA full proof bread.

Oh i bake in the evening so the bread is ok to cut for sandwiches am

Oh yes I often leave the bread for half an hour or so, but I couldnt leave it overnight in the machine could I? I mean, overnight, having finished baking say at midnight.

And yes I could do as you suggested, ZQ or Eyeballs. I am a sahm so I am here most of the time. It is just a question of establishing a routine I think. I am not very good at that!

I am astonished that any bread is cut-able after 30 mins. I only make white or 50/50 white and wholemeal bread so maybe it is all your seeds and so on that makes your bread easier to handle Aitch.

I made sandwiches this morning with warm bread and, apart from wanting to stuff it in my gob there and then, it was fine.

could be, dg. i can't imagine i'd be able to cut white bread so quickly.

Hi, can't be arsed haven't got time to read all the posts, so sorry if someone else has said this. I've got a small, compact breadmaker and I don't like the shape of the loaf when it comes out, plus the big hole is annoying, so I tend to mix/prove the bread in the machine then bake in the oven. No faff, perfectly mixed/proved and a lovely shape = smug and happy songbird!

Aha, that's 'cos you don't have a Panasonic then

I don't like breadmaker bread myself.

Do you have a freezer - home made bread freezes well, as does dough.

Also, sourdough bread as I think others have said is very easy and will just sit rising for hours, but the taste is quite distinctive so it depends if you like it.

Sorry got lost mid post but whoever it is who doesn't have an airing cupboard, just fill your washing up bowl half full with hot water & stand the mixing bowl in it with a clean towel over the top, makes it rise beautifully even in a sub zero house.

I used to hate the hole in the bread my mother used to make in her Panasonic and give to me, but now I have my own Panasonic, I don't find the hole to be a problem at all. Maybe this is a feature Panasonic have worked on?

Sorry to be obsessive Eyeballs, but thick is this warm bread you cut to make sandwiches? And what cutting implement did you use? If a knife, how sharp is it, on a scale of 1-10 where 1 is a dinner knife and 10 is a honed sword edge? I have an admittedly old bread knife. I don't think it is particularly sharo, but neither is it particularly blunt either (I have vegetable knives that are blunter). But maybe I am missing something new on the market?

Also, how do you butter warm bread without messing it up?

That should have said "how thick...."

LOL @ knife questions

I took it out at 6.30 and made sandwiches at about 7.15 so crust was coolish but inside was warm. Slice size...erm, think thick pre-sliced Hovis slices, not crusty bread slices IYSWIM - about 15mm thick. Knife used was an electric (Anthony Worral Thompson) knife which is a few weeks old so nice and sharp.

Buttering is a challenge, hence the desire to gobble it up. I've just eaten it and it was lovely

mine's a panazonic with seed dispenser... [snooty]

Habbibu, have you tried proving in your car? That works here.

Aitch, Whats a sourdough-type flour? I have a sourdough starter but use white, wholemeal or rye flour, or a mix of them.

LOL Aitch, I have the one with a seed dispenser too. I keep toying with the idea of putting choc drops in there to see what would happen.

And Eyeballs, if you have an electric knife (blimey! ) no wonder you can cut warm bread!

Oh yes I gave up on manual when I sliced my first loaf and got three wonky doorsteps and a board full of crumbs out of it...was never going to save me any money like that

What I tend to do now though is to wait till the loaf is completely cold and then slice the lot so that I am the only one who has to use the big sharp knife and dh doesn't decimate my lovingly prepared loaves

My dh is ok with the bread knife. It is when my children get hold of it that the loaf ends up being sacrificed to the Lord of Chaos.

Doesn't pre-sliced bread go dry?

OK - well, my car is even colder than my house, so not terribly likely! Not enough room in freezer for lots of bread.

Have made sourdough, overnight sponge etc etc - I am actually quite good at handmade bread! BUT - I've found that getting it to rise can be hit and miss here - it is a cold house! and that, as I've said, it requires me to be more organised than I actually am.

I think it's tricky in that if you are quite organised and fit handbaking well into your day it's hard to see how an intelligent yet chaotic numpty like me can't. But I just know I'm disorganised, (e.g. I have an OU exam in a month and have yet to contemplate revision) and also the outlay on the breadmaker would be a good incentive. I tend to be quite good at making use of kitchen gadgets I buy.

Right, well, I've gorn and bought one - the fancy schmancy Panasonic. I absolutely accept that I don't need one, but I do think I'll make good use of it. I've been making bread for years and never got organised enough to make enough for what we need, so don't see why I think I'd suddenly start now.

However, I will have a go at the other methods on this thread - because it's fun, and I'd like dd to be able to bake bread, cakes etc without any implements - served me very very well at university. And I'll need to practice in case my village ever starts a fair with prizes!

But thanks so much for all comments - it's been really helpful.

Yay, welcome

DG it doesn't seem to dry out. It's probably not quite as soft as it would be freshly cut but if I introduced you to DH then you'd instantly see why slightly drier bread is preferable to a powerful slicing implement within a 10 mile range of him

i've no idea what sourdough type means tbh, it just says sourdough on the side of the bag. in german. so lord knows it's not authentic but it seems to make the loaf quite dense which is where i think breadmaker loaves fall down for the most part.