Baking (Bread)

I don't drink coffee either. I do drink a lot of tea though :-) With me, it's an odd thing that if I have hot drinks too hot it gives me hiccups every time and it takes hours to go away! The same thing happens if cold drinks are too cold. It's easy enough to ensure hot drinks aren't too hot though (unless you're out somewhere and have to wait for ages for it to cool down! But then I ask for some cold water). Cold drinks I just say no ice please.
 
Socks Mum said:
A bread maker makes sense. There is such a variety of recipes. Bread is very high in gluten. I am not supposed to drink coffee or tea as they make my heart race. It is difficult, but the thought of the effects makes me think twice before drinking drinks with caffeine in them.
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It does but it's much nicer to make by hand in a way :-)
 
Is there anything better than fresh homemade bread? That looks so nice Sock Mum! Enjoy you piece Socks, such a lucky little man!

We have a breadmaker and I love it (I did work for a company that made them so could be biased), as Maz says is will make dough of different types and let you shape and bake it in the oven, lovely.

I can offer two tips 😀
Yeast goes out of date a little quicker than you would think (at least it surprised me) so I buy the small sachets as I dont do it very often and they stay fresh longer.
To prove the dough, I had some success with putting it in the oven (but leave the oven switched off), and put pyrex dish in the bottom with boiling water, and leave for about and hour.

Sorry that was a bit long, good luck everyone, it's worth the effort!
 
I was using this yeast :-) It's not individual sachets but it did last well if kept in a sealed lock and lock box and the top of the packet closed. But it did start to go before I finished the packet usually. But was maybe ok for 4 to 6 months.

www.dovesfarm.co.uk

Quick Yeast | Fast Acting Yeast

Quick Yeast 125g
www.dovesfarm.co.uk www.dovesfarm.co.uk

During the pandemic I couldn't get hold of it, and yeast was hard to find but I got this one and that was good too. It sounded a bit odd but it was just yeast! But it was a bigger packet and probably wouldn't last longer than 4 to 6 months either.

Fermipan

Individual sachets sounds a good idea though :) Sometimes, even with the Doves Farm one, I think it was old stock and didn't work from the start so I get it direct from them now rather than from Amazon.

Sachets sounds much better if you're not doing it that often. I was doing it every other day at one time.
 
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Steve said:
Is there anything better than fresh homemade bread? That looks so nice Sock Mum! Enjoy you piece Socks, such a lucky little man!

We have a breadmaker and I love it (I did work for a company that made them so could be biased), as Maz says is will make dough of different types and let you shape and bake it in the oven, lovely.

I can offer two tips 😀
Yeast goes out of date a little quicker than you would think (at least it surprised me) so I buy the small sachets as I dont do it very often and they stay fresh longer.
To prove the dough, I had some success with putting it in the oven (but leave the oven switched off), and put pyrex dish in the bottom with boiling water, and leave for about and hour.

Sorry that was a bit long, good luck everyone, it's worth the effort!
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Ah someone who knows all about breadmakers is good! Good tip about the oven. I didn't know that. Last time I did hand made I left the bowl on the floor near an electric radiator. It sort of worked!
 
Brilliant tips, thank you Steve and Maz. I'll put the Pyrex bowl with hot water into the oven next time I prove a loaf.
 
Baking bread is one of my hobbies too, but I have to admit, I usually make the dough in a bread machine and then shape it by hand and prove it.

One thing I found helps is to use high quality (high protein) flour. It's the protein which forms the gluten which gives the bread structure. That's why you can't bake bread with ordinary flour. It doesn't have enough protein so the bread can't rise properly. I use Canadian very strong bread flour from Sainsbury's or M&S (other supermarkets probably do an equivalent) for white bread. You can really feel the difference in the dough.
 
Another bread baker! Which bread maker do you use? 🍞🥪 I bought some sachets of yeast so will put them to work this weekend. The batch I made on Wednesday is finished except for a crust 😄 Socks has put in an order for more bread! Yes, bread flour is best. We are spoiled for choice and most artisan flour is organic ❤️
 
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I used to get my bread flour direct from millers (it was during the pandemic when you couldn't get it from supermarkets) but it did seem to work better - so they probably do vary, as Daisy says. I tried some from Shipton mill but this was the best one! Rose well every time.

wessexmill.co.uk

Strong White Bread Flour 1.5kg Bag | Made From UK Wheat

Perfect for home bakers, bakeries, and catering, our Strong White Bread Flour is ideal for crafting delightful loaves and rolls. Sourced from UK-grown and milled wheat.
wessexmill.co.uk wessexmill.co.uk

This one worked really well for malty brown bread :-)

www.dovesfarm.co.uk

Organic Malted Bread Flour 1kg

Make tasty granary-style loaves and rolls with our Organic Malthouse Bread Flour - a blend of organic wheat, rye and barley malt flours with added malted wheat flakes.
www.dovesfarm.co.uk www.dovesfarm.co.uk
 
Socks Mum said:
Another bread baker! Which bread maker do you use? 🍞🥪 I bought some sachets of yeast so will put them to work this weekend. The batch I made on Wednesday is finished except for a crust 😄 Socks has put in an order for more bread! Yes, bread flour is best. We are spoiled for choice and most artisan flour is organic ❤️
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I have a Panasonic. Quite an old model I think.
 
Mine is a panasonic too. At the time, they were supposed to be the best/most reliable I seem to remember. This is mine but that model doesn't seem to be available any more. Never used the "nut dispenser" ha ha.

Bread maker
 
It was about £200 though.
 
This one seems to be the equivalent model now

Panasonic bread maker

There are various tips and tricks though to make sure the results are good. Like putting the yeast in first, then the flour, then salt and sugar, then shaking it to make sure the flour is level (or the loaf comes out wonky) then add the warm liquid last. Apparently the idea is you don't want the liquid going straight onto the yeast and setting it off before adding the other ingredients. Also getting the liquid the right temperature made a difference to results. I did mostly cold and just added a little bit of hot and then stirred it (it comes with a measuring cup). So only just tepid basically.
 
Thank you, I will definitely be getting the flour! The BM looks like great. I like that it is apparently quiet. I will look for any special offers! It is an amazing machine, bread, cakes pizza bases and pasta!
 
Maz said:
This one seems to be the equivalent model now

Panasonic bread maker

There are various tips and tricks though to make sure the results are good. Like putting the yeast in first, then the flour, then salt and sugar, then shaking it to make sure the flour is level (or the loaf comes out wonky) then add the warm liquid last. Apparently the idea is you don't want the liquid going straight onto the yeast and setting it off before adding the other ingredients. Also getting the liquid the right temperature made a difference to results. I did mostly cold and just added a little bit of hot and then stirred it (it comes with a measuring cup). So only just tepid basically.
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Wonderful, I never thought of these things before!
 
To be honest I only ever made loaves in it - so apart from the kneading and proving in the machine it's not a lot different to making it by hand. I did make bread rolls once, doing the first half in the machine. And like all machines, it needs the odd bit of cleaning! Which is why I don't have a food processor - more things to wash up. I just have an electric hand whisk and that does the job for most things :-) I do scones and pastry by hand, the old fashioned way :-)
 
Great to hear everyone is enjoying their Panasonic breadmakers! 😀. Like many I'm sure, I got mine during lockdown and used it all the time. I still use it fairly regularly but like Maz I generally just make a loaf, and don't often just make dough with it to bake myself. Although it does make a very good pizza dough.
Mine also has a yeast dispenser, so you tell it what you are making and it will add it at the right time witch is useful.
Just thinking about it is making me hungry....
 
I dont make bread but I love proper (ie healthy) bread. Luckily we have a local market with an artisan baker who sells some lovely loaves.
 
Steve said:
Great to hear everyone is enjoying their Panasonic breadmakers! 😀. Like many I'm sure, I got mine during lockdown and used it all the time. I still use it fairly regularly but like Maz I generally just make a loaf, and don't often just make dough with it to bake myself. Although it does make a very good pizza dough.
Mine also has a yeast dispenser, so you tell it what you are making and it will add it at the right time witch is useful.
Just thinking about it is making me hungry....
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Already had mine quite a while before the pandemic :-) But it was extremely handy during the pandemic! It's like a surreal nightmare now, remembering we couldn't get food or supermarket orders. We ended up having deliveries from a local farm shop which cost a fortune. Ready meals and veg etc.
 
A BM with a timer must be rather a nice thing to come home to. It must have been a real source of comfort during the Pandemic, although it's really unlucky that bread doesn't agree with you Maz. Still, having something to keep the wolf from the door must have been a help.
 
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