Bread making machines

Soo.. I went and bought one and a few goodies too



I have had my actifry a while mind, 4 years maybe.. it's tripped the electric a few times too.. think we need a new one tbh!

I prefer ounces and pounds to grams and kilos.. but I think that was down to working on a meat counter and having the old folk say do you even know what a pound is! Liquids I get all confused on.

Let's get baking!

 

Nice haul @Linz

Just don't confuse your dried yeast with your Miracle Gro (we don't want you to turn into a leggy weed )

Make sure you have your camera ready for when that first loaf comes out ... if we don't have pictures, it never happened

 

I have an old bread making machine which needs a new home. If you are interested let me know. You will need to collect, tested it recently and good to go.

 

Well it's in.. think I might have made a booboo or 2 already.
Used the manuals recipe for basic white bread as I didn't want to alter the pack mix weights.. machine does bigger loaves than pack's instructions. Strong white says refer to bread maker anyways..

Missed out the teaspoon of dried milk, they only had dried skimmed in Tesco. Is that what they were asking for? and is it really needed or could i substitute some water for proper milk?
Also the yeast, in the manual it says don't use tinned yeast for bread makers (which I've bought, the allinson's green one) plus I don't have digital scales to hand, so have put 2 level teaspoons in.. my scales go up in 25g's and booklet said 1% difference in ingredients can alter bread massively, so am cacking them!

 

Aww, @Linz Welcome to .... The Learning Curve No one could fault your enthusiasm and it is a joy to read

Point #1 (dried milk): yes, dried skimmed milk is the thing; in the absence of milk, yes, water will do, it is far more important to get the fluid content right (at this stage of your tuition, at any rate).
INFO: What is the purpose of milk? Crust! You get a softer crust using milk One of the reasons for using a dried milk powder is when you use a delayed timer programme. Obviously, fresh milk, left in a warm BM might go a bit sour if left on a delayed timer. Having said that, plenty of bread recipes actively call for yogurt (soured milk ish) so don't get hung up over it. Really!

Point #2 (yeast): The manual was written with the typist standing back to front. Dried, tinned, yeast is the way to go with bread machines. Fresh yeast is the way to go with hand made loaves. I have already seen your photo of ingredients (although I balked at the idea of having Miracle Gro lined up with your BM stash ) and the Green Alllinsons Dried Yeast, I believe, is the right one for BM's - but, it will say so on the tin
Tip: Some people I know have used fresh yeast in their BM's - sometimes given away free at Asda (or, it was a few years back); however, the dried stuff is much easier to measure and control when working with the BM.
Two level teaspoons, however, is a bit ... excessive! I use 1 teaspoon in a 500g of flour for a basic white loaf. The worst that will happen is, either ... it will rise greatly and look like it will burst out of the BM -no problem, if you see that happen, open the lid with a cocktail stick or pin to the ready and just *pop* the top to let some air out - or, it may not even rise (so, think .. BRICK!) but neither of those scenarios is the end of the world. Do you have a recipe to hand for Bread Pudding?

Here is a recipe for a basic white loaf, using the most basic ingredients:-

1 tsp of dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour (imperial would equate to approx. 1lb 2oz)
1 tsp of salt
350ml of water (that's 12fl oz in old money )

Select Basic White - Medium Crust - check the size (according to flour amount as per your hand book that came with the machine) and away you go

We'll get you there my lovely, don't worry

 

Legend! Thank you for all your bread/baking wisdom Off proper shopping tomorrow, so will pick up digital scales and some dried milk

Realised I made another mistake, with an hour n 15 left.. put stuff in for a small loaf but managed to put the machine on largest loaf Positive I put it on correct setting.. unless someone had a potch

Lol I did think twice about the 2tsps yeast.. oh well first go and all that

My machines recipe for basic white (500g loaf):
Water 190g .. yeah grams!
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
sugar 1 tbsp
Milk powder 1tbsp
Strong white flour 350g
1 1/2 tsp of yeast.. yeah I did overdose lol

Well 16 mins left still looks slightly white.. smells nice though

Don't knock my miracle grow its on offer in wilko, 2.75! Don't fancy blue bread though or turning into a gangly weed!

 

Ta-da!

But OMG..
The paddle got baked in!?!

 

Well done....looks yummy....apart from the metal bit
It could be heavy metal bread!!

 

Aw thank you. It's really nice, I'm surprised! We do like our heavy metal in our house, maybe we could make a Slayer pizza soon

 

That looks like a RUSH badge...seen them in concerts a few times....
Slayer, I am repentless about them too.
But Kirk Hammitt is my guitar hero (not forgetting Joe (satch) and Steve Vai
rock on

 

..and justice for all now what an album! Start to finish!

 

Second attempt. Fast bake program one.. awful. Paddle still baked in

Time for bed..Round 2 tomorrow.

 

The paddle will always be in the bread. If you think about it, it has to be still there!

You can normally pull it out with your fingers. There should have been a strange bit of strong wire, with a 90 degree bend and the end, to put through the central hole of the paddle, and pull it out. Sometimes you need to gently ease the crust, so that it can slip out.

 

Ended up doing a timed one for this morning, really pleased, bit heavy but still good. Funnily enough Sian the paddle didn't bake in this time, it's still in the tin! Sods law?

 

Bravo @Linz No one can fault your enthusiasm

The paddle often gets stuck in the loaf Try oiling the pan and paddle before you put your ingredients in. Also, after baking, put your loaf on a cooling rack and after it had cooled down a little, turn it upside down, gently push down either side of the stuck paddle so it raises a little and then just pull it out. Don't try when it first comes out of the machine because that metal will be hot!!! If you can do it while the loaf is still warm, the "hole" from the length of paddle sort of heals a bit.
Alternatively, you could simply remove it before the loaf goes into "Bake" mode; but that means standing over it to capture the moment it goes from Rise, Rest, Bake and almost defeats the object of letting the machine do all the work Mind you, having said that, there is that moment in the programme where you get an opportunity to put a glaze on the dough and that would be a great opportunity to take the paddle out too.
Personally, I find it a minor issue and not worth worrying about - it doesn't affect the taste.