Bread?

[Kauri]

Be carefull with breadmixes for bread machines, a lot of them have the preservatives in the ingredients, whether it be diguised as 282, cultured whey or whatever. One of the best I have found is certain types of Lauckes flour or their premix (i.e German wholemeal or Sellenium), it is 100% free of preservatives and is available at most supermarkets.

Try this page for more info....
http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/factsheets/Factsafebread.htm

 

[noirua]

Bread should contain only Flour, Yeast and water. Add tomatoes, or anything else that is fresh to increase the flavour. Do not add calcium propinate ( 282 preservative or whey ).

My weight has gradually come down 12%, purely by cutting out shop bread and my blood pressure average is now 127 systolic - 78 diastolic - 60 pulse. 6 months ago it was 148 systolic - 91 diastolic - 75 pulse. ( Average is the last 10 readings ).

Perfect blood pressure is said to be 120 systolic - 80 diastolic at 20 years, rising to 135 systolic - 89 diastolic over the age of 60.

Blood pressure ( systolic ) at 120 is said to be perfect. A figure of 180 means your heart is pumping at twice the pressure - do something about it, as you have a very much increased risk of a heart attack or stroke at that level.

Before you start eating lots of bread read this article: http://health.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=2965

 

[Smurf1976]

When you end up giving your bread away as you will because everyone wants it! Do remember to pull the paddle out of the loaf headed for distant places or unknown recipiants - they are expensive to replace.
John:error: :cussing:

And remember to remove the paddle before cutting the bread!

 

[cogidubnus]

And remember to remove the paddle before cutting the bread!

What is the paddle? I will have to buy a machine I guess

 

[blueroo]

Thanks to cog for initiating this thread. I am now armed with a shiny new machine and awoke this morning expecting my first, lovingly-crafted loaf of home-made bread.

Well, you can imagine the shock on finding a blob of cooked dough no higher than 30mm sitting in the pan It didn't rise at all!

On checking the booklet, I think it may have been caused by the water mixing with the yeast during the 4+ hours that it was sitting there waiting to start. I had just poued the water in and noticed that it had probably penetrated the flour.

I'm now onto prototype No. 2 and dribbled the water in this time so that it has no chance of reacting with the yeast until required.

About lunch time, I should be dining on my new heavenly creation

Any more tips would be welcome in case this is a failure too!

 

[blueroo]

Success ...mostly.

Loaf number 2 great except it's very hard to cut because it is so light and soft.

If anyone can give me a tip on how to get it a bit more dense, it would be appreciated. I have used the following quantities:

560g Laucke's Bread Pre-mix (crusty white bread)
1.25 teaspoons of yeast
385ml water.

The above quantities as per Laucke's recipe on bread-mix packet.

Cooked it in a Panasonic Bread machine with the following settings:

Basic
Bake
XL size
Medium crust colour
Time 4 hours

I let it cool for 1 hour before tucking in. Great taste but like I said, very light and soft.

 

[Julia]

What a bunch you are for wanting it all done for you?

There's just nothing to compare with the satisfaction of manually kneading the dough with your own hands, waiting for it to prove, knocking it down and then baking it in a real oven.

Try it - much more fun.

Julia

 

[nioka]

Had a mud crab and homemade bread for lunch today. Nothing like it . Use Kitchen Collection bread in a Breville bread maker

 

[blueroo]

What a bunch you are for wanting it all done for you?

There's just nothing to compare with the satisfaction of manually kneading the dough with your own hands, waiting for it to prove, knocking it down and then baking it in a real oven.

C'mon Julia, by the time I finish rubbing the washing on the ripple board, cut firewood for the stove, milk the cow and charge the carbide light, I don't have time for kneadin', provin', knockin' and a bakin'

 

[Happy]

You can start experimenting with ingredients.

White bread is that, mostly fluffy.
To change it a bit you can add rye flour, but try to add just 1 tablespoon to your mix.
It might not require any additional changes; bread will be slightly darker, will not rise as high and will be chewier.
At some point more yeast will be needed to raise the dough as rye makes it much harder to rise.

You can also try some other ingredients, like honey or sultanas to get sweeter bread, carrot juice instead of part water for interesting colour, even beetroot juice for dramatic colour, not to mention grated nuts, poppy seeds, pine nuts, grated almonds, sesame seeds, linseed, chopped parsley, lemon zest or orange zest, of course not all at the same time, just what you want it to be.

You might add spoon or two of unprocessed bran; this will increase fibre content a lot.

Just experiment, it's great fun too.

 

[blueroo]

Great ideas. Thanks Happy.

 

[Jochen]

Hi Blueroo,

To get the loaf more dense reduce the yeast to say 1 teaspoon. I normally put the water first in the pan and add the flower that it forms a pyramid, make a dent in the top for the yeast. You may wish to darken the crust this will make the bread more crunchy. Found that cutting fresh bread with electric knife make things easy.
Once you master this with premix you can graduate to making your own mix. Buy bakerflower, which you can mix with wholemeal or rye flower and start experimenting.
Great fun

Cheers
Jochen

 

[2020hindsight]

Not necessarily about bread - except that bread is / used to be made at fireplaces - and this might qualify as "fireside philosophy". PS it equally applies to life as to trading. PPS I wont be offended if you skip this and get back to the important stuff - how to make a motsa tomorrow. (good luck to us all on that score - may we open the right doors )

Sometimes when I am half in trance I retrace steps of old,
When I was young and liked to dance, and brasher praps and bold,
When there were risky things I chanced which I let Fate unfold,
And some delivered cactus plants, where they had promised gold.
Ahh, paths can get so complex, even cold,
And much is lost to moss, and much to mould.

To walk some different pathways chaps, or follow different yearns,
To set a different campfire praps, without so many burns,
To make a better damper with the skills of one who learns,
To sidestep indigestion traps and other like concerns.
Ideally - using "hindsight maps" - return
And make the right decision at each turn.

Life's like a dodgem car careering, foot flat to the floor,
And little time to "twig" the steering, taking hits galore,
And doors have opened left and right, and options by the score,
……But …I have used THIS path my friends,
THIS set of doors around THESE bends
And there's NO way doors come again,
- And I'm THIS path, - And I'm THESE doors.
- And I'm THESE strengths and I'm THESE flaws
- And I'm THESE footprints through the moors
- And I'm effect; and I am cause.
Ahh - you just had to be there

 

[watsonc]

Today bread from supermarkets is basically made from starch and water. So basically what you are eating is GLUE!!! it's true!

 

[cogidubnus]

Today bread from supermarkets is basically made from starch and water. So basically what you are eating is GLUE!!! it's true!

This is true and it sticks to guts like glue. thank you evryone for input. I will buy bread making machine and adds lots of good natural grains to my bread so that its a wholesome meal on my travels. I would also like to know if raisin bread can be made in these machines?

 

[cogidubnus]

Today bread from supermarkets is basically made from starch and water. So basically what you are eating is GLUE!!! it's true!

This is true and it sticks to guts like glue. thank you evryone for input. I will buy bread making machine and adds lots of good natural grains to my bread so that its a wholesome meal on my travels. I would also like to know if raisin bread can be made in these machines?

 

[Smurf1976]

What is the paddle? I will have to buy a machine I guess

Inside the machine is a "pan" which is basically a rectangular metal bowl where the bread is made and cooked. In the bottom is a removable "paddle" which spins around to mix the ingredients. Think of it as being a bit like the agitator in a washing machine although it's only about 2 - 3cm high and as thick as a 20c coin.

Quite often the paddle will come out still in the bottom of the loaf when you tip the bread out. Don't forget to get the paddle out of the loaf before cutting the bread or you'll wreck both the paddle and your knife. Not as hard as it sounds - it just pulls out easily and leavs as small "slice" in the bottom of the loaf.

 

[Smurf1976]

Thanks to cog for initiating this thread. I am now armed with a shiny new machine and awoke this morning expecting my first, lovingly-crafted loaf of home-made bread.

Well, you can imagine the shock on finding a blob of cooked dough no higher than 30mm sitting in the pan It didn't rise at all!

On checking the booklet, I think it may have been caused by the water mixing with the yeast during the 4+ hours that it was sitting there waiting to start. I had just poued the water in and noticed that it had probably penetrated the flour.

I'm now onto prototype No. 2 and dribbled the water in this time so that it has no chance of reacting with the yeast until required.

About lunch time, I should be dining on my new heavenly creation

Any more tips would be welcome in case this is a failure too!

Try putting the yeast in first, followed by the solid ingredients (flour etc or bread mix), oil (if adding any - small amounts are used for some breads) and put the water in last.

Make sure the bread mix covers the whole base of the pan to a reasonable thickness (spread it out) so that the water doesn't get through before the machine starts mixing.

I've had no problems leaving it up to 12 hours or so doing it this way.

 

[Smurf1976]

Success ...mostly.

Loaf number 2 great except it's very hard to cut because it is so light and soft.

If anyone can give me a tip on how to get it a bit more dense, it would be appreciated. I have used the following quantities:

560g Laucke's Bread Pre-mix (crusty white bread)
1.25 teaspoons of yeast
385ml water.

The above quantities as per Laucke's recipe on bread-mix packet.

Cooked it in a Panasonic Bread machine with the following settings:

Basic
Bake
XL size
Medium crust colour
Time 4 hours

I let it cool for 1 hour before tucking in. Great taste but like I said, very light and soft.

Hmm... I've had my bread maker for about 10 years and I can't remember exactly what I did to get it right. But I'm using 500g bread mix, 1.5 teaspoons yeast, 350ml water (350g if weighing the water) and it's working fine. I'm using "Four Roses" wholemeal mix although I don't think this is widely available as it's a local Tassie brand.

My machine is probably a bit smaller than the new ones however.

Is it light at the top and heavy at the bottom or is it too light and soft all over?

I normally let the bread stand for a while as it becomes "firmer" this way. I just put it in the pantry with one of those fly-proof screens over it and let it cool.

 

[Happy]

One of the ‘nuances’ I learned is that longer you leave before machine starts, longer yeast have time to work and as by product more alcohol is produced.

Important bit is to compensate with timer setting, because alcohol evaporates, cools the mixture while it is baked and loaf is cooked one or two notches lighter than you would have wanted.

I could not use my machine on 12 hours delay setting as even setting it on darkest crust setting it would be just pale beige.
With 4 hours delay crust would be just right and with no delay on the same setting crust would be too dark.
So I knew that there would be a reason and thought of alcohol’s cooling effect, but not sure if my conclusion is 100% right.

As to ingredients, you can make bread to suit the occasion, for some sandwiches it is really great when you add ground pepper, curry powder, ground caraway – whole is OK too, but if ends up on surface, can be baked so hard that might have tooth splitting strength, hence better ground, crushed garlic, or chopped garlic leaves, even ground dry bay leaves or chopped fresh bay leaf gives noticeable fragrance.

The only problem with exotic breads is, they are real pain if you have honey or sultana bread and you want to make ham sandwich, or you have garlic chopped leaf bread and you would like to have your bread with jam.

The safest bread is plane kind of bland, and you make it taste with what you put on top, but I still experimented and my favourite was sultana bread, just had it straight or with avocado and I always thought, how healthy my body is going to be when I die