[Steadybears]

Great news got myself a bread maker and have made a loaf a day - Oh thinks this is better than Christmas - are others in NZ using a bread maker and is it a saving - what does it cost to make a loaf compared with buying a loaf?:raebanana :raebanana

Jayne

[benandclare]

We bake a loaf around every 2-3 days :nice1 Not that much cheaper than buying a loaf by the time you add it all up but you cant beat that fresh bread smell :D

[PeteS]

We bake a loaf around every 2-3 days :nice1 Not that much cheaper than buying a loaf by the time you add it all up but you cant beat that fresh bread smell :D

And the spreading waistline..... but it does smell nice.... mmmmmmmmmmm.

Her indoors, leader of the opposition, she who must be obeyed, does her own icecream as well....... mmmmmmmmmmmm, Lemon Merangue Ice Cream.... Of course I only eat it to keep her happy you know....

[Familyofmonkeys]

We use a breadmaker for almost all of our own bread, and only keep an emergency loaf in the freezer for when we are desparate. We buy big 5kg bags of white and wholemeal flour and make 2 loaves per 3 days on average. We find it is about half the price compared to buying bread when you buy the ingredients in bulk.

Where we make the real savings is with speciality breads which are quite expensive here in NZ. We often make ciabatta, Garlic & Coriander Naan, Peshwari Naan, Foccacia, Pizza Dough, Calzone Dough, Raisin/Fruit bread, various different doughs for rolls/bagels etc. Also I love to make experimental flavoured breads, although we eat alot more of this in winter along with home made stew/chowder from the slowcooker....very cheap eating :)

the other thing we find here in NZ is that if you are using recipes from UK, North America etc, you might have to play about a bit with the amount of water, salt and yeast as the humidity here in NZ can make a considerable difference to the recipes in warm weather. For example when I make a 1000g Wholemeal bread I need to reduce the water level by 1/8 cup (flour absorbs more moisture from humid air) and reduce yeast by 1/2 teaspoon. If you need any suggestions, let me know!

[Jo Jo]

We were making (and eating) one loaf of bread a day, until I worked out how many calories there were in a loaf of bread... Now we're down to about 1 every 2 or 3 days. I usually just make the dough in the breadmaker and then bake the bread in the oven.

But as Familyofmonkeys says, if you buy the ingredients in bulk it does work out cheaper (especially if you live in a small town without an abundance of bakers).

[benandclare]

We use a breadmaker for almost all of our own bread, and only keep an emergency loaf in the freezer for when we are desparate. We buy big 5kg bags of white and wholemeal flour and make 2 loaves per 3 days on average. We find it is about half the price compared to buying bread when you buy the ingredients in bulk.

Where we make the real savings is with speciality breads which are quite expensive here in NZ. We often make ciabatta, Garlic & Coriander Naan, Peshwari Naan, Foccacia, Pizza Dough, Calzone Dough, Raisin/Fruit bread, various different doughs for rolls/bagels etc. Also I love to make experimental flavoured breads, although we eat alot more of this in winter along with home made stew/chowder from the slowcooker....very cheap eating :)

the other thing we find here in NZ is that if you are using recipes from UK, North America etc, you might have to play about a bit with the amount of water, salt and yeast as the humidity here in NZ can make a considerable difference to the recipes in warm weather. For example when I make a 1000g Wholemeal bread I need to reduce the water level by 1/8 cup (flour absorbs more moisture from humid air) and reduce yeast by 1/2 teaspoon. If you need any suggestions, let me know!


Ah good shout :nice1

I'm getting to grips with the slow cooker but not in the weather we having at the moment, defo the salads here :D

Ben

[Steadybears]

Thanks for all the info - Im churning out a loaf a day and when OH and son arrive home they tuck in with cheese and chutney - so its one a day - hope that wears off!!

Might have to ask for all the recipes fro you Famiy of Monkeys - they sound delicious.
Jayne

[Familyofmonkeys]

Thanks for all the info - Im churning out a loaf a day and when OH and son arrive home they tuck in with cheese and chutney - so its one a day - hope that wears off!!

Might have to ask for all the recipes fro you Famiy of Monkeys - they sound delicious.
Jayne

Jayne...I mostly adapt the recipes that came with my brad machine instructions, but I do recommend one little book that has been very useful:

One Hundred Bread Machine Recipes by Vicki Smallwood.

I think it is available on amazon and I adapt the naan and flatbread recipes and the foccacia with different ingredients/herbs etc and they all work out just fine!

[Steadybears]

Thanks Family of Monkeys - thats great will have a look now.

Cheers
Jayne

[Familyofmonkeys]

I'm not sure my favourite Ciabatta recipe is in the book. Do you want me to PM you with it?

[gil]

Oh please share on a post, not a PM! Pretty please? :D

Gil

[Familyofmonkeys]

OK...here is the recipe. I have adapted it a bit from one I found on the internet a couple of years ago and it works a treat!

1 1/2 cups tepid water (or cold water if hot day)
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil (or flavoured olive oil)
3 1/4 cups strong white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast from countdown, but should work with anything similar)

Use dough cycle on breadmaker....after couple of minutes when dough started to mix add whatever you like to mixture. I particularly like bits of sun-dried tomatos or rosemary or fresh garlic & thyme. Exception is if you are adding olives, don't add them until about 2 minutes from end of mixing part of dough cycle or they get squashed up.

When finished you will have a very sticky dough...it's meant to be sticky. Remove dough by having plenty of flour on your hands and trying to keep it in one big lump onto very well floured surface. Roll into long fat sausage shape, making sure outside well floured to stop it sticking. Cut sausage shape in half and flour ends. Scoop it up and place on baking tray that has baking paper on it. You will need paper otherwise it gets stuck solid to even non-stick tray. Pat top of dough to flatten it down at bit if it looks uneven. Cover with tea towel for about 45 minutes....less if humid weather. It should spread out a bit into fatter looking loaves. Prick any large bubbles to let gas out. Bake in fan oven for about 25 minutes...give or take a few minutes depending on weather at just below 220 degrees.

Sounds like alot of work...but this recipe is really easy once you've done it a couple of times. I make it every few days.

[Familyofmonkeys]

All this talk of bread has made me crave the smell of freshly baked bread! I am now sitting in my kitchen with the delicious aroma of Wholemeal and Linseed bread :) Maybe a late night snack when it is finished :D

[gil]

Brilliant, thank you! It won't let me give you any more rep curently, but I'm sure some kind soul will oblige!

Gil
x

[Carol]

We often make ciabatta, Garlic & Coriander Naan, Peshwari Naan, Foccacia, Pizza Dough, Calzone Dough, Raisin/Fruit bread, various different doughs for rolls/bagels etc.

If you need any suggestions, let me know!


me me me!!
Any recipes gladly received F.O.M. :-)
Particularly peshwari naan....oooh drooling just thinking about it...

[Steadybears]

Thanks would love to try them now if you wouldnt mind sending it to me thks again Family of Monkeys - you such a star

Jayne

[Steadybears]

Sorry Family of Monkeys found your recipe on page 2 - so will be up early tomorrow to try and will let you know how I get on.

Tks again
Jayne

[Familyofmonkeys]

me me me!!
Any recipes gladly received F.O.M. :-)
Particularly peshwari naan....oooh drooling just thinking about it...

Right....once I get the kids in bed tonight, i'll dig out my naan recipes and post :nice1

[Familyofmonkeys]

Here is my Peshwari Naan recipe for the drooling Carol :laugh

I have basically adapted a recipe from a book:

3/4 cup tepid water (or cooler water on very hot day)
2 tablespoons sunflower oil (also works with olive oil, but slightly different flavour...olive oil better with garlic/coriander naan)
1 teaspoon honey (any honey as long as not pungent flavour)
4 tablespoons plain yoghurt
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups strong white flour
1 teaspoon yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast from countdown, but should work with anything similar)
About 1 cup worth of fruit/nuts of choice.


Use dough cycle on breadmaker....after few minutes when dough started to mix add whatever you like to mixture. I generally use shreaded coconut, saltanas and some small nobbly pieces of cashew nut. You could also use dessicated coconut, raisins, almond bits.....I have tried all of these and they work well but use whatever you fancy really. Some Peshwari naan recipes tell you add sugar, but I don't personally as I think adding saltanas gives the required amount of sweetness.

When dough finished, remove from bread pan onto floured surface and knead a bit. Then divide up dough into 8 bits or 6 if you prefer larger naan. Flatten the dough pieces a bit with your hand, sprinkle a bit with flour to prevent sticking and roll out into naan shape (teardrop shape) with a rolling pin. The recipe in book says about 5mm thick, but I have never worried about this too much....as long as it looks about right. Put the naan on a couple of flat baking trays with baking paper on them. Cover with a teatowl for about 20 minutes or so.

To cook the naan..stick grill on HIGH heat. Stick tray of naan under grill until small golden coloured spots apear. This happens very quickly, before it looks as though it is properly cooked (it will rise a bit then suddenly get the golden spots in 3 or 4 minutes usually)...don't be tempted to leave it under grill any longer or you end up with peshwari toast rather than peshwari naan. Remove tray and turn naan over. Stick back in the grill and grill the other side.....again watch closely or it will over cook.

Cover with foil when naan are grilled and they will keep fairly hot for a good hour or so. Or if you freeze them for later, sprinkle with a bit of water and let it soak in (to stop them drying out) before reheating in low temp oven.

p.s. my OH likes to melt a bit of butter on the hot naan to eat, but it is also just as nice IMO as it come :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

Just a thought....don't try and do Naan on a pizza stone in a normal oven....I have tried and found that it draws too much moisture and gets too dry :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

And here is the other one for Carol, as promised:

Hot Cross Buns (I have not made this since we have been here in NZ so i'm not sure how/if humidity might affect recipe). You could try making it in evening when it is cooler if very hot during the day.

1 cup milk
1/4 cup soft butter (approx 2 oz)
white sugar 1/4 cup
1 large beated egg
1 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cup strong white flour
1 teaspoon Cinnamon (or more if you like stronger flavour)
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg (or more if you want)
1 cup raisins (also works well with saltanas)
2 teaspoon dry yeast

Use dough cycle of breadmaker. Add the raisins about half way through mixing part of the cycle if possible. When finished remove dough and knead a bit. It will make about 8 to 12 hot cross buns depending on how big you want them to be. Divide up dough into pieces and shape into slightly flattened balls. Put the buns onto baking tray covered with baking paper....you need to leave some room round edge as they spread a bit. Cut a cros in top of each bun.

for the glaze:

Beat a small or medium egg with about 2 tablespoons of milk and brush this over the top of the buns (but not the cross shape). Then cover until the buns have roughly doubled in size. In UK this used to take about half an hour...but I haven't tried it here, so not sure how long. My guess is about 20-25 minutes with current weather? Cook for about 16-18 minutes at 190 degrees.

Happy baking :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

Carol.....did you ever try the hot cross bun recipe?

[Familyofmonkeys]

Here is another yummy bread recipe, that I have slightly adapted from a recipe book, and it works a treat (made it a few times recently). Very good tasty bread for toasting (although you need to cut fairly thick slices).

Double corn & Chilli Bread:

1 cup water (tepid)
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 cup buttermilk (or just under 1/2 cup milk with generous squirt of lemon juice, stirred and left in warm place to sour for 15 minutes before adding)
1 teaspoon honey (runny works best)
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white bread flour
1 generous cup fine cornmeal (Healtheries cornmeal in green box is good texture)
1 teaspoon dried yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast, but should work with anything similar)
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon hot chilli powder (or paprika/smoked paprika very nice too)

1 generous cup cooked sweetcorn (i microwave it for 2 minutes and drain before adding)

Use basic bread cycle or if you don't have that use the white bread cycle on breadmaker. Add all ingredients apart from the sweetcorn. Add sweetcorn half way through mixing part of cycle or if you have a beeber add it then.

Aparently this type of bread in traditionally cooked in empty tin cans (the dough is enough to make 8). I am going to try and make it in a muffin tray instead of cooking in breadmaker next time as I think it would make nice bread for dunking in soup or winter stew :)

[oldest]

You have some tasty sounding recipes here! May I ask what make or model of breadmaker you are using? I did have an old one back in UK, but didn't get any further than basic white or brown bread. I might consider buying one here in NZ. How do the prices compared to UK models?

[Familyofmonkeys]

My current breadmaker is a Tefal Homebake. Bought it in Noel Leeming for about $70. It is not one of those fancy ones with the bagel steamer insert, but it does the job nicely for my experimental cookery :D
I used to have a Morphy Richards breadmaker from UK, but the pan started leaking and I couldn't get a suitable replacement. I have noticed that a few recipes worked slighly better in that model as it was better at mixing sticky dough, but my new breadmaker seems to get a better crust on the breads.

[oldest]

Thankyou for the information. I have just this morning been looking at many recipes on the net but feel rather hesitant to try any as I am unsure how reliable they might be from an unknown source. Also many of the recipes seem to have measurements in cups and spoons. This seems very American. Is this normal these days?

[Georgebulldog]

My current breadmaker is a Tefal Homebake. .

Some questions from all you bread makers:
How easy are these to use?
Is it just a case of sticking all the stuff in & pressing a button?
Do you still need to keep your bread in the fridge?
Does it work out a lot cheaper?

Also interested in the bit about cups too, what is this?

Thank you, thinking about buying one but want to make sure it doesn't end up at the back of the cupboard with the sandwich toaster, pasta make, George Foreman grill etc...

[Familyofmonkeys]

Right then:

Breamakers are very easy to use. Yes, for normal loaves you basically stick everything in and press the button. Often there is a beeb to tell you to add extra ingredients like fruit or nuts etc when the dough is mixed, but more expensive bread-makers will have an automatic dispenser for this purpose.

Obviously if you are making breads like ciabatta, focaccia, naan, pittas, rolls etc then you would use a dough cycle and remove the dough at the end, shape it and stick it on a baking tray/loaf tin. This might sound like alot of bother, but it usually takes no more than 5 minutes, then you leave it covered in a tea towel to rise for a bit then bung in the oven....very easy. For this type of bread I often stick the ingredients in before starting dinner and turn it on, then take it out and shape it etc when cleaning up after dinner. Then I bung it in the oven after the kids are in bed.....good time to enjoy the aroma of cooking bread while enjoying an evening cuppa :)

No, you do not usually need to keep bread in the fridge. Breads with more fat in then (butter, margerine, oil etc) keep for longer than breads with little fat.

For us it works out about half the price of buying bread. We bake about 2 loavs every 3 days. The big saving is for speciality bread...we make alot of ciabatta and flavoured breads, which are quite expensive to buy. We buy 5kg bags of white and wholemeal flour, and get large bags of rye flour and cornmeal when we see it available. Also, we make alot of pizzas and it is far cheaper to make your own base than to buy ready made pizzas or bases. Plus you can make your own stuffed crust and flavoured pizza bases too :)

As for cups...most breadmakers come with a measuring cup and spoons. It is the same size cup as used in american cooking. Makes it much easier to measure ingredients as you don't need to bother with a set of scales....less washing up!!

Another thing....my breadmaker also has a jam making cycle and a pasta dough cycle, which I am going to try as soon as I persuade OH to let me buy the ravioli mould trays I have seen. He thinks the pasta rollers for spagetti/lasagne are a bit expensive...so wokring on him slowly :D

[Georgebulldog]

That's great Thank you, think I'll be looking at getting one then this weekend, give me something to play with whilst OH gets his new toy, a TV.
OH make great pizzas, comes from working in Pizza restraunts & even in Italy as part of his college ed. so I think it will be worth it for that.
I look forward to trying all the recipes you've all posted esp the Baileys one. :exit

[Familyofmonkeys]

That's great Thank you, think I'll be looking at getting one then this weekend, give me something to play with whilst OH gets his new toy, a TV.
OH make great pizzas, comes from working in Pizza restraunts & even in Italy as part of his college ed. so I think it will be worth it for that.
I look forward to trying all the recipes you've all posted esp the Baileys one. :exit

Happy baking :)
If you try and thing that turns out really well, can you post the recipe. I am always keen to try new things out on the family!

[Georgebulldog]

Will do
One last quick question, is there anything on your bread machines that is a must have in switches/options?

[benandclare]

I have moved on to the premix stuff here in NZ which if very economical if you get the mix in the Binn Inn. basic mix for a medium loaf is

600g Multigrain bread mix
300ml water
10g dried mix (again bought a block from Binn Inn and worked out a lot cheaper)

and thats it - easy :yes

I also add sundried tomatoes, mixed herbs and parmesan to make a cheese bread and i add extra seeds when the mood takes me such as pumpkin, sunflower, linseed..... anything that takes your fancy really :D

I have found the premix yeast and bread improvers are rubbish and needs about 3x as much.

There are loads of bread mixes here - much better than UK I think. :clap

happy baking ;)

Clare

Hmmm .............. wonder why my shorts are a little tighter these days....

[Familyofmonkeys]

Will do
One last quick question, is there anything on your bread machines that is a must have in switches/options?

I don't think the programmes vary very much in the basic models, but if you want something a bit more versatile maybe look for one with a paddle that folds down for baking part of cycle or an automatic dispenser for fruit and nuts. None of these are essential though and can really put the price up alot....OH wouldn't let me spend that much this time round.

One thing though...before you buy have a good look at the shape of the bread pan inside as soon of the cheaper brands in NZ have odd shaped deep pans....means that your finishes loaf might be very deep but not wide (if that makes sense). I prefer bread that looks roughly the shape of a shorter shop bought loaf.

[britchik]

I have been using Bread mixes but now want to go the other way and try making from scratch.
On the Ingredients it says Bread Improver - Where would I get that from and is there any particular Brand to look for ?

Jo x

[Georgebulldog]

Thanks to everyone on here, esp FOM, I now have a breadmaker. Had a couple of little wins on the premium bonds & new born not so new born anymore so could justify spending the money on it as I kept thinking it may be a fad.
I got a Breville Ultimate bakers oven & it's great, so easy to use, had 2 loaves already & doing pizza mix at the mo for dinner tonight, can't wait to try all the different recipes, I can see now it will be used a lot :yes
Thanks again for all the posts on here :nice1

[M-Squared]

Doing your own pizza dough is great fun! :nice1 Congrats on your purchase!

[Carey]

I'm not sure my favourite Ciabatta recipe is in the book. Do you want me to PM you with it?

Yes please, me too?

OH makes a loaf a day having found his niche doing this; he never did this in the UK, what a star!!

[Bergita]

I bought a bread maker fairly recently and have used it quite a bit - I normally make the french loaf, haven't tried too many others. My only problem with it is that the raisin bread recipe doesn't work out for me. It always comes out raw in the middle. I think mine is also a Tefal. Anyone have any suggestions? I love raisin bread, but I haven't been able to eat any yet!! :(

[jeffanar]

I got a breadmaker for christmas and have made some lovely pizzas with the pizza dough from it :)
Just made my first loaf of bread the other day which came out a rather unusual shape, but tastes really nice! I'm looking forward to trying out your ciabatta and peshwari naan recipes, yum!

[Georgebulldog]

Pizza last night was lovely, no m ore take out pizzas for us, couldn't find nice bases here so this has made my day
Looking forward to trying out some more of the recipes, esp pasta when I can get hold of some semolina, walked myself silly trying to find it at the weekend

[Familyofmonkeys]

I bought a bread maker fairly recently and have used it quite a bit - I normally make the french loaf, haven't tried too many others. My only problem with it is that the raisin bread recipe doesn't work out for me. It always comes out raw in the middle. I think mine is also a Tefal. Anyone have any suggestions? I love raisin bread, but I haven't been able to eat any yet!! :(

Time to ressurect this thread as i've only just seen Bergita's post :o

Here is my raisin bread recipe (it's never failed in any of the breadmakers i've owned)....

1 and 1/8 cup of tepid water (or cold water on hot day).
2 and 1/2 tablespoon skimmed milk powder.
2 and 1/2 tablespoon butter (this doesn't have to be exact....I just cut a knob of butter that looks about the right size, cut in into a few smaller pieces and bung it in).
1/4 cup white sugar (you can add up to 1/8 cup more if you want a softer darker crust and sweeter loaf).
1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Spices to taste...I usually add cinammon, nutmeg, allspice, mace and ginger.
3 cups of strong white flour.
1 and 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast).
1 cup raisins (or saltanas)

If your breadmaker has a sweet bread cycle then use that for baking. If not choose the cycle that has a longer cooking time at lower temperature so that bread cooks thoroughly right though....usually it needs about 8 minutes longer than standard white or wholemeal loves.

Happy baking :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

I also need to apologise to someone (Steadybears, Benhila ??) as I promised to post some recipes AGES ago, but have been rather busy with visiting relatives and never got round to it....anyway sorry for being forgetful :o. And here goes with the recipes while i'm on a roll :)......


Carrot and Thyme Bread

1 and 1/4 cups tepid water (on cold water on a hot day).
2 tablespoons olive oil (or thyme infused olive oil).
1 teaspoon honey (I tend to use runny honey as it mixes in best).
1 teaspoon salt.
3 and 1/4 cups strong white flour.
1 and 1/2 teaspoons yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast).

Add above ingredients to breadmaker and stick on dough cycle.
While dough is forming.....

aprox 25g butter (I just use a knob that looks about the right size....it doesn't need to be exact).
1 small chopped onion.
2 medium sized carrots (or one really large one)....grated coarsely.
Thyme leaves to taste....best with fresh, but will be fine with dry too.
Seasoning....salt, pepper etc to taste.

Melt butter in pan and cook saute onion until soft. Add carrot and continue to cook until soft. Will need to keep stirring or carrot will tend to stick. Then add thyme and seasoning.....stir well. Leave to cool until dough finished.

When dough cycle finished, empty dough onto floured surface and flatten using your hands. The carrot mixture can be added in a number if ways and the dough can either be kept as one big loaf or divided into two smaller ones....
1. Add mixture to centre and need dough to incorporate it into the dough.
2. Add mixture in a line down the centre of the dough and fold dough over so that there is a 'filling' inside the dough.
3. spread carrot mixture evenly over surface of dough, then using well floured hands roll up swiss roll style to create a swirl of filling through the dough.

Place dough onto baking tray that is covered with baking paper to stop in sticking, cover with moist teatowel and leave it for about half and hour or so to increase in size. It looks nice if you mark patterns on the top with a sharp knife before cooking. Bake at about 200 degrees for about 25 minutes give or take a few minutes. It will be a golden colour on top when it's cooked.

This bread is quite filling so I like to serve it with a nice light salad :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

And here is the other recipe....


Spicey Sweet Potato Bread

Cook a small sweet potato (kumara in NZ) by either chopping up and boiling in pan or baking in oven and scooping out soft insides. Mash and leave to cool. I make this recipe by sticking a sweet potato in oven when I'm cooking something else anyway, then use it for bread later/next day.

Dough Recipe:

1 cup tepid water (or cold water on a hot day).
1 tablespoon olive oil (or chilli infused olive oil).
1 teaspoon salt.
1 teaspoon honey (I use runny honey).
3 and 1/2 cups strong white bread flour.
1 teaspoon yeast (I use Edmonds active yeast).


Stick the ingredients in the breadmaker on dough cycle.
While dough is forming......

1 small chopped onion.
1 tablespoon olive oil (works with butter if you prefer the taste).
1 teaspoon of chilli powder/pimento.
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (smoked paprika nice alternative).
About 250g sweet potato...cooled and mashed.

Saute onion in the olive oil/butter, add the chilli powder, cayenne pepper etc and saute for couple of minutes longer. Then remove from heat and stir in the mashed sweet potato.

When dough cycle has finished, empty onto well floured surface and make sure you have some spare flour to hand for kneeding....keep hands well floured. Flatten out the dough, add the sweet potato mixture and kneed to incorporate the mixture....it will be quite wet and sticky so may need to sprinkle a bit of flour while doing this. Prepare a baking tin about 30cm by 23cm (or two smaller tins) by lining with one piece of baking paper with enough to fold over the top edge so it doesn't slip while you are adding the dough.....can use a clothes peg to hold the baking paper in place while doing this. Scoop dough up and place in the baking tin, press it into corners and flatten the surface evenly. Cover with a damp teatowel for half an hour or so (longer in cold weather). Cook at about 200 degrees for about 25 minutes, give or take a few minutes until it is golden coloured on top.

I like this bread with winter food like veggie sausages, beans, mushrooms etc :)

[Georgebulldog]

Wondered if anyone could help, my breadmaker has started producing heavy loaves & I can't figure out why. OH says it's the change in flour but it happened before I bought a Pams bag I'm sure, we started using olive oil instead of sunflour but I've changed back, OH sifted the flour & it came out nice again but I did this & it didn't make a difference, started being extra careful measuring things out but still no good the bread is just what I would call heavy & not at all fluffy & light to the point I bin them a lot of the time
One other thing is my collapsible blade is a bit stiff at times but if anything gets stuck up rather than down so it is mixing. Even tried changing the bread recipe going back to standard one instead of the french one we like but no good
Sorry for long post just wanted to make sure I cover all I have done, any help anyone?

[BkyMonster]

I started adding either or both gluten flour (no good if you are going gluten free obviously) or molasses (black treacle, not sure what else it is called) to my wheat loaves with good results.
Could have something to do with moisture in the air or other atmospheric conditions? I don't use a recipe any more I just make sure the dough isn't too wet or dry by adding water or flour by the tablespoon until it looks right. Since winter is here I make sure to use dry milk in recipes as well which also helped a bit.
You might also want to check and see if your yeast isn't too old.

[Bergita]

Thanks FoM for the raisin bread recipe - that's great! I'm going to try it this week-end. :)

[Georgebulldog]

I started adding either or both gluten flour (no good if you are going gluten free obviously) or molasses (black treacle, not sure what else it is called) to my wheat loaves with good results.
Could have something to do with moisture in the air or other atmospheric conditions? I don't use a recipe any more I just make sure the dough isn't too wet or dry by adding water or flour by the tablespoon until it looks right. Since winter is here I make sure to use dry milk in recipes as well which also helped a bit.
You might also want to check and see if your yeast isn't too old.

Thanks checked my yeast, funnily I thought it was out of date because it said Sept & thinking we're in winter I thought it was past then realised it's only June :exit

[Familyofmonkeys]

Right then, heavy bread......

First thing is if you live in a house without central heating, you will most likely have a higher relative humidity than used to previously. The flour will absorb more moisture from the air, so try reducing the amount of water you put in a recipe during winter. My wholemeal loaves only require 1 1/2 cups water at the moment as opposed to 2 stated in the recipe I use.....big difference!! Other thing is to try (very slightly) reducing your yeast at the same time as reducing the water. Lastly.....make sure you are using strong white flour as opposed to normal white flour as it gives a better rise here in NZ.

[Georgebulldog]

Right then, heavy bread......

First thing is if you live in a house without central heating, you will most likely have a higher relative humidity than used to previously. The flour will absorb more moisture from the air, so try reducing the amount of water you put in a recipe during winter. My wholemeal loaves only require 1 1/2 cups water at the moment as opposed to 2 stated in the recipe I use.....big difference!! Other thing is to try (very slightly) reducing your yeast at the same time as reducing the water. Lastly.....make sure you are using strong white flour as opposed to normal white flour as it gives a better rise here in NZ.

Great will put a loaf on in a bit & try putting less in. The recipe I use states 310ml & as jug only goes to 300 then 350 I may be putting a little more in anyway until recently when I started using 300 ml plus 2 teaspoons as didn't think of doing that till I was told so this well may be the problem
Will post later to let others know
:nice1

[Carey]

My OH is chief bread maker and it has been wonderful stuff until this cold weather hit and it's much denser and heavier atm, due I'm sure to the moisture in the air and cold temps. Also seems to have affected my yoghurt maker and keep having gloopy stuff produced which is most unpleasant!

[Georgebulldog]

So glad to read it's not just me :)

[Familyofmonkeys]

Also seems to have affected my yoghurt maker and keep having gloopy stuff produced which is most unpleasant!

We've also had this problem....we use the easy-yo yoghurt maker. It is worse if we try and make yoghurt in evening to do it's thing overnight as opposed to starting it in the morning, so it's done by bedtime. I think the problem is that it is just losing heat too quickly, as we have found it works better if we replace with more boiling water halfway through and give it a shake at the moment. You could always try wrapping the yoghurt maker with some tea towels for extra insulation and see if it makes a difference aswell.

[jeffanar]

I've been having big problems with bread making lately too! The loaves I've made end up like small windowless buildings - I tried doing the dough in the breadmaker and then cooking in the oven to see if it made any difference but it ended up worse if anything! I think it would have knocked someone out had you thrown it at their head! :wah

And the other weekend I made FoM's ciabatta which has had perfect results every time, and it ended up about 2cm high! I thought it might be a yeast problem too so bought some more with no luck.

I will try reducing the amount of water I'm putting in, and actually checking the dough after it starts mixing - I usually do it overnight so don't see the dough.

[macs gold]

I have a bag of Pams flour which seems to produce rubbish bread. Switched to Champion and the loaves are wonderful again. Also, always use Sure to Rise yeast.

[Georgebulldog]

OK 2 bad loaves, one the blade got stuck in the loaf so not good
New lot of flour now also read the manual a bit more & water needs to be riim temp & ours comes out the tap freezing at the mo so did that also noticed our cup is not the same measurement so weighed the flour this time although the book says one cup is 250ml & the recipe says 3 1/3 cups or 500g now how does that work out :confused: they say water weighs the same in ml to grams but not for flour? It's all getting too much :wah

[Kanga]

We've also had this problem....we use the easy-yo yoghurt maker. It is worse if we try and make yoghurt in evening to do it's thing overnight as opposed to starting it in the morning, so it's done by bedtime. I think the problem is that it is just losing heat too quickly, as we have found it works better if we replace with more boiling water halfway through and give it a shake at the moment. You could always try wrapping the yoghurt maker with some tea towels for extra insulation and see if it makes a difference aswell.

Or buy an electric yoghurt maker- mine is 100% failproof. I used the packet yoghurt all the time in NZ to escape the gelatine and nasty additives of regular stuff.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Or buy an electric yoghurt maker- mine is 100% failproof. I used the packet yoghurt all the time in NZ to escape the gelatine and nasty additives of regular stuff.

You're not kidding about all the additives....any why does almost every yoghurt seem to have geletine in it? Pretty much the only brand we could eat was De Winkel which is not cheap.......so eventually OH agreed to get a yoghurt maker.

[BkyMonster]

I've been making yogurt with powdered milk and yogurt culture from either the last batch or some new starter. Worked ok for a bit, but my last batch was too watery. I think I need some new starter.
As for water for the bread maker I always use warm as that is what yeast likes.
I find it helps to look at the dough as it starts mixing. You can then add water or flour as needed. You want something that isn't sticky, isn't dry and peeling/feathery and is very slightly tacky to the touch. It should ideally be smooth and give slightly under pressure.

[Georgebulldog]

A fantastic loaf of bread & all we did apart from weighing the flour, now got nice pink new measuring cups & spoons :) was use water from the kettle with some from the tap
Amazing what a difference :nice1

[Familyofmonkeys]

A fantastic loaf of bread & all we did apart from weighing the flour, now got nice pink new measuring cups & spoons :) was use water from the kettle with some from the tap
Amazing what a difference :nice1

:raebanana

[Georgebulldog]

:raebanana

& another :clap, looks like we got it sorted
Thanks all, maybe I should have RTFM as I was taught in a training session once :D