Bread Machines
March 23, 2009 by bread-machine
Filed under Bread Machines
Bread Makers have become remarkably better value recently. And even easier to use.
Now anyone can bake fresh bread at home, including nuts, seeds, or anything else that you want.
Check out our Breadmaker Reviews section, and Bread Makers from Amazon and top stores.
Breadmaking Ingredients
November 30, 1999 by bread-machine
Filed under Bread Machines
The essential ingredients to make bread work off one another in a particular way and variations in quantity, or indeed putting the wrong ingredients in, can make a difference to the quality of the bread.
These are the main ingredients:
Flour
The difference between wholemeal and brown flour (previously known as wheatmeal) is that wholemeal is 100% of the ground up grain and contains approximately 75% flour, 22% bran and 3% wheat germ.
Wholewheat is a relatively new term for a wholegrain product and has the same constituents nutritionally as wholemeal; i.e. 100% of the grain. The particle sizes are often coarser than for a normal wholemeal flour.
Brown flour is white flour to which a percentage of bran has been added (usually around 15% bran). This bran may be either fine or coarse.
Yeast
Yeast is a living organism. Mixed with water and sugar the yeast wakes up during the kneading process and gives off carbon dioxide bubbles, filling your bread with tiny holes that make it rise.
If flour is the foundation of bread, yeast is the primary building block. Some yeasts enhance the flavour of your flour, while others impart a distinctive flavour of their own.
We recommend that you use ‘Fast Action’ or ‘Quick’ Yeast when making bread in a breadmaker.
Salt
Salt inhibits the yeast but is needed for flavour - a balance to keep in mind if you experiment with sugary fruit recipes, or salty savoury breads.
Sugar
Sugar is the essential food for yeast, but too much of it will kill the yeast off. Use sparingly if you are adding fruity ingredients otherwise the taste will be too sweet.
Butter/oil
Is used to improve the crumb texture of the loaf, or enrich the dough. Some people use butter, other like to try flavoured oils.
Measuring
Bread machines do require one thing: precision. Careful measurement can make the difference between a lovely loaf or something really disappointing.
For dry ingredients use an accurate measuring cup/spoon and make certain the top is level. For key ingredients like sugar salt and yeast use small exact quantities.
Water temperature
Use tepid water in your machine. Cold water won’t activate the yeast, and hot water will speed it too much, and very hot water will kill it.
Getting the ingredients in the right order
Always load ingredients in the right order. The rule of thumb is that it’s either liquids first and yeast last, or yeast first, and liquid last. All other ingredients come in the middle.
Because moisture activates the yeast you don’t want your yeast contacting the liquid ahead of time especially if you’re using a timed bake.
Looking for Rye Bread Recipe
April 30, 2009 by bread-machine
Filed under Bread Machines
My daughter gave me a great gift for Christmas, something I have wanted for a long time. She gave me a bread machine and I have been having a great time using it. I love to cook and bake, but the one thing I had trouble with was making my own bread. My family loves home made bread and I can finally give it to them. I am looking for some different recipes that I can use in the new breadmaker. I would particularly like to find a really good recipe for rye bread.
Bread Machine Recipe for Cinnamon Raisin Bread
April 10, 2009 by bread-machine
Filed under Bread Machines
Bread machines are a kitchen appliance which has only really started to grow in popularity over the last ten years or so. Now though there are a substantial number of different models on the market and more and more homes are getting one. Although most of these bread machines come with an instruction booklet that tells you how to make a white or brown loaf, you may be at a loss as to what else you can do with one. You may already own a bread machine and be looking for something else to experiment with in it. Alternatively, you might be looking at buying a bread maker and want to know if you can do anything else in it other than make plain bread loaves.
Well to help you out, here is my recipe for cinnamon raisin bread. This is a great loaf for breakfast in the mornings, and if you have a bread machine with a timer it is quite easy to set the bread maker up so that it is fresh-baked when you wake up for breakfast in the morning.
Ingredients
- 400g wholemeal flour
- 150g bread flour
- 100g raisins or mixed fruit
- 1 ¼ cups of water
- 1 ½ tbsp sunflower oil
- 3 tbsp gluten
- 1 ½ tbsp powdered whey
- 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp yeast
Method
Once you have all of the ingredients ready, the rest is quite simple.
1. Assemble the pan in your bread machine and get it all ready to go.
2. Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your bread maker.
3. Select the basic cycle on your bread maker, which might also be called the white cycle on some bread machines.
4. Leave the machine to run for 10 minutes and then check the consistency of the dough. If the dough is sticky to the touch this is good - if not add a small amount (1 tsp) water to the mix, leave for a few minutes and then check again. You should keep adding water until the dough gets to a stage where it is tacky to the touch.
5. The bread machine will automatically finish the kneading cycle and then switch to the baking cycle, so you needn’t do anything else once the dough is the right consistency.
6. After the bread machine completes the entire cycle then you should leave the bread in the pan for around 10 minutes so that the crust softens a little. You should then remove the bread from the bread maker and stand on a wire rack to cool.
7. Once the bread is cool you should be able to cut the loaf, which is best enjoyed with some butter and a nice cup of tea. This loaf will keep for a couple of days from being baked in your bread maker, but it is best eaten fresh.
