Bread Makers - practical solution or a marketing exercise?

[matt]

What's the consensus re bread makers? I've put off buying one in the belief that they're another of those appliances that promise a lot but ultimately fail to deliver; either because they simply don't do what they're supposed to do or bake bread in "one hour" but take another hour to clean up afterwards.

So... Do you have a bread maker? Does it bake bread or live in the cupboard gathering dust?

 

[jlawrence]

Ours gets used as and when we can be bothered.
I find that a loaf from the maker will 'go off' in only a couple of days but one of those stay fresh ones from t'shop will last a week.
My mum and dad use theirs 2 oro 3 times a week and make alsorts of weird types of bread - I think my dad is now on his 3rd machine having worn 2 out.

 

[wizer]

They are great a first, then you realise you can do it much better by hand and it never gets used.

 

[head clansman]

hi

yea really good, don't use ours much these days but when you need to make bread it's always very good . hc

 

[flounder]

There are few things better than the smell of fresh baked bread wafting round your kitchen! They are also good for mixing pizza bases.

 

[DaveL]

We are on our second one, and I have a bought a new pan for that!
I bake at least two loaves a week, overnight so I wake to the smell of fresh bread. I use a wholemeal malted flour from Waitrose most of the time but like some of the bread mixes from Wrights, the chilli is great but I have to buy it on line as nowhere stocks round here.

 

[RogerS]

Ours gets used as and when we can be bothered.
I find that a loaf from the maker will 'go off' in only a couple of days but one of those stay fresh ones from t'shop will last a week.
.......

That's because the majority of shop bought bread contains large amounts of preservative.

 

[hivisvest72]

I have a gluten allergy so normal bread is off the menu, plus gluten free bread is brick hard, brittle stuff that costs way too much.

I use my breadmaker to make GF bread from a variety of different non-wheat flours and it works a treat. I don't find it messy at all - much less messy than a mixing bowl and bread tin in fact.

I put it all in, switch it on and leave it to it's own devices, no setting the oven, waiting for it to rise (or not), no watching for it being ready.

Only down side is that ir produces a rather 'cube shaped' loaf so not many slices, but each one is about the height of a double decker bus (to use the standard scale of course). Also, the metal paddle that mixes it all in the bowl has to be removed from the finished loaf, which, depending on how it stops can render a few slices of the finished loaf a mit mis-shaped (or missing big chunks).

They are cheap enough now to try it and put it on ebay after a month if you don't like it.

Cheers

Alan

 

[GrahamH]

Can't beat them if you like real bread.

As mentioned in one of the posts is that most of them bake a rather square loaf. I tend to use the bread maker to make the dough and do the first proving and then cook in the oven.

I like bloomer loaves and this works a treat - the only real mess is if you put poppy seeds or something as a topping.

As they're not full of preservatives and other additives they don't keep as well so, bake small and often is the best way. Either that or you've got some bread for the ducks.

 

[dedee]

Ah bread - something they do very well over here.

I have always been mightily suspicious of bread that can stay fresh for a week. We buy 4-5 loaves a week and there is never enough for a bread pudding.

I had a bread machine on the wish list for xmas but it got forgotten. We do bake our own occasionally but always have problems finding somewhere warm enough for the rising/proving of the dough. In front of the wood stove only works in the winter.

Andy

 

[Waka]

We're on our second bread maker and if I had my way it would go in the skip with the other one.

It does take a while to get the mixture right and when it is you can produce a nice fresh loaf, but I find that it doesn't stay fresh very long.

Ours is now consigned to the cupboard where I hope it will stay.

 

[Chris Knight]

We have made fabulous bread in ours - too good in fact as I eat far too much of it so we had to stop using it on a regular basis.

 

[big soft moose]

they arent bad for making jam in - http://www.bread-maker.net/Bread-maker- ... ry-Jam.htm

as to actually using them for bread - IME they work great for making the dough but its best to cook it in the oven.

 

[bodgermatic]

Ours gets used as and when we can be bothered.
I find that a loaf from the maker will 'go off' in only a couple of days but one of those stay fresh ones from t'shop will last a week.
.......

That's because the majority of shop bought bread contains large amounts of preservative.

One of the main preservatives used in bread is Ascorbic Acid, which you can buy. Sounds nasty? It shouldn't, it's just vitamin C powder You can also add malt extract (gooey stuff in jars) to make the loaf keep better.

 

[Kalimna]

Ooooh, I love a good bread!
Used to have a breadmaker, but never really liked the bread it produced. The crumb was never that good, the flavour was ok, but the main reason I didnt get on with it was simply the faff of having to remove the mixing bits from the base of the loaf. Now, maybe things have improved a little, but to be honest, you will get a far better loaf (ok, so you need to put a little extra effort in, say 20 minutes mixing, kneading and shaping (as well as the rising time)) if you do it all by hand. And if you go the sourdough route, then the only ingredients you would need is flour, salt and water. And don't scrimp on the salt - it is extremely important in the finished loaf.
Having said all that, the bread maker was very good for making jam in - don't laugh - I think most makers have a jam setting. Constantly stirring the fruit mixture to the correct temperature you see.....

So, save yourself even more cupboard space and invest in the River Cottage Bread book (somewhere around the £12 region) and make it by hand. It's about the best beginners bread book out there, and the recipes are excellent.

Oh, and by the way, Ascorbic Acid (whilst certainly vit C), is not added to flour mix primarily as a preserver - it has an action on the flour proteins to allow greater lattitude in baking/rising times. It basically improves the structure of the risen dough. And it is added in such tiny quantities that it shouldnt be worried about. Taken from "The Village Baker" by Joe Ortiz (a very good bread book, although rather American) :
"Vitamin C, ascorbic acid, gives tenacity to a limp, weak bread dough - providing the strength to permit the full development of the loaf" (p.13, first PB ed).

Yes, I do go on about bread, but it is such a simple luxury that we shouldnt take it for granted. And like many things made by oneself, the first time you produce a well risen loaf using nothing but flour (and the natural yeasts present within it), salt and water, gives a rather satisfied wellbeing kindof a feeling.....

Cheers,
Adam

 

[RogerS]

Ours gets used as and when we can be bothered.
I find that a loaf from the maker will 'go off' in only a couple of days but one of those stay fresh ones from t'shop will last a week.
.......

That's because the majority of shop bought bread contains large amounts of preservative.

One of the ......

It's all the other crud they stick in

 

[MIGNAL]

It's never going to rival a specialist Bakery. No way. but it might be quite acceptable.
I used to make the odd sourdough loaf in a regular oven, complete with pizza stone and a simple method of introducing steam. Lots of info on the net on how to achieve better results with home equipment.

 

[matt]

I think I may try mixing the dough in the Magimix and continue to bake in the oven. As someone mentioned earlier, it's finding a suitable warm place for the dough to rise. I was contemplating a low temp in the oven but the min is 50c which I suspect is too high.

 

[dedee]

If one does the mixing rising in the machine how do you know when to take the dough out?


Andy

 

[Kalimna]

If you are going to use the magimix to mix the dough, be careful. The rapid blade speed (even the dough blade) may not develop the gluten iin the flour very well. Stretching and mixing is what you want, not blending. Also, those machines can generate a fair amount of heat (I know, I have one!) which is also not necessarily good for the dough.

Having said that, give it a go on pulse, and see what happens.

As far as needing a warm temp - it doesnt really matter. If you leave it in a cooler place then it is just going to take a bit longer to prove, is all. But that also means longer for the yeast to develop flavour, and you will end up with a tastier bread for it. You could leave it to rise in the fridge if you really wanted to. Perhaps not if you wanted a loaf in 2009 tho And, as you suggest, too warm can be a problem in that the structure of the rising dough doesnt hold onto the developing gas pockets as well if done quickly.

As far as mixing in a bread machine and baking in the oven - if i emember, then the machines have a mixing only setting too.

Cheers,
Adam