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jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 5:04 pm Post subject:

Jonnyboy wrote:

Did you have it on the light crust setting?

Medium. I'll try dark next time.

Penny Outskirts

Joined: 18 Sep 2005
Posts: 23385
Location: Planet, not on the....

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 5:05 pm Post subject:
With ours, we need to use the dark setting if we want it really crusty.

Bovey Belle

Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 77

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 7:14 pm Post subject:

Call me old-fashioned, but bread's easy to make by hand as well. If you're in a foul mood it's extremely therapeutic

I've never had a breadmaker - run out of space to store things: too many books I dare say! Today I was teaching my teenage son to knead bread (I just plastered my hands in handcream and then saw how much the dough had risen

) If you want fresh-baked bread for breakfast, just knock up a batch at teatime, cover it and put it in a bowl in the fridge overnight. Get it out first thing, knock it back and let it rise again, and in the oven with it. You can even frolick whilst it's rising

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 7:32 pm Post subject:

Bovey Belle wrote:

Call me old-fashioned, but bread's easy to make by hand as well. If you're in a foul mood it's extremely therapeutic

I'm lucky if I get my clothes on the right way out on a work morning, let alone managing to knock things back and waiting for them to rise again before popping them in the oven. It's coffee and out for me - I could selflessly organise the hand-made fresh bread for the later rising members of the family - or not! Actually I'm rubbish at making bread anyway. the stuff that the machine made was far better than my leaden attempts.

Mary-Jane

Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 18397
Location: The Fishing Strumpet is from Ceredigion in West Wales

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 7:39 pm Post subject:

Jamanda wrote:

Actually I'm rubbish at making bread anyway. the stuff that the machine made was far better than my leaden attempts.

Actually I do think making bread is an art form Jamanda. Gervase has it and I don't, so I'm with you on this one. Our machine allows me to turn out really nice bread without the stress and failure of 'normal' bread making, but with all the benefits.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 7:49 pm Post subject:
Can we sort out where this frolicking fits in? I'm struggling to get a good image on how that works with bread. Anyone want to volounteer an article?

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 7:53 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

Can we sort out where this frolicking fits in? I'm struggling to get a good image on how that works with bread. Anyone want to volounteer an article?

tsk, no imagination this lad

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 8:01 pm Post subject:

Glad it was good. I'm in the breadmaker camp - I know bread's not hard, and I could make it, but it's just one more thing to sort out in the morning. And I prefer my bread ready in the evening for making sandwiches ready for the morning. I could make it in the morning and leave it in the fridge all day, but there isn't room in the fridge most days, and I bet I wouldn't be orgnaised enough! There's already oodles of things that I fail to get done before leaving in the morning as it is.

If I wasn't at work, maybe I would, but the breadmaker makes such super bread, so easily, that I'd probably do other things instead. Worktop space is at a premium in my kitchen, but the breadmakers worth its space. I'd rather have one that a microwave anyday.

2steps

Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Posts: 5349
Location: Surrey

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 8:03 pm Post subject:

Mary-Jane wrote:

Jamanda wrote:

Actually I'm rubbish at making bread anyway. the stuff that the machine made was far better than my leaden attempts.

I sometimes make bread by hand without problem. My OH's nan says she hates me (jokingly) as its something she has never been able to do

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sun Dec 31, 06 8:11 pm Post subject:
Gareth is ace at bread, does it all by hand though (well, the floor is never clean enough for anything else). I reckon men are better at big batches of bread, the extra height and weight gives them much more wallop when kneading, he often does 5 or more bags of flour at a go when he's doing a big feast, I can't even start to knead that much dough with any success.

Bovey Belle

Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 77

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 07 7:31 am Post subject:

You have a point there Sally - I think No. 1 son has just been promoted to chief bread maker! He really enjoyed thumping the dough yesterday and the subsequent loaf was excellent. I'm lucky as I am a stay-at-home person (care for my mum, who's bedbound), so I have the time to make my own bread. I am also an early riser, so have often baked a loaf or got a batch of muffins done before folk come down for breakfast. If I worked full-time I dare say I would go down the breadmaker route too, but it just seemed a shame to me that "need to make bread = buy a breakmaker" rather than just buying bread flour and yeast. I think the secret of good breadmaking by hand is in the flour you use as much as in the technique and also, like anything, practice makes perfect.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 07 9:38 am Post subject:

Bovey Belle wrote:

We already had flour and yeast as OH makes bread by hand sometimes. But we felt that it would get baked more regularly with the machine. I can wash clothes by hand, but generally choose to use the washing machine because it's more convenient.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 07 11:04 am Post subject:

Bovey Belle wrote:

I think the secret of good breadmaking by hand is in the flour you use as much as in the technique

Same with the machine. I think a lot of people buy cheap bread machines, and supermarket flour, and then go off the bread machine. We bought an expensive machine, and order flour in bulk from clarks, and it makes a huge difference to the quality of the bread - really noticiable. You get what you pay for, I reckon!

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35057
Location: Devon

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 07 3:59 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

Bovey Belle wrote:

I think the secret of good breadmaking by hand is in the flour you use as much as in the technique

I'm sure that's right. The stuff I used is called Marriage's and it was recommended by our Deli. One of the greengrocers also sells Dove's so we'll try that next. Tomorrow's loaf is in production as I write.

Bovey Belle

Joined: 18 Apr 2006
Posts: 77

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 07 7:18 am Post subject:

I used to get Doves from our Health Food Shop, but have now found that our local (think 5 miles here!) co-operative store and PO will get in 16kg bags of flour for me, and this is Bacheldre Mill Organic stone ground flour. The "white" flour produces a pale brown crumb and is delicious. It makes absolutely wonderful bread and two slices of that toasted of a morning and you know you've eaten - not like this dreadful soapy stuff you get in supermarkets, which you have to eat half a loaf of before you get the same effect (not that I regularly eat half a loaf of supermarket bread you understand

) I get Shipley Mill 3 malts for my brown bread requirements and that is expensive but well worth it as it is so tasty. Need to find out where I can get big bags of that (at a price I can afford!)

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