Bread makers and my own bread making

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Some while back I bought a Bread Maker, aka Bread Machine, at Lidl, a German discount store in Britain, for less than £30 (I know, very cheap indeed even when translated into US$ reading about $45) and it has been in regular use ever since making about two loaves a week. And this is at least for a year now, if not longer even.

In fact, I had been so taken with that particular kind of bread machine that, when Lidl had them again a couple of months later, I actually bought another one, as a back-up, so to speak.

As I like to use rather heavy flours in the baking, such as wholemeal, multi-grain, and rye, the baking of bread in the machine, while having otherwise good results always led to caved-in tops of the loaves. This is due to the fact that in the machine there is no heat applied to the tops.

I was not all that keen on that – well, now, after all this time – and have now (no! Stop fretting! I have not stopped using the bread machine) changed my use of the bread machine.

Now I use the machine to do the heavy work of kneading, thus saving me time, and the proving, and when if has finished, after an hour and a half, with all the kneading a rising cycles, I transfer the dough into a heavy bread pan, let it sit for another 30 minutes or so to rise again, and then bake it in the oven for about an hour and a quarter

Result: No more caved-in tops; just great (tasting) bread.

The reason for the caved-in tops is that my bread maker has a long tin, horizontally, unlike many other machines that have their tins, sort of, vertically set into the machine. This means that in the case of my bread maker is that the bread does not get heat from the top, as said, and hence the tops fall in in the middle.

Well, problem solved. Though, I have to say, it is a little more work.

© 2012

Swap wholewheat bread for white bread

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The year 2010 was the first year that Americans have spent more on wholewheat bread than they have on processed white bread. About time too. I have no records of how things are in Britain but the Real Bread Campaign, as far as I know, is rather busy.

If anything to go by watching the bread isles of the supermarkets and people's shopping carts the great majority of bread is still white sponge garbage that, for some unknown reason, is referred to as bread.

On the other hand, the sales of bread flour is going rather well, from what I have seen, and thus one could surmise that home baking of real bread is going on in many homes.

Get on this bandwagon to reap the benefits of more fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats. Just make sure that any “wholegrain” product has “wholewheat flour” listed as its first ingredient and, as always, be mindful of added sugars and preservatives in the ingredients list. Also, beware of flour enhancers, thus named, in store bought wholewheat bread. Flour enhancer is an additive to make it last longer, etc. You don't need it, especially not when you make your own.

One fun way to add more whole wheat to your diet – and save some cash – is by making your own bread at home.

If you don't want to spend time kneading the dough, and al that, get a bread makers, a bread machine. The bread it nearly as good as oven baked and it also does last at least a week when being used; not that it will ever last that long.

Many years ago I used to make bread at home the old-fashioned way by kneading the dough by hand, letting it rise, kneading it again, etc., and, because of lack of time, I went to buying, though still wholemeal and wholegrain bread from bakeries and from the bakery sections in supermarkets.

The I decided, because it was rather cheap, to get a bread maker, a bread machine, from Lidl here in the UK when they had it on offer for less than the equivalent of $45 and it was a big tin machine. As far as I am concerned this was the best investment I have ever made, or at least one of the best.

The machine is in use at least twice during the week with me and the bread, after a little trial and error, is great and I would dread to have to go back to store-bought bread, even if it were wholegrain or multi-grain bread.

Once you try it, you too will never want to go back to store-bought breads – and your whole house will smell delicious during the process, and not just when the baking happens.

Go on, make the switch to real bread, you won't regret it.

© 2011

Real Bread Maker Week

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

As reader will have gathered by now it is Real Bread Maker Week from May 1 to May 9, 2010 (which is a little more than a week, I guess) and I, certainly, are participating in that I am putting my bread machine to good use.

If you have a bread machine sitting around at home I encourage you to get it out and use it to make your own bread. You will not regret it.

Having to admit that I bought a bread machine only recently from Lidl, the discount store, for less than thirty GBP, I am more than glad that I did and am certainly not regretting it one bit.

It is a little bit of a learning curve to get the mix of the ingredients right, such as the amount of water to the amount of flour and all that but I am getting it down to a fine art by now.

While, theoretically, you should be able to walk away from it and leave the machine to do it entirely on its own I do like to make sure that, after the final mixing after the first final raising circle and before the final one, that the dough is leveled out in the tin. This is to ensure a good shaped loaf.

May years ago I used to make bread entirely by hand but when one does not have the time and space either then a bread machine is the best alternative and one that works brilliantly and – and this is important – much cheaper and with much less energy usage than could ever be done in an oven.

In fact, while writing this article a loaf of bread is in production and in the final stages of being finished.

May people tend to claim that such bread – made in such a machine – does not keep well but I must say that I am keeping loaves successfully for about a week using a bread bin and food keeper bags from Lakeland.

So, don't let your bread machine gather dust and make some real bread for you and your family.

Real Bread Maker Week may only last till May 9 this year but that does not mean that you should stop after that time and, for some reason, I am sure that once you got the hang of making bread in that way you will not want to and you will not want to go back to the bread from the supermarkets.

All breads, other than homemade ones, will contain a variety of flour improver of one kind or the other and preservatives, many of which may not be too healthy for us.

So let's hear it for real bread and the Real Bread Maker Week.

© 2010

National Real Bread Maker Week

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

May 1st to May 9th, 2010 is National Real Bread Maker Week in Britain. So why not get involved and get baking your own bread?

There are an estimated 10 million unused bread machines in British homes. They are languishing in kitchen cupboards, storage boxes, larders, and other such places, unloved and often never even used ones. Is you home to one of them?

If so, the first ever National Real Bread Maker Week is the time to dig it out and use it to bake Real Bread or pass it on to someone who will.

A bread machine allows anyone who might not otherwise bake at home to seize control and make genuinely fresh, genuinely good value Real Bread with ingredients of their choice.

I have only recently acquired a bread machine from Lidl's, the discount store company from Germany, found in many places now, thankfully, in Britain too.

Instead of paying nigh on £100 as some makers charge this machine was not even £30 and I would not want to ever be without one now again.

Years ago I used to bake my own bread – had more time and more space in the kitchen then – doing everything by hand and then baking the bread in the oven. Due to lack of time and space I gave that up and used to buy bread at bakeries, on the high street and instore at Sainsbury's but it was not really the way I liked my bread.

Then, when the opportunity arose and Lidl had a machine at such a great price I jumped to it and it is just great. You do start on a bit of a learning curve because the rates given in the manual, for instance, may not always be 100% for the flour you may be using.

I have found that, for instance, the quantity for the powdered yeast (the only type suitable for the machines) of 3/4 of a packet, is not enough to allow the bread made with 500g of flour (mixture of stoneground wholemeal and wholegrain) to rise enough and the amount of water of 350ml is just a tad too much.

You will have to employ a little trial and error, for all machines are different, but my rule of thumb is about 500g of flour (measured in this case in a Lidl large Bockwurst glass jar), the requirement is 340ml water, a tsp of salt and same of sugar, and 1 sachet of yeast, plus a chunk of butter. Don't use margarine as it will not work the same. You can use some olive oil though; a couple of table spoons full.

The bread machine allows me to put all the ingredients in, turn the machine on and then – basically – forget about the bread until the signal sounds telling me that is is done; a little over 3 1/2 hours later. This allows me to get on with what I want and need to do while at the same time creating some great tasting bread that is not full of flour improver and other chemicals, such as preservatives.

True, bread made in this way dos not keep as long as does some store bought bread but then again, it will not have a chance either. Everyone just will want to eat it and you will have to bake some more.

However, in a bread bin, using some food keeper bags from Lakeland, the bread will remain good for several days; by the end of which you will have finished it anyway.

© 2010