Recommendations wanted....

[slim_boy_fat]

My first wholemeal effort didn't come out looking as good as @badabec's tiger loaf, maybe I should have checked 'Best before' dates on ingredients and measured yeast more carefully? Tastes OK though, maybe a tiny bit 'heavy'. Couldn't resist flipping the lid to check progress , could that have had a bearing on the result?

I've ordered a digital kitchen scales which'll alloy me to measure small amounts more accurately and will try a basic white when they arrive.

Dead easy though

 

[redlig]

My first wholemeal effort didn't come out looking as good as @badabec's tiger loaf, maybe I should have checked 'Best before' dates on ingredients and measured yeast more carefully? Tastes OK though, maybe a tiny bit 'heavy'. Couldn't resist flipping the lid to check progress , could that have had a bearing on the result?

View attachment 323998 View attachment 323999 View attachment 324000

I've ordered a digital kitchen scales which'll alloy me to measure small amounts more accurately and will try a basic white when they arrive.

Dead easy though

A bit more yeast required when it says 1 teaspoon I usually give it 1 1/2 . I've only ever used the teaspoon/ desert spoon plastic thing it came with . Everyone says to be accurate with the measurements but you will soon realise you can get too bogged down . Water measurement is quite important. But the fun is experimenting , and of course the eating plus the smell .

 

[badabec]

Lifting the lid isn't advised, although I often have a look.
Did you put the ingredients into the pan in the order listed?
I found 10ml water too little and the loaf comes out lopsided, 10ml to much and the steam softens the crust.
Like @redlig, I have only ever used the double ended spoon and measuring jug supplied with the machine.
Try one of Tesco's bread mixes, only 85p, usually just need to add water, sometimes butter.
Once opened, the tins of Allinson yeast go out of date after four months.
I made a cheddar cheese and onion loaf today from a Wright's bread mix to go with home made roasted tomato soup. Excellent.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Lifting the lid isn't advised, although I often have a look.
Did you put the ingredients into the pan in the order listed?
I found 10ml water too little and the loaf comes out lopsided, 10ml to much and the steam softens the crust.
Like @redlig, I have only ever used the double ended spoon and measuring jug supplied with the machine.
Try one of Tesco's bread mixes, only 85p, usually just need to add water, sometimes butter.
Once opened, the tins of Allinson yeast go out of date after four months.
I made a cheddar cheese and onion loaf today from a Wright's bread mix to go with home made roasted tomato soup. Excellent.

Thanks. The ingredients went in as per, might try the bread mix suggestion, although I'd suppose the Asda stuff [I get home deliveries] would do the same job?

 

[badabec]

Thanks. The ingredients went in as per, might try the bread mix suggestion, although I'd suppose the Asda stuff [I get home deliveries] would do the same job?

I'm sure they are all made by the same company. I like the sour dough, white crusty and seeded wholemeal.
The ciabatta is a bit different, because it rises so much, they recommend using only half a packet (250g) at a time.

 

[redlig]

Thanks. The ingredients went in as per, might try the bread mix suggestion, although I'd suppose the Asda stuff [I get home deliveries] would do the same job?

I'm sure it will. You only need Strong white bread flour ( to get started) Milk powder, Oil ( olive/groundnut/ sunflower/butter).Salt Sugar,Easy bake yeast.Water. 3minutes set up. basic program . Plate' knife more butter, apricot jam warm fire .( according to taste) Don't be too hasty in cutting the first slices as the bread needs to cool down a bit. Check you weight and enjoy.

 

[Blobber]

My first wholemeal effort didn't come out looking as good as @badabec's tiger loaf, maybe I should have checked 'Best before' dates on ingredients and measured yeast more carefully? Tastes OK though, maybe a tiny bit 'heavy'. Couldn't resist flipping the lid to check progress , could that have had a bearing on the result?

View attachment 323998 View attachment 323999 View attachment 324000

I've ordered a digital kitchen scales which'll alloy me to measure small amounts more accurately and will try a basic white when they arrive.

Dead easy though

Weve had a few wholemeal like that, the other thing that seems to make a difference is the temperature of the water, think it needs to be tepid

 

[T689]

Weve had a few wholemeal like that, the other thing that seems to make a difference is the temperature of the water, think it needs to be tepid

I normally find the best way is 2/3 cold water mixed with 1/3 boiling for bread dough

 

[daleyd]

The key thing to remember is the yeast is a living thing, so avoid anything that’s going to shock it, ie water that’s too hot/cold or coming into contact with salt before the mixing starts.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Weve had a few wholemeal like that,

Thanks, I don't feel so bad after that.

 

[redlig]

Thanks, I don't feel so bad after that.

You could always use it as a poultice.

 

[DAPPH]

My first wholemeal effort didn't come out looking as good as @badabec's tiger loaf, maybe I should have checked 'Best before' dates on ingredients and measured yeast more carefully? Tastes OK though, maybe a tiny bit 'heavy'. Couldn't resist flipping the lid to check progress , could that have had a bearing on the result?

View attachment 323998 View attachment 323999 View attachment 324000

I've ordered a digital kitchen scales which'll alloy me to measure small amounts more accurately and will try a basic white when they arrive.

Dead easy though

Found that a lot of my harder than cobblestones breads were due to the oven temp gauge not being right .
Ended up buying one of the £ 9 dial units that sat on the shelf .. still not much joy .
Purchased a digital one about £15 , with a 1.5 mtr high temp protected probe & wires .. warranteed to be + - 3 % ..

Joy oh Joy success at last .... found the fitted oven temp gauge was usually 30 oC under and the dial unit nearly 20 oC under .
Living on the end of a very long 3 phase spur line doesn't help much either as the supplied voltage is very erratic .
( I knew we should have had a bottled gas oven as well as the existing hob ).

 

[T689]

I often bake 3 loaves at a time in the home oven - if it’s on for one loaf, might as well be on for three!
Then I freeze or give away some.

I mix by hand, knead and 1st proof the bread in the same bowl.

Here’s some I made weekend just gone, these about 3/4 strong white bread flour and 1/4 wholemeal.

 

[redlig]

Thanks, I don't feel so bad after that.

Hows the baking going ?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Hows the baking going ?

Very slowly since I bought some baker's rolls to accompany bacon.

 

[redlig]

Very slowly since I bought some baker's rolls to accompany bacon.

Must try harder ! Actually I've never been successful with rolls .Always turned out like bullets .

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

Rolls need longer to prove, longer rest time and a shorter cooking time.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Hows the baking going ?

I bought some bread flour mix [ex Co-op] and it came out much better. Very tasty, I can see this getting to be a habit.... I'll experiment with different recipes as time passes, but for the moment I'm happy . Even made one for my neighbours...can't beat willing guinea pigs/victims .

Thanks for all the input/suggestions lads, appreciated as always .

 

[reb78]

I had a play with my bread maker today. Its sat on the side for ages as the loaves were always a bit heavy and I was having more luck making good sourdoughs.

This thread inspired me to have another go with the breadmaker as it is kind of faff free. Its a Panasonic SD253.

I added 50% more yeast than the recipe said as per some of the suggestions on this thread. BUT.... as others have pointed out the importance of the rights amount of water, whilst the mixing pan was on the scales I thought I would check the volume of my '240ml' cup by weighing the water. (1ml = 1g give or take as I know thats pure water not tap). Well. I was shocked when my 240 ml cup added 189g of water to the pan! I added the correct weight of water and ignored the cup. The loaf has come out perfect.

Testimg the cup in the kitchen, three cups was the same as a pint on my pyrex jug (so 568ml and about the same in grams) meaning the cup measurement is waaaay out.

So long story short, dont rely on cups being the volume they say they are!

 

[BarrieJ]

If you use Allinson's Instant or Easy Bake Yeast, store it in the fridge or freezer, works perfectly out of either and keeps for ages.
I've never had consistent results with 100% wholemeal but splitting a 500g loaf into 160g wholemeal and 340g strong white comes out perfect every time.
Always weigh the ingredients, particularly the liquid.

If in doubt use Bakers' maths or Percentages.

Introduction to Baker's Percentages | The Perfect Loaf

In this introduction to baker's percentages and baker's math, learn to understand bread baking formulas and how to quickly scale up and down a recipe.

www.theperfectloaf.com