Bread maker

[Carol Dee]

First loaf out. Loaf didn't rise correct. Dense! Yeast didn't kick in. Don't really taste yeast. Next time I'll check expiration date. One ugly loaf!

Thanks cat, I'll use this loaf for French toast-one slice gives you enough food for day. I'll try the suggestions.

Wife is buying some yeast for bread machine. Try again, French toast for supper....

That happened nearly every time I used our machine. They say it was me. That I did not have my water/liquid temp right. Keep practicing, I am sure you will get it.

 

[thistlebloom]

That happened nearly every time I used our machine. They say it was me. That I did not have my water/liquid temp right. Keep practicing, I am sure you will get it.

You know, Carol Dee, I have to think there was something wrong with your recipe. Maybe the ingredient measurements were off?
I've used recipes that didn't come out good at all, and turns out it wasn't always pilot error.
There is a difference in bread machines, I've had two different brands and the quality of bread was different in each one.

 

[canesisters]

I use the bread machine mix all the time - but I just bake it in a loaf pan.
OH! Or better yet, roll it out - lay a layer of ham down the center, then cheese, then onions - then fold the sides over and bake - YUMO!

 

[ninnymary]

I agree with Thistle about different brands producing different breads. There is a good book called "Bread Machine Magic" by Linda Rehberg & Lois Conway. You can find it on ebay or amazon. These authors tested over 1,000 breads on 4 different machines and saw a great variation. I would start with using the book that came with the machine.

I kept playing with a recipe for whole wheat bread until I came up with just the right amount of wheat gluten. Now I use 1 tablespoon per cup of flour. Most whole wheat recipes call for half bread flour and half wheat flour. But the recipe I use is all wheat flour. I find that it's not "wheaty" the way I thought it would be and it is very good. Playing with the wheat gluten helped me in making a loaf that I could slice thinly without it crumbling. I only used my machine once to bake the bread in and it was awful. Now I make the dough in the machine but use the oven for baking.

I also buy my flour in large quantities and store it in my freezer along with my flax seed. The yeast, I store in my fridge.

Hope this helps,
Mary

 

[Smart Red]

I love fresh bread and go through streaks of making it often and forgetting about the machine for months. As in everything food, my problem is DH eats the first day and I am left with the rest. Yes, there is an order to making bread in a machine. The yeast, water, sugar,(butter & egg if any) go in first only because the machine will find it easier to mix everything if it starts with the wet.

I have a great recipe (from when school baked every morning) that I use as well as a whole book of bread machine recipes. Yes, you can make banana bread, zucchini bread, etc. in the machine and you can try my favorite trick, take the bread out after the last mixing and let it raise outside to cook in the regular oven. The bread doesn't look like machine bread, but the work was all done by the machine. Easy-peasy.

My favorite breadmaker was one that made two loaves at a time. Yum, white and wheat; wheat and cinnamon; oatmeal and anything bread.

 

[seedcorn]

Book that came with machine, said to never allow yeast to mix with moisture.

Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, then make well in dry, place yeast there.

I'm hoping that I used wrong yeast, milk not hot enough so when blended, yeast didn't proof well for those reasons.

 

[catjac1975]

Measuring exactly is very important.

 

[ninnymary]

Book that came with machine, said to never allow yeast to mix with moisture.

Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, then make well in dry, place yeast there.

I'm hoping that I used wrong yeast, milk not hot enough so when blended, yeast didn't proof well for those reasons.

Seedcorn, I always sprinkle my yeast last on top of the flour. I hope you didn't warm up your milk? The machine will take care of that. The authors of my book also state that there is a significant difference between Red Star and Fleischmann's brands active dry yeast when used in the bread machine. They recommend Red Star. This is what I use because it's available at Costco.

Mary

 

[baymule]

Nothing like fresh hot bread. Can't help you on this one, I gave my bread machine away and make it by hand. Congrats on the first loaf-there is no fail in bread-you just find inventive ways to consume it!

 

[baymule]

In most our recipes the dough is gooey and extra thick. We're gluten-free, corn-free, and potato-free. So they probably wouldn't work with a bread maker.

I love zucchini bread, how could I forget about one of my favorites!? We make butternut bread with chocolate chips in it, sometimes we add an egg-nog glazing on top.

Gluten free? Corn free? Potato free? Ok SeedO, you'll have to start another thread and post recipes.