Have you seen these packets of Wrights bread mix in shops? They are great and have been a real success, as have supermarket brand mixes, but I wanted to try the real thing. It's fine, but it takes a lot of time and you have to have at last half a day free for all the mixing and proving then mixing again then proving again, then shaping and finally the baking. I do have more time on my hands nowadays, it is true, but even so it's not so much the time it takes but it's the tie. I can't leave the house for any length of time on a day I'm making bread and I have a terrible job to confine myself so I don't have to open a door to where the bread is proving, so as not to create a draught. I also find the end result bread rather dense and heavy. For these reasons I'm going to return to using the mixes, or perhaps get a bread making machine, which loads of people have been telling me to do.
A few of my friends use bread makers but one or two of them seem to get disproportionately annoyed by the hole the paddle leaves in the base of the loaf, and the tough area around the hole. If I could find a machine that didn't give you bread with what my friend Mary calls 'a hole up its bum' I would probably buy it. I have read reviews but haven't found any which promise you a removable paddle leaving no hole.
Yes I use the Wright's bread mix, but only the 'Cheese & Onion' one. I use the breadmaker recipe book that came with the machine for the 'real' wholemeal loaves. Speaking as an engineer, I would imagine it would be very difficult to design a machine without a paddle, for after all, this is what required for the kneading. I suppose if you could stop the machine at the correct time, you could remove the dough, then the paddle, (mine is separate for washing) and then replace the dough and continue with the bake, but as this sounds like a lot of bother, I am quite happy with the dent in the bottom!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say - that you can use the machine just for making the dough. You then have to prove it in a loaf tin and bake in your usual oven.
ReplyDeleteBernard: Yes, I was aware of the paddle doing the kneading. I suppose I would learn in time to put up with the hole.
ReplyDeleteSince putting up this post, I've heard of a friend of a friend who has a removable paddle (well, her machine does). As you say, it isn't that convenient, especially for people who like to leave bread to make itself overnight.
Your hybrid idea sounds worth a try.
Maybe I will get a machine. It would save a lot of work.
Thank you, Bernard, for your practical help as always.
Yes Foody my bread machine (Panasonic) does leave a hole but it is not a problem at all. I don't find the dough dense or tough at all. I have another bread machine a friend gave me as she does not use it, and to be honest it isn't as good as the Panasonic, hers leaves the paddle in the bread every time so I don't use hers as much as mine. I don't use bread mixes, I also use Sainsburys flour and also Lidl's and they all work great.
ReplyDeleteAnn: I am thinking about getting a bread machine. Do I take it your Panasonic has a removable paddle? I'll certainly bear in mind your recommendation for that brand.
ReplyDeleteYes Foody the paddle in my bread machine is designed to be removed for cleaning. I made a white loaf today and sprinkled in poppy seeds before I closed the lid. I set it to be ready this morning when we woke up, a lovely smell.
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