Blinkin' Heck, I spent some money....

[citizentwiglet]

Not only did Little-Miss-Tightwad spend some money, I spent some money on an electrical gadget.

A breadmaker...........

After months - nay, years, of deliberating, and having had no luck procuring a decent one from other sources (there is a reason why people give them away, I guess....), we took the plunge and bought one today. From a real shop, and everything.

I don't know whether I'll actually save much money, as we've been tending to buy the reduced stuff in the supermarkets, or the bog-standard Co-Op wholemeal; but it's nice to know exactly what's going in to the loaves. I've made a normal white loaf and a 70% wholemeal loaf already today, but if OH has his way it'll be all gone by the morning; so it could end up costing me considerably more that poxy bread......

I'm still flabbergasted that I actually spent some money! On MYSELF, and not the sprogs (well, I suppose I'll throw them a stale crust every now and again, if they're good).

Anyway, hardly world-stopping news, but I'm sooooooo pleased with myself, LOL!

[thesunflowergal]

Hope you get on with your Breadmaker Twiggy. We had one and could not get to gribs with it, make bread by hand now.

[Susie]

I absolutely love mine. Well done, you won't regret it.

[Green Aura]

Google "bread maker recipes" twiggy - you'll be stunned at the possibilities. Tip: if it's an American recipe cut the sugar down by at least half - unless you're into sweet bread - they seem to put tons in any bread.

Enjoy!

[Millymollymandy]

Agree about the sugar, I have only used recipes from the Panasonic booklet but that has way too much sugar in.

Well done CT for spending some money on yourself. Will it be pink high heels next I wonder?

[Milims]

Yee Ha! Welcome to the club! My mum gave me an M&S voucher for christmas and I treated myself to a new one and haven't looked back since! We have fresh bread every day and we know what goes into it - and it's much more tasty and filling that the bought carp! There is a brilliant bread making book called "Dough" by some rather yummy french man. It comes with a dvd about how to hand make bread that is more like cookery pron - makes a gal want to be that lump of flabby white dough! Anyway there are some really good recipes in it that can easily be used in the bread maker - especially the pizza dough.

[citizentwiglet]

I love hand-baking, but you can guarantee that the small will decide to throw himself down the stairs / off a chair / down the back of the sofa the MINUTE my hands are covered in flour!

Tried to make rolls today, using the gizmatron to make the dough; but it turned out too sticky and the rolls haven't proved properly. Ho-Hum.

[boboff]

My little tip for making bread..... I use the incubator to prove the dough, works a treat.

[Stonehead]

We've been using a Panasonic bread maker for more than seven years, eight or nine times a week. While I enjoy making loaves by hand, it's useful to be able to put the ingredients in the breadmaker last thing in the evening, set the timer for 6am, and get up to find the bread ready.

[Thomzo]

I love my breadmaker, but I don't see any point in making bulk standard basic bread that you can buy from the shop. Having said that, even the bulk standard wholemeal that I make is 100x nicer than I buy from the shop. I tend to make speciality breads such as carrot or beetroot (there are recipes on here somewhere for them).

It can take a bit of getting used to. If the rolls were too wet this time, cut down the water a bit next time. My recipe book is covered in little notes about too wet, too dry, etc.

Have fun, I'm sure you'll enjoy your little treat.

Zoe

[citizentwiglet]

We've been using a Panasonic bread maker for more than seven years, eight or nine times a week. While I enjoy making loaves by hand, it's useful to be able to put the ingredients in the breadmaker last thing in the evening, set the timer for 6am, and get up to find the bread ready.

VERY glad I bought a Panasonic one! I read the reviews - Amazon had a total of over 500 reviews and an overall rating of 5 stars, so did a few other places (admittedly not the same number of reviews, but enough that you knew it wasn't just people who work for Panasonic writing favourable reviews which I always wonder about when there's only a handful). I got the SD-255 which is probably going EOL soon, as the 256 and 257 are both being sold at the moment. The SD255 seems to have been around for ages, it was the one I originally looked at years ago, I'm sure. Anyway, there had been big reductions from £119.00; Amazon were doing it for £98.00, I think; Comet for £84.00. We looked on the Saturday, then went back on the Sunday and I had an urge to 'just pop into Currys and see'....glad I did, as they had it for £76.75. I just assumed, from their marketing, that Comet would be cheapest.

I still feel like a bit of a shop whore, though. I found myself stroking freezers, and lusting after decently powered vacuum cleaners...it's a slippery slope, I tell you. I'm far more comfortable spending money on the kids.

Anyway, my rolls were fine in the end. A bit odd shaped, but the texture inside was great, and we were only dunking them in soup.

Just a question - best place, apparently, for proving bread, is 40 degrees C. Where in your house, in the middle of summer, is it THAT warm????

[Millymollymandy]

Outside in the sun. Or better yet, park car outside leave bread to prove inside with the windows closed. Or any of your greenhouses though they might be too hot!

I read that somewhere recently too which amazed me - everything else I've ever read says prove bread at about 22-23C.

[Milims]

Funny you should ask about temps in the house Twiggy - I found my jam thermometer in the roof of my conservatory (don't ask!) When I picked it up it almost burnt my hand and was reading 60deg C! I guess that's too hot for bread but I have wondered about meringues

[wulf]

Just a question - best place, apparently, for proving bread, is 40 degrees C. Where in your house, in the middle of summer, is it THAT warm????

Erm... inside a chicken? Apparently their little bodies run a touch hotter than ours. How that in anyway helps with proving bread, I don't know; it would be far more hygenic to substitute a bit more time for the extra warmth.

Wulf

[battybird]

Hi all,
I use lemon juice instead of sugar and it works perfectly in my breadmaker in UK. I always make the dough and prove it in the maker then hand shape it and cook in the oven. Well...occasionally I let it bake the loaf itself but I like handling the dough. I prove mine anywhere...I sometimes mistime it and have not got time to finish it..so I put it in the fridge, and it often still is climbing out of the pan when I get back to it! Experimenting is part of the fun, twiggy...I am sure your purchase will be paying for itself in no time!!