Bread Making

[Bren In Pots]

Kirsty I buy mine from the same corn merchant I get my flour from its only 8 pence an ounce so much cheaper than the dried sort. I've heard some supermarkets give it away if you ask them for it.

[kirsty b]

I read somewhere that you use half the quantity of fesh yeast that you would dried. Have I remembered that right? Also, does fresh yeast need to mixed with water to activate or do you just use it straight away?

Sorry if these questions are a bit basic, but I've freecycled my breadmaker (the loaves were too small and would only last about 5 minutes) and now make it by hand, still a novice and at the 'hit and miss' stage!

I would like to get the hang of it properly so I can make more bread than I buy so we know more about whats going into our food.

[Bren In Pots]

Kirsty I add 1oz of fresh yeast to a pint and half of warm water give it a bit of a stir then tip in 3lb of bread flour, 1 oz of white fat and nearly a table spoon of salt. Never used dried so can't help there sorry.

[jennybb]

Bren, where do you get your flour from?

I recently sorted through my storecupboard and amongst other things found some amaranth and millet grain, it needs using so I've added it to some seeds and chuck in a handful when I'm making bread - it gives it a nice crunch.

[Bren In Pots]

Jenny I buy mine from the local corn merchant, he doesn't do mail order though.
I've only been baking 'everyday bread' so never tried adding grains to mine but might have to give it a go now after reading this thread.

[jennybb]

Shame, I'll have to look into what we have locally. You must try adding seeds and stuff - lovely

[kirsty b]

Yay!! Success!
Used Birdie Wife's recipe, but subbed dried yeast for fresh, let it rise 3 times before baking and presto - it is the best textured loaf I have made to date.
Can't wait to make some more!

This thread is wonderful.

[valmarg]

Where do you get it from?

I get my fresh yeast from the larger Sainsbury's stores. If you go to the bakery counter and ask for a block of fresh yeast, you will get a 750g block for 99p.

It is much cheaper than buying by the ounce/gram. It lasts quite a long time, and can even be frozen in small quantities.

If I can't get fresh yeast, I would prefer to use the easyblend type rather than dried.

valmarg

[gemlady]

I've just tried my Morphy Richards breadmaker for the 2nd time and again I can't get the bread out Last time I made some the same thing happened and I had to destroy the loaf to get it out. Any suggestions?

[TPeers]

Humm.....

Did you grease the pole the paddle sits on? I know nothing is mentioned in the book but it can help.

Was the problem that the whole loaf stuck - or just the paddle?

If it is the whole loaf I'm tempted to think it wasn't cooked properly - try dark crust setting?

[gemlady]

I turned the tin upside down and shook it very hard several times, but would not come out. I tapped it on the bottom and at the sides, but it was stuck all the way round. I left it for a few minutes and shook it again, but in the end had to resort to putting my fingers down each side and prising it out of tin. Although it did eventually come out I still had holes in the bottom where the 2 paddles were and it had left some residue of bread stuck to the paddles so perhaps may not have been cooked enough. I did put it in my fan oven for another 10 minutes as it was soft and I wanted a crust on it. I had it on the medium setting, so if I try again will try on dark setting.

Have tried the bread today and the consistency and taste are ok, but couldn't make a proper sandwich as there were bits missing from the bottom of the slices I'm wanting to make my own bread so that I'll know what's in it and because the price of a small wholemeal loaf at my bread shop has risen from 69p to 80p overnight. Costing me a fortune in experimenting though!

[bluemoon]

I did do a google earlier for oatmeal bread, I'll see if I can find the link again and edit this post if I can.

Oat Flour - You can make it yourself by grinding rolled oats in a food processor or blender. Oat flour adds lovely flavor to breads and because of certain natural preservative in the oats themselves, it improves their shelf life. Oats contain no gluten, which is needed for bread to rise, so it must be mixed with a gluten-containing flour such as wheat. Substitute 1 of every 5 parts of wheat flour with oat flour. If your recipe is for a quick bread, no addition of other flours is necessary. - found this nugget of info on an oat site, hope it is helpfulOatmeal Bread Recipe - Bread Machine Recipe

Thank you Kirsty, I'm going to have a go at that in the morning

[TPeers]

I turned the tin upside down and shook it very hard several times, but would not come out. I tapped it on the bottom and at the sides, but it was stuck all the way round. I left it for a few minutes and shook it again, but in the end had to resort to putting my fingers down each side and prising it out of tin. Although it did eventually come out I still had holes in the bottom where the 2 paddles were and it had left some residue of bread stuck to the paddles so perhaps may not have been cooked enough. I did put it in my fan oven for another 10 minutes as it was soft and I wanted a crust on it. I had it on the medium setting, so if I try again will try on dark setting.

Have tried the bread today and the consistency and taste are ok, but couldn't make a proper sandwich as there were bits missing from the bottom of the slices I'm wanting to make my own bread so that I'll know what's in it and because the price of a small wholemeal loaf at my bread shop has risen from 69p to 80p overnight. Costing me a fortune in experimenting though!

My morphy works best on the dark crust setting! Best suggestion I can make is a time consuming one - only use it on dough setting!

Let it make the dough in the evening - knock it back and put the dough into a traditional tin, place the tin in the fridge! (remember to cover it with oiled film)

Next morning carefully transfer the tin to your oven, turn the oven on and cook the loaf.

The bread will rise in the fridge, very slowly, and the reason for putting it into a cold oven is to slowly warm the dough and get the final rise just before it cooks.

Does your machine have the extra cook feature? You could give it an extra ten mins or so and see if that helps or you could spray the sides and paddle with spray oil or cake release?