Making bread with a Kenwood Chef?

[smallblueplanet]

Okay peeps our bread maker has bitten the crust, I mean dust! Atm we can't afford another one, so I was wondering how easy is it to make bread using a Kenwood chef? Does anyone have any good recipes.

[zazen999]

I'd use the same recipe, with perhaps a bit more flour - it should be ok? Have you got the kneading arm? My aunt used to make bread like this through the 70s and 80s...she never bought a loaf - always made her own.

Or, try googling kenwood chef bread recipes.

I use the same recipe for all my bread:
1 pound flour
1/2 pint water
one teaspoon each: yeast, sugar, salt
1 tablespoon [or glug] veg or olive oil
1 vit c tablet, crushed.

keeps it easy and if you knead it the second time with lots of flour and leave to rise in it's final tin; it's perfect.

I also use half and half white/brown with the same recipe and it's still great.

[smallblueplanet]

I could google, but I wanted to know if anyone had any 'tried and tested', you can end up with any old thing off google!

I need a bit more of a step by step recipe I'm afraid zazen, we've never used the dough hook on the Kenwood so its totally new to us...

What's the vitamin C tab for? I'd prefer not to put it in.

[zazen999]

Oh right - chuck the above in and mix for half an hour. Take out, and pop it into a well oiled bowl, cover loosely with cling film [oiled] and leave to prove for an hour or so.

Tip out of the tin onto a floured board, knead for a few mins [you are really knocking out the air again], and put onto an oiled tray or into a bread tin. Cover with oiled cling film again and leave somewhere warm for about 3/4 to one hour to rise. Preheat the over halfway through. Put into 200 degree oven and it usually takes about 20-30 mins. You can turn it round halfway through to get even browning of the top. Tip it out and knock on the bottom; if it sounds hollow it's done.

I add the vit c as it is a flour improver; but you can leave it out. i did until I found an old bottle of them so I thought - why not!!!

When you are moving the dough around, don't knock it, or slam any doors in the house, including the oven door for the duration of making the bread. Just keeps the air in the bread.

Sounds alot of work, but actually most of it is in the rising process.

[Hilary B]

I used to make bread with the kenwood chef. You need the kneading hook!
I always used half a bag of breadflour to 3 quarters of a pint of warmish water. Dissolve 2 tsps salt and 3 of sugar in the water (and a vit c tablet, 50g unflavoured, if you want, it helps the yeast, but not needed if you use 'quick type' yeast). If using 'traditional' yeast add it to the water before adding the tablespoonful of oil (if it ends up being 2 tbsps that won't hurt) if using the 'easy' type put one small sachet and stir well into the flour. If the flour is 'off cold' so much the better. put flour and liquid in the machine, mix on low speed until blended turning up to about half-way for about 2-3 mins (it kneads much faster and more effectively than you can do by hand) until the dough tends to come together and leave the sides of the bowl claen (if this isn't happening, add a bit extra flour). You can let it rise in the bowl, for a short while, or turn it out into a bigger container if you want to let it rise a lot. After it has 'rested' or risen you have to work it to shape by hand. If it is still in the mixer bowl, switch on briefly (it will come out of the bowl cleaner when the machine has just been turned off). Tip onto a floured board and knead it into shape (tin or fancy, I usually did 'shapes'). The mix will do the equivalent of one 'large' shop loaf or 2 'small' ones. Cover with warm damp cloth and leave until at least twice 'just shaped' size, then put in a hot oven (gas 6). 30 mins for small non-tin loaves, 40 for large non-tin or small tin. Always test for 'hollow on the bottom'. If the tin/baking tray was well greased (I prefer not to use non-stick) it will come out/off easily once 'done'.

[HayleyB]

I hand made bread for the first time last Sunday will again tomorrow, it's very theraputic when kneading. I used Hovis flour and follwed the instructions on the side. Didn't have to knead a second time using the recommended process but I think I will leave to rise a bit longer tomorrow.

[Flummery]

I use mine with the dough-hook. In fact I bought it last year for breadmaking - my hands are now too arthritic to give a good kneed to the dough. I use a pound and a quarter of flour, a sachet of instant years, a mugful of warm water (try your own mugs - it's a useful measure - just checked - it's 13 fl oz!) a teaspoon of salt and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

Mix all in the mixer on minimum till it forms a dough (about a minute) then up the speed to between 2 and 3 for 4 minutes. I then leave it in the mixer till it's doubled up - you don't have to with these yeasts but you get a better texture if you do. Knock it back by about half a minute on minimum then shape into a loaf and put it in your greased tin till it's well risen. Bake - 220C - lovely, I never buy bread.

[smallblueplanet]

Thanks for the details guys.

For anyone who is interested here's a link to the Kenwood site which has some different bread recipes using the kenwood. It lists white bread and wholemeal on another page but when you click the link the recipe isn't there! I wonder why? Could it be so you buy one of their breadmakers instead?!

Kenwood - Home made bread recipes

[smallblueplanet]

Found this site too, it has the old Kenwood Chef recipe/manuals on it - check out the 'downloads' (they're big files though).

Kenwood Chef Restoracion, service repair, Instructions Manual's

[SarzWix]

Manda, the Vit C tablet acts as a flour improver - helps the elasticity of the dough, you'll see it listed on commercial bread as Ascorbic acid. It's not an essential ingredient, but it does make a difference in wholemeal bread where it's harder to get the gluten working and you can end up with a bit of a 'heavy' loaf. If you don't use it, you can either mix 2/3 wholemeal flour with 1/3 white, or just be prepared to knead it for longer, to get reasonable results. I sometimes use milk in place of water, or add a spoonful or 2 of dried milk, which gives a softer crust and helps with the keeping properties of the bread.
What sort of yeast do you use? If the dried sort, the recipe on the back of the box is as good as any for hand-baking. The one I use most often with the Chef is the one I learnt at school with minor variations (in old money I'm afraid, it's what I know best!)

1lb Strong Wholemeal Flour
½lb Strong White Flour
½pint cold milk, mixed with ¼pint boiling water
1oz butter/marg
1tsp salt
2tsp sugar
1 sachet fast action dried yeast or 1 tsp ordinary dried yeast

(If using ordinary dried yeast, stir 1 tsp sugar into milk water mix, then stir in yeast and leave to start frothing.)

Put dough hook on kenwood, then put flour & butter into bowl and set the machine off rubbing it in, then add the salt, keep mixing. If using Fast Action yeast, pour that in next, then the sugar. Then, still mixing, slowly pour in the warm liquid.
Leave it running fairly slowly til it's all bound together, then increase the speed a bit until it's smoothly working the dough, but not throwing itself round the bench
You'll have to keep testing it to see what the elasticity of the dough is like; once it seems stretchy, without pulling apart too easily, then it's kneaded enough. (With wholemeal, I think it's 10 - 15 mins, with white it can be as little as 5 mins)
Take the bowl off the machine, cover it with a damp tea-towel and leave it to rise. Once it's doubled-ish, take off the tea-towel and punch the dough down (literally, it's great ) put it back on the machine & knead it again for a minute or so, then dump it on the work top (floured). Cut it up into the size you want, or small pieces for rolls, put it in/on greased tins or trays and leave it to rise again. Once it's doubled -ish again, bake it at around 210 - 220°c for 10-15mins rolls, 20-25 mins small loaf, 25-35 mins large loaf (ish). You can tell if it's cooked enough by turning the loaf out of the tin and knocking on the bottom of it - if it sounds hollow it's done, if you get a dull thud, then it needs another 5 mins or so, then test again. If you want soft crust, wrap the loaf/rolls in a tea-towel til cool. If you like it crispy, just put it on a cooling rack.

If you use Fast Action yeast, and all white flour, the second knead isn't necessary, just do it once and then put it straight in tins for just one rise, then bake.

[Jay Bee]

Found this site too, it has the old Kenwood Chef recipe/manuals on it - check out the 'downloads' (they're big files though).

Kenwood Chef Restoracion, service repair, Instructions Manual's

Thanks for that link.

I have past my rather tastefully orange/brown coloured one onto my son last week as I have inherited an older version from my late mother. I will send the link onto him he may want a more mute colour!

Trouble is I now have Mr Sandman swiming round in my head!

[Scottishnewbie]

Manda, the Vit C tablet acts as a flour improver - helps the elasticity of the dough, you'll see it listed on commercial bread as Ascorbic acid. It's not an essential ingredient, but it does make a difference in wholemeal bread where it's harder to get the gluten working and you can end up with a bit of a 'heavy' loaf. If you don't use it, you can either mix 2/3 wholemeal flour with 1/3 white, or just be prepared to knead it for longer, to get reasonable results. I sometimes use milk in place of water, or add a spoonful or 2 of dried milk, which gives a softer crust and helps with the keeping properties of the bread.
What sort of yeast do you use? If the dried sort, the recipe on the back of the box is as good as any for hand-baking. The one I use most often with the Chef is the one I learnt at school with minor variations (in old money I'm afraid, it's what I know best!)

1lb Strong Wholemeal Flour
½lb Strong White Flour
½pint cold milk, mixed with ¼pint boiling water
1oz butter/marg
1tsp salt
2tsp sugar
1 sachet fast action dried yeast or 1 tsp ordinary dried yeast

(If using ordinary dried yeast, stir 1 tsp sugar into milk water mix, then stir in yeast and leave to start frothing.)

Put dough hook on kenwood, then put flour & butter into bowl and set the machine off rubbing it in, then add the salt, keep mixing. If using Fast Action yeast, pour that in next, then the sugar. Then, still mixing, slowly pour in the warm liquid.
Leave it running fairly slowly til it's all bound together, then increase the speed a bit until it's smoothly working the dough, but not throwing itself round the bench
You'll have to keep testing it to see what the elasticity of the dough is like; once it seems stretchy, without pulling apart too easily, then it's kneaded enough. (With wholemeal, I think it's 10 - 15 mins, with white it can be as little as 5 mins)
Take the bowl off the machine, cover it with a damp tea-towel and leave it to rise. Once it's doubled-ish, take off the tea-towel and punch the dough down (literally, it's great ) put it back on the machine & knead it again for a minute or so, then dump it on the work top (floured). Cut it up into the size you want, or small pieces for rolls, put it in/on greased tins or trays and leave it to rise again. Once it's doubled -ish again, bake it at around 210 - 220°c for 10-15mins rolls, 20-25 mins small loaf, 25-35 mins large loaf (ish). You can tell if it's cooked enough by turning the loaf out of the tin and knocking on the bottom of it - if it sounds hollow it's done, if you get a dull thud, then it needs another 5 mins or so, then test again. If you want soft crust, wrap the loaf/rolls in a tea-towel til cool. If you like it crispy, just put it on a cooling rack.

If you use Fast Action yeast, and all white flour, the second knead isn't necessary, just do it once and then put it straight in tins for just one rise, then bake.

I've just made this, but i have to say i think doing it in the bread maker is a lot easier! i'm wondering if i did it right?

[Brengirl]

I have never understood why my bread making results are not constistant. One day I really believe 'I have cracked it' only to have a dismal failure next time. Oh well! how boring if we did everything right first time

[Scottishnewbie]

so do we think the bread does actually taste different depending upon whether it's made in a breadmaker or a kenwood?

[Hilary B]

Biggest difference is you can have breadmachine bread freshly made for breakfast.
If you use the same ingredients, there is no reason for any other difference.