Bread Makers/Machines

**Buffykaz** · February 24th, 2008, 03:17 PM

Some of the bread mixes you get at the supermarket also come with their own yeast packets inside them.

**Schmickers** · February 24th, 2008, 03:34 PM

Ok went out and bought the Breville BB420 this weekend. I had a quick read of the book and decided to go with the mixes first. Silly me forgot to take the book with me and went from memory. So I am not sure if I have stuffed up, but it has raised a few questions.

Yeast brands - does the brand of yeast have to match the brand of bread mix or flour used? I would have though that the yeasts would have been the same. I bought Lowans as it came in the container rather than sachets, but there was no Lowan mixes and I bought Defiance instead. Also the book mentions Tandaco yeast in the recipes, I assume Lowans would still be ok?

Yep, any yeast is fine, just use the appropriate amount. you need to masure it fairly carefully, and keep it as dry as possible before mixing the ingredients - so, if you're going to do an overnight setting, put the water in first, then the mix, and then the yeast on top, so it is separate from the water until the mixing starts.

Bread mixes - Only 3 brands were mentioned in the book, but the supermarket did not have them all and had another brand, Lauckes. Is the bread just as successful using a mix not listed in the book?

We never read the book - we just followed the directions on the mix we chose. So yeah, any mix should work.

Cost savings - are there any, or is just nice to have homemade bread?

Honestly, we didn't find any. You tend to eat a little bit more bread than you normally would (the loaves are taller, and the slices tend to be thicker when you are hand-slicing) and the bread does not last as long as shop-brought bread, as it usually doesn't have any preservatives in it (we found ours would become quite stale and hard after 48 hours).

Slicing guide - is one of these worth it? I have an electric knife is that enough to get nice slices?

Like Rouge said, use both - and let the bread cool first.

**Astrid** · February 24th, 2008, 07:04 PM

Thanks for all that. Might need to look at freezing some if it looks as though it wont get used, but it DH has been taking lunch, so that will help use the bread up . DD has issues with some food additives and preservatives, so a shorter shelf life is worth it in the long run.

Did find the loaf quite high, I did make the large (1250g) loaf, so might make a 1000g one next time. Turned out quite well, can't wait to try some other types, just went with white as a starter. Looking forward to winter with a nice soup in the slow cooker and some fresh bread to go with it.

**Daydream Believer** · February 27th, 2008, 08:48 AM

[QUOTE=Astrid;1166648
Cost savings - are there any, or is just nice to have homemade bread?
[/QUOTE]

I found the it was costing us half the price to make it coz when we buy bread DF has to have a certain brand which is $3.50 - $4 a loaf. I only make a small loaf when I make it that way it doesnt go mouldy if we dont eat it in a few days.
Homemade bread is so much nicer especially when its still warm

The only issue I have had is that the bread maker makes odd shaped loaves (almost square) & the bread is too big for the toaster & I dont like toast under the grill. So until I can solve that problem I keep a commercial loaf in the freezer for when I want toast.

**Astrid** · February 28th, 2008, 10:29 AM

Oh dear the supermarkets make breadmaking hard. Coles had a good range of yeasts, bread mixes and some flours, but no bread improver. Safeway has the bread improver, a small range of mixes and 1 type of bread flour in 1kg only

Must remember to turn the beeper off if I am using the delay function, not good being woken up at 4am!

**Daydream Believer** · February 28th, 2008, 10:42 AM

I dont use the bread improver, at the moment Im using the defiance bread mix & the lowans yeast and it still turns out fine.

**Astrid** · February 28th, 2008, 10:48 AM

Just want the bread improver for when I am using a recipe rather than a mix, but the mixes make it quite easy, DH was quite surpised how quick it was to throw together.

**Kazbah** · February 28th, 2008, 10:49 AM

Does anyone have any recipes for nut breads etc?

**Astrid** · March 19th, 2008, 02:58 PM

Just bumping this as I have more questions now - sorry Kazbah I don't have any nut bread recipes.

Does the collapsible blade sometimes not collapse? Also is it normal to have a ring of bread just underneath it once the baking is complete?

Sometimes it seems with the kneading process that it will not pick up all the dough around the edges. Is this normal, am I doing something wrong?

I got the slicing guide, but have found the loaves are too wide to fit, only the 750g loaf does and only when on its side. Kind of frustrating as I thought it was meant to fit all loaves from a Breville machine. Have I assumed wrong?

Oh, I have been good and not bought any bread, but we do have one sliced loaf in the freezer as back up. I do find we are eating less bread, which I think is a good thing. I look at the loaf and think that I can't be bothered cutting it, so I grab fruit instead if I am just in a snacky mood.

**sconeonamission** · July 22nd, 2008, 01:16 PM

I was thinking about buying a breadmaker (after seeing Jamie Olivers "Eat to Save Your Life").

I'm looking a cheap, older type one from eBay, but then thought how much are they brand new and where would I find recipes?

Do you have a bread maker ? How much do you use it? What are the pros and cons?

**Astrid** · July 22nd, 2008, 01:45 PM

I was thinking about buying a breadmaker (after seeing Jamie Olivers "Eat to Save Your Life").

I'm looking a cheap, older type one from eBay, but then thought how much are they brand new and where would I find recipes?

Do you have a bread maker ? How much do you use it? What are the pros and cons?

Still using my bread maker, only really stopped for just over a month when bubs was born. Probably use it 3 times a week, more if we have visitors or if I am making soup and want nice bread with. I still only use the bread mixes, still have not ventured to making the bread from scratch. My bread maker came with recipes as part of the instruction book, including the recommended measurements for some commercial bread mixes. If you don't get a book the bread mixes do have instructions, the hard bit knowing what order the ingredients are meant to go in.

In reference to my previous post: I have finally worked the slicing guide out, it does not like the crustier loaves, the softer loaves squeeze in much better.

**Nelle** · September 7th, 2008, 08:56 PM

Wow, what an interesting read! So - I am sick of running out of bread, and only realising the night before. How awesome if I could just make some bread on the spot!

What breadmaker do you guys have/recommend? What features do you like? Who makes their bread from scratch (as opposed to using a mix)? (I think that's enough questions for now. :P)

**Rivlas** · September 8th, 2008, 04:53 PM

I hired a Breville Bread maker today for my DD and want to know what others think of them. It is the smaller one and does, I think up to a 1kg loaf. Are there many around and what is the best sort to get. She has small children so want to know if it is worth the cost of buying them one?
Any suggestions would be welcome.

**christy** · September 8th, 2008, 04:59 PM

If you can upkeep the maintenance they are fantastic! We used to use ours daily. It was very cost effective but it was a pain in the bottom to clean. Now we use it once a week or so for fresh bread & soup together.

We have a breville I think.... (that would mean getting up and walking down the hall.... sorry

) Cost effective.... I think renting one & seeing how they feel about cleaning it etc works.
We use an electric carving knife to cut bread slices

for a handy hint.

**Junglemum** · September 8th, 2008, 04:59 PM

Hi Rivlas- i have a breville one and it is fantastic. Works out at about $1 a loaf if i buy the bulk bread flour.
I have a slightly larger one that makes a 1.5kg loaf. I tend to make the 1kg loaf more often though and it is fine for us. Even ok if we have visitors, but only last a day!

The only down side is that the bread is so yummy you eat too much!

ETA- just wanted to add mine has a removable blade and is really easy to clean...... not sure if yours is different Christy.

**Rivlas** · September 8th, 2008, 05:04 PM

Christy.
Electric Knives are not allowed in my house as I had a run in with one many years ago and have never used one since, still have the scares.
Also, people who know my grandson know he will try and work out how it works!!!