I bake bread almost every day .... and have no one to talk to.

It may be baguettes or bagels or flat breads for my kebabs - but life without freshly made daily bread would be terrible. I need my kneading.

No one else here seems to obsess about bread .. so I'm not expecting much response or any longevity to this thread so invite also just enthusiastic eaters as well as bakers of bread in the forlorn hope of some bready debate. Let us pity the poor pitta.

Anyone?

Yup. Use the bread machine to make french, rye, and a parmesan-herb of my own design. Got to make it every few days, though, because new bread goes stale fast.
Can't do the kneading myself, so I'm restricted to mundane bread in the breadmaker.

anyone have a fancy breadmaker? planning to research it at some point.

one of the things im interested in is actually french toast

Lovely to talk to another dough person!

What machine do you have?

i use my bread machine for a pseudo cholla/brioche loaf and for an odd French bread that is good for sandwiches.

Actually you aren't restricted to mundane bread if the kneading is a prob. Are you aware that the most wonderful genuine baguettes - better than anything you have in France would be really easy for you?

All basic prep could be in your machine but with the only slight inconvenience of a poolish mix the previous day to give that French bread flavour and some easy envelope folds after the bread machine prep to get the texture? I wouldn't have thought some envelope folds would be a problem. If you're interested happy to give some specifics.

I love rye bread particularly for smoke salmon and salt beef.

I am about to put some baguettes into the oven .....

The very best so far seems to be the Panasonics. I've had several and they are great.

If you end up with that I have a recipe I specifically developed for the panny which is a perfect base for French toast.

I've got a Panasonic machine. Use it two or three times a week - nothing fancy just standard wholemeal loaves normally.

Very open to suggestions - and I'd like to hear your baguette technique :-)


Adey


PS - any one else following Paul Hollywood's Bread TV series (on UK BBC and (I assume) BBC iPlayer)?

Paul is of course my hero. I thought I was the only bloke making bread until he came on the box.

I'll summarise baguettes for a couple of smallish baguettes. Double or triple etc for more. I do this pretty much daily. We're ending up with a mix at roughly 75% hydration ie wet for crispy crust.


1. make a poolish the day before. Mix 100 gms of hard flour (I use very hard Canadian) with 100 gms of water with around 7 gms of instant yeast in a jug with a fork and cover with one of those hair hats stolen from a hotel that are perfect for bread makers! This takes 10 seconds! Leave overnight to bubble away. It'll die down by the morning.

2. put around 8 gms of salt into the bottom of a bowl followed by 100gms of flour and 50gms of water and the poolish. This is th75% hydration we're mixing to. Mix in a mixer or bread machine for around 5minutes or so - no more. Cover and leave until it doubles.

3. When it has doubled decant the wet mix onto a floured board. Do not let it anywhere near oil as this will remove crunch. Envelope fold around 8 times or so. This is sort of stretching it out and then folding back like an envelope then turning it around and doing it the other way. I then throw some flour into an oblong plastic box with a lid and throw it in for half an hour or so or more ... Then I decant out again and envelope fold a couple of times and put it back in the box for another half hour ish I repeat a few times stretching it long and folding.

4. I use baguette tins and shape them and drop them in. i put the oven on high ish arond 220 and I put in a steak griddle in the bottom of the open to heat up although any tin will do. I let the bread rise - although some times I put it in a very cool fan oven at 50 or so to accelerate the final rise. I lame (cut) the top lengthways to improve the crumb.


When the loaves have risen I spray the tops with water and spray the inside of the oven with water. I put the bread in and put half a cup of water on the now hot griddle for the steam and very quickly put the bread in for 5 minutes and slam the door shut trapping the steam. After 5 I take the bread out and let the steam evaporate out. I then let the bread sit outside the oven whilst the oven dries a little and set the oven a bit higher say 240 ish. The bread bakes and finishes for a further 20 or so minutes.

The bread will be slightly but not overly sour dough'ish (the French use sour dough to make poolish) and crispy.

Although I've used a lot of words I've tried to explain what is in fact really simple and takes not much effort.

Sorry about the typing but I'm ipading.

Now try it and report back with photographs.

I've been making much more bread these days now that I have a bread machine to do the kneading for me, as I'm rather wimpy (and impatient). I use it for variations of the very soft and fluffy breads, and yesterday for hot cross buns. For a reliably crusty boule I do the no-knead Le Creuset version that's been really popular since the mid-aughts, although we have an amazing bread maker in Honolulu now so I don't bother so much with it.

There's nothing wrong with bread machines.

I try to make all the bread I eat. Sometimes I forget and have to resort to store bought disappointment.

I get two batches of Jim Lahey (google it!) no knead bread going. I stagger the start of the second rise so that I can bake one after the other. Someday I might get a second pot to let me make more, efficiently. I prefer a softer lighter crust than Lahey so I don't take the lid off at all. I add a little more salt than what he calls for. One gets eaten and other gets frozen. It is good for two days, or more if toasted.

I've converted at least two others to doing this. It is truly fantastic no knead no work bread.

I bake most of the bread we eat. Use the kitchenaid to mix and knead it, shape and form by hand.In the winter we'll let the dough rise by the fireplace.

May go a couple of weeks and not go near it, then do four batched the next time.

More people make bread than I thought! ^

I make a nice brown Irish soda bread 3 times a week. A nice slathering(if that is a word) of Kerrygold butter and a mug of tea. Heaven

The most trouble I want to go to is removing the kneading blade spatula before the dough starts to rise (hate the big hole in the bottom left by the machine).
But I might have to try the baguettes or the no-knead bread mix...

Does the dough hook on a "kitchen aid" not work for you? I know it's not perfect, but it seemed to substitute fine when I broke my thumb/tore my shoulder and couldn't knead for a few weeks.

Edit: this may be irrelevant, as I didn't see your last post prior to posting, sorry.