Bread Machines

Whilst the purist will argue that there is nothing like bread made the old fashioned way, lovingly kneaded by hand, carefully proved in the airing cupboard for 8, 12 or even 24 hours, lightly dusted with semolina and lovingly cooked on the stone sole of a preheated oven with a careful injection of cold water to provide a sudden shock of steam to help form that perfect crust, this all takes time.

In today’s hectic world, if one has the time then bread making this way is a fantastically rewarding experience adding to ones own knowledge with each loaf and sharing tips and experiences with others.

A bread machine, while removing much of the craft from the process, is still a great way to make really tasty bread with the minimum of effort but safe in the knowledge that the ingredients are pure and that they can be free from additives and improvers and other “agents” that are found in modern shop loaves.

Indeed some techniques can be employed from traditional methods such as adding some “starter” to the bread machine mix to give loaves a bit more flavour; using a small percentage of rye flour (about 5%) to give white loaves that little extra texture in the crust; just using the dough program to do mix the dough before allowing it to prove for longer and cooking it in a conventional oven.

Just waking up to the smell of home cooked bread will change the start to any day. Especially when you have had control over what went in in the first place. When buying a bread machine, it really is worth spending that little extra money to get a good one. Look for a unit with a really thick bowl that allows more even heat transfer, they also last longer too as many cheaper units will need the bowl replacing quite frequently. A dispenser that can add fruits or raisins during the process can also enhance the end product.

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