What size loaf setting to use in bread maker?

[andiesenji]

2 hours ago, windyacres said:

Thank you.  I have noticed that homemade bread does tend to get stale much quicker.  Therefore, I feel I have to eat it all within a day or two.  Certainly not good for if you want to limit carbs to reasonable intake! 

I slice loaves like the one in my photo, put two to four slices in zip-lock bags and freeze.  They go from freezer to toaster when I am ready to use them or into the oven at a low temp if I want them dried for bread pudding, etc.  

That way I don't feel compelled to consume the entire loaf within a couple of days.  

I believe the crumb is finer and certainly it adds some flavor to the bread.  

In the mid-1950s when I was working in my mom's bakery in Wisconsin, all the breads we made, including the ryes, had milk powder added.  We got it in huge containers the size of a 55 gallon drum.  

 

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, windyacres said:

I am in awe of your baking expertise! It will be years before I feel competent enough to "add random flours out of my cupboard"!  Ah, but I am determined to get this problem whipped.

 

 

 

It's not that big a deal, really. You know the added flours have no gluten (with the exception of rye, but we can ignore it when it's a small part of the mixture), so you just add a spoonful or two of gluten to make up the difference. If it comes out dense, you add more the next time. Easy-peasey.

 

Rye and buckwheat add deep, dark flavors; millet, oats and corn add sweetness; and with corn or millet you get a nice golden hue as well. It's a fun way to play, once you've got the basic recipe to behave for you. 

[andiesenji]

40 minutes ago, chromedome said:

 

It's not that big a deal, really. You know the added flours have no gluten (with the exception of rye, but we can ignore it when it's a small part of the mixture), so you just add a spoonful or two of gluten to make up the difference. If it comes out dense, you add more the next time. Easy-peasey.

 

Rye and buckwheat add deep, dark flavors; millet, oats and corn add sweetness; and with corn or millet you get a nice golden hue as well. It's a fun way to play, once you've got the basic recipe to behave for you. 

And some flavors are enhanced by toasting the grains or the flour.  I have a Nutrimill so buy whole grains, toast them, let them cool and then grind medium to fine.  Millet develops a wonderful nutty flavor when toasted, so do oats.  I bake a lot with spelt and kamut and always toast them.  

It's a bit trickier toasting flour because it can go too far.  But at lower temps, no more than 250, you can spread a couple of pounds of flour in a sheet pan and toast it for about 30 minutes, stirring half-way through.  

 

Edited September 15, 2016 by andiesenji (log)

[lindag]

I bake my own bread all the time and just love trying new and different recipes (especially Rye)

and I make lots more than I can use so I slice up my loaves after they've cooled sufficiently and bag them (in bags from KAF) and store in the freezer; if you press out as much air as possible they keep quite well.

 

[windyacres]

I am so excited to share these pictures with you all!  I finally had success making 100% ww bread.  I used the King Arthur recipe a couple of you mentioned.  Once I looked at it, I realized that I had tried this recipe before using the WW setting on the bread machine.  This time I used the regular setting for white breads.  I also used King Arthur "white" whole wheat flour.  Actually, I bought it by mistake thinking I was getting the regular ww flour.  However, it was a lot finer than regular ww flour.   So, I don't know if that contributed to the success or not.  I really feel it was using the regular white bread cycle.  Obviously, something was not quite right because the top sunk in, but the texture is great and is a 100 times lighter and less dense than my previous attempts.  If you can imagine the first picture being about 2/3 as tall as this one, that is what the other loaves I tried on the ww cycle turned out like.

 

Now to just figure out why the top sunk in......

[andiesenji]

10 minutes ago, windyacres said:

I am so excited to share these pictures with you all!  I finally had success making 100% ww bread.  I used the King Arthur recipe a couple of you mentioned.  Once I looked at it, I realized that I had tried this recipe before using the WW setting on the bread machine.  This time I used the regular setting for white breads.  I also used King Arthur "white" whole wheat flour.  Actually, I bought it by mistake thinking I was getting the regular ww flour.  However, it was a lot finer than regular ww flour.   So, I don't know if that contributed to the success or not.  I really feel it was using the regular white bread cycle.  Obviously, something was not quite right because the top sunk in, but the texture is great and is a 100 times lighter and less dense than my previous attempts.  If you can imagine the first picture being about 2/3 as tall as this one, that is what the other loaves I tried on the ww cycle turned out like.

 

Now to just figure out why the top sunk in......

 

 

It over proofed just a bit.  Your machine has a final rise setting that is a bit too long.  Your manual should tell you the length of time for each section of the cycle.  After you have removed the paddles and put the dough back into the machine, set a timer for about 20 minutes.  Open the cover and do the "punch test"  stick a finger in the dough and if it pops right back, let it go another 10 minutes and check again.

If it very slowly springs back, it is ready to bake.  Cancel the cycle and reset it to BAKE ONLY.  

I do this with sweet breads which always overproof.  

 

It is a bit fiddly, but unless you have one of the programmable bread machines, like the Cuisinart or the more expensive Zojirushi, this is about all you can do.

[rotuts]

@windyacres  

 

my MachineBread looks just lille that !

 

and its delicious !

 

and they top looks like that or worse !

 

now you need the ultimate FreshBreadToaster :

 

the CSB :

 

Cuisinart CSO-300N Convection Steam Oven, Stainless Steel

 

look for it at 220 or <   well worth it Id say.

[windyacres]

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 5:20 PM, andiesenji said:

It over proofed just a bit.  Your machine has a final rise setting that is a bit too long.  Your manual should tell you the length of time for each section of the cycle.  After you have removed the paddles and put the dough back into the machine, set a timer for about 20 minutes.  Open the cover and do the "punch test"  stick a finger in the dough and if it pops right back, let it go another 10 minutes and check again.

If it very slowly springs back, it is ready to bake.  Cancel the cycle and reset it to BAKE ONLY.  

I do this with sweet breads which always overproof.  

 

It is a bit fiddly, but unless you have one of the programmable bread machines, like the Cuisinart or the more expensive Zojirushi, this is about all you can do.

Thanks for the advice.  I will try that next time. 

[windyacres]

andiesenji - thank you for telling me how to avoid the over-proofing issue.  It would never have occurred to me to turn the bread machine off and reset it to "bake only".  That worked perfectly!  Below is a picture of my latest loaf.  I think it over-proofed just a little bit before I got around to testing it.  I have even ventured out and am trying some other recipes besides the King Arthur WW recipe.   

 

I am so thankful for this group for the help you have given me.  I was having horrible results trying to bake Whole Wheat breads before I found this group and thought I had wasted my money on this new bread machine.   Now I that know to use the regular white bread cycle and to not let it over-proof, I am getting consistently good results.  Thanks so much!

[andiesenji]

That loaf looks great.

 

[chromedome]

So happy for you. It's a good feeling when the bread starts behaving.

 

My old horizontal-loaf machine crapped out on me recently, and last night I found a Zojirushi of similar dimensions on Kijiji (that's the Canadian version of eBay Classifieds...much, MUCH bigger here than Craigslist) for $40. Money's tight at the moment, so I'm hesitating, but it's terribly tempting. 

[Kerry Beal]

13 hours ago, chromedome said:

So happy for you. It's a good feeling when the bread starts behaving.

 

My old horizontal-loaf machine crapped out on me recently, and last night I found a Zojirushi of similar dimensions on Kijiji (that's the Canadian version of eBay Classifieds...much, MUCH bigger here than Craigslist) for $40. Money's tight at the moment, so I'm hesitating, but it's terribly tempting. 

You can't turn down a Zo for $40

[chromedome]

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

You can't turn down a Zo for $40

No, I couldn't. I just told him I'd take it. 

[chromedome]

...and, it's now in my kitchen. Maiden batch tomorrow. 

[andiesenji]

5 hours ago, chromedome said:

...and, it's now in my kitchen. Maiden batch tomorrow. 

Don't forget to take the beater paddles out at the end of the final knead cycle.

[chromedome]

Oh, I never actually bake in the machine. I just use 'em to do the grunt work, then I pan the dough and bake it conventionally. 

 

ETA: I should probably expand on that. I've found in the past that bread baked in the machine was unsatisfactory, and haven't done it in years. Instead I make a single batch of dough in my conventional machine, a double batch in the horizontal machine, and combine them. With the recipe I use for my daily sandwich bread, that yields five small 1-lb. loaves. 

 

I've not used a Zojirushi before, nor has anyone I know, so I'll probably make the experiment of baking in the Zo by way of a compare and contrast. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by chromedome
clarification/expansion of original post (log)

[lindag]

On ‎10‎/‎17‎/‎2016 at 0:38 AM, chromedome said:

So happy for you. It's a good feeling when the bread starts behaving.

 

My old horizontal-loaf machine crapped out on me recently, and last night I found a Zojirushi of similar dimensions on Kijiji (that's the Canadian version of eBay Classifieds...much, MUCH bigger here than Craigslist) for $40. Money's tight at the moment, so I'm hesitating, but it's terribly tempting. 

You need to grab that Zo if you can, assuming it's the two paddle model.    I paid $200 new for the one I have and it's the best!  You won't be disappointed.

I've had several others but they can't compare.

[chromedome]

4 minutes ago, lindag said:

You need to grab that Zo if you can, assuming it's the two paddle model.    I paid $200 new for the one I have and it's the best!  You won't be disappointed.

I've had several others but they can't compare.

 

Oh, I did. I did.