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Experimenting with my Bread Machine


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  • 8 months later...
8 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Has anyone ever made brioche dough in their bread  machine?  If you have, would you mind listing the ingredient list for me?  I would like to make the dough but shape it into buns.  

I haven't made it but I'm sure there are recipes in my bread machine cookbooks. If you'd like them, I can post.

Deb

Liberty, MO

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8 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Has anyone ever made brioche dough in their bread  machine?  If you have, would you mind listing the ingredient list for me?  I would like to make the dough but shape it into buns.  

 

see the KAF recipe here.

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@Maison Rustique If one of your books has a recipe that calls for putting everything in the bread bucket at once i would love the recipe.  I'm not interested in anything that requires extra steps other than maybe chilling the dough before shaping into buns.

 

@lindag Thank you for the link.  What I am looking for is a recipe where the dough is made in the bread machine and the buns can be made with minimal time between the dough being ready and the buns being shaped.  I have a bun pan in which I will bake the buns.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A book I use all the time is Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine, by Linda West Eckhardt and Diana Collingwood Butts. It's an old book--1995--but the breads are wonderful. I make the Jewish Rye all the time. They have many recipes requiring a sponge/poolish/biga/etc., so it's clearly possible to use a starter of some kind. When I make bread that requires a starter, I mix it in the pan and leave it to do its thing, and then finish the recipe by adding the rest of the ingredients. Works fine. I don't know the availability of a cookbook this old.

 

My machine is a very old Hitachi, HB-201, vintage probably late '80s/early '90s. A real workhorse. I had to replace the bread pan once but otherwise it's been quite reliable. I only use it to mix and raise the dough, baking on a pizza stone in the oven. I never cared for the loaf that bakes in the pan because at 7,000 feet the crumb was inconsistent top to bottom (even after adjusting for altitude), and there wasn't much of a crust.

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Formerly "Nancy in CO"

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Thank you @Nancy in Pátzcuaro. My absolute favourite bread recipe originated with Eckhardt and Butts from Bread in Half the Time ©1991. It's called Bread Machine Pain de Mie which I have modified to add whole wheat and other stuff. Curiously my favourite pizza dough comes from that book too. Both recipes use semolina, I'm thinking that's perhaps why.

 

And I bought a copy of Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine just now on Thriftbooks.

 

Thank you again.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Eckhardt and Butts use volume measures rather than weight because that book was published before most of us found out about weighing flour for more accurate results. I've made notes in the book in recipes that I use a lot.

 

You know, when I'm making bread I don't pay too much attention to measuring flour. I use the scoop method and adjust the moisture/flour consistency in the bread machine as it's kneading. Of course if I'm baking something like banana bread or cookies I'm much more careful about measurements. Generally I figure about 125gr. per cup of all purpose, but I've seen websites that have it at 145gr., which is a big discrepancy. King Arthur says 120gr. Is there one reliable source for that information?  Everyone tells us to weigh the flour but no one has the definitive answer, or at least I haven't found it.

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Formerly "Nancy in CO"

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In Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine, I've noticed they start by putting in the yeast, then flour etc, then water. This is the exact opposite of the way I've always loaded (any) bread machine. Do you suppose that matters?

 

Also, I don't mix the dry stuff together first; I just dump as is into the bread bucket. Do you suppose that matters?

 

Also they mention Semolina Granules (*not* flour) and Durum Flour Integrale (whole grain semolina). Does anyone use either of these? Sourced from?

 

So, I've had a bread machine (multiple) for more than 30 years and this book is a *totally* new way of making bread for me. 🤣 🤣

 

 

Edited by TdeV
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49 minutes ago, TdeV said:

In Rustic European Breads from Your Bread Machine, I've noticed they start by putting in the yeast, then flour etc, then water. This is the exact opposite of the way I've always loaded (any) bread machine. Do you suppose that matters?

 

Also, I don't mix the dry stuff together first; I just dump as is into the bread bucket. Do you suppose that matters?

 

Also they mention Semolina Granules (*not* flour) and Durum Flour Integrale (whole grain semolina). Does anyone use either of these? Sourced from?

 

So, I've had a bread machine (multiple) for more than 30 years and this is a *totally* new way of making bread for me. 🤣 🤣

I always follow the directions given by my (Zo) machine's manual, i.e., liquids, followed by dry.

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3 minutes ago, lindag said:

I always follow the directions given by my (Zo) machine's manual, i.e., liquids, followed by dry.

Me too.  My machine is a Zo also.  The first bread machine I ever had was a Panasonic, in the early 80's.  It too called for wet on the bottom, dry on top.

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  • 4 months later...

We have a local dairy that delivers. Yes, I have a milkman! Anyway, they have a lot besides milk. For quite a while a year or so ago, they had an artisan bread they made that was a light whole wheat bread with dried apricots and pumpkins seeds. Not at all sweet. We got completely addicted to it. And that means they don't make it anymore. 

 

So, I've searched around a come up with a couple of recipes I think I can modify to come up with something similar. I always use my bread machine because my hands and arms won't knead now. I would love to make some this week but have a dilemma. My oven is not working properly. (We're going to be shopping for a new one, but won't be here this week obviously.) I can bake it in the bread machine, but would like for it to not come out looking like a boring rectangle. 

 

So, here's my question. Has anyone tried slashing the top of the loaf in the bread machine before baking to give it a bit more artisan look/feel? 

Deb

Liberty, MO

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I'd be interested in hearing about your experiments, Maison Rustique. The very idea of dried apricots and pumpkin seeds is a combination I'd never think of. The only time we eat the bread I make is breakfast, so this would fit right in. Sounds perfect for a schmear of cream cheese.

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Formerly "Nancy in CO"

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13 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

I'd be interested in hearing about your experiments, Maison Rustique. The very idea of dried apricots and pumpkin seeds is a combination I'd never think of. The only time we eat the bread I make is breakfast, so this would fit right in. Sounds perfect for a schmear of cream cheese.

 

Their version was so good toasted. I loved it with the Trader Joe's Cultured Butter. But since it isn't sweet, it is also delish for grilled cheese, ham sandwiches, etc. And, yes, cream cheese. 

 

I got hung up in stuff this week (had to replace kitchen faucet and go stove shopping) and haven't tried it yet, but hope to very soon. 

Deb

Liberty, MO

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Thanks! Keep us posted about your experiments. I think I'll do a little trial-and-error myself in the meantime. When you say the bread was a "light whole wheat," do you think it was made with white whole wheat flour, or a mix of white and regular whole wheat? I would think that bread made with too much whole wheat flour might be too heavy and would overwhelm the fruit flavor. Let's see--I have dried apricots and pumpkin seeds, and a free day. Guess what I'm going to do today! 

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Formerly "Nancy in CO"

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10 hours ago, Nancy in Pátzcuaro said:

Thanks! Keep us posted about your experiments. I think I'll do a little trial-and-error myself in the meantime. When you say the bread was a "light whole wheat," do you think it was made with white whole wheat flour, or a mix of white and regular whole wheat? I would think that bread made with too much whole wheat flour might be too heavy and would overwhelm the fruit flavor. Let's see--I have dried apricots and pumpkin seeds, and a free day. Guess what I'm going to do today! 

Not white whole wheat, but yes, "some" whole wheat mixed in with white is my best guess. It did not seem much like whole wheat to me, but their description said whole wheat. Keep us posted!!

 

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Deb

Liberty, MO

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Well, my experiment was in general positive with a couple of caveats. First, I baked it at too high a temperature for too long, which resulted in a very dark thick crust. Second, I should have made the apricot pieces larger because the 1/4" bits got lost in the dough. On the whole, however, it turned out to be very tasty. I used 1-3/4 c. bread flour, 1/2 c. whole wheat, and 1/2 c. light rye. I also used chopped walnuts in place of the pumpkin seeds. The recipe I was working from had an egg and 3 Tbs. of honey, and the rest was a usual bread recipe. Next time I think I'll make the apricot pieces larger, and maybe use pumpkin seeds instead of walnuts.

 

Having just watched a video on King Arthur, I tried to make the kind of slits they demonstrated, but of course I don't have the proper tool. As a result one end of the loaf sort of blew out.

 

It always amuses me when a cook says, "I loved the recipe, but I decided to use X instead of Y, and I'm allergic to Z and my husband doesn't like K and my daughter won't eat B, so I left them out/substituted for them. But I loved the recipe." Seems to me I'm guilty of that myself.

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Formerly "Nancy in CO"

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On 5/24/2022 at 5:58 AM, Maison Rustique said:

We have a local dairy that delivers. Yes, I have a milkman! Anyway, they have a lot besides milk. For quite a while a year or so ago, they had an artisan bread they made that was a light whole wheat bread with dried apricots and pumpkins seeds. Not at all sweet. We got completely addicted to it. And that means they don't make it anymore. 

 

So, I've searched around a come up with a couple of recipes I think I can modify to come up with something similar. I always use my bread machine because my hands and arms won't knead now. I would love to make some this week but have a dilemma. My oven is not working properly. (We're going to be shopping for a new one, but won't be here this week obviously.) I can bake it in the bread machine, but would like for it to not come out looking like a boring rectangle. 

 

So, here's my question. Has anyone tried slashing the top of the loaf in the bread machine before baking to give it a bit more artisan look/feel? 

I've been baking a bread/rolls recipe using 2/3 white whole wheat and 1/3 almond flour with apricots and sliced almonds.  Because they are related, apricots and almond go nicely together.

I don't slash the top of the loaves, but when I removed the dough after the final knead, to REMOVE THE BEATERS,  I separate it into three balls and tuck them back into the bread machine pan for the final rise and bake, first brushing them top with egg wash and sprinkling sliced or slivered almonds on the top.  This is an attractive presentation and can be sliced as is or pulled apart into three "midi" loaves.  

Edited by andiesenji (log)
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"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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18 hours ago, andiesenji said:

I've been baking a bread/rolls recipe using 2/3 white whole wheat and 1/3 almond flour with apricots and sliced almonds.  Because they are related, apricots and almond go nicely together.

I don't slash the top of the loaves, but when I removed the dough after the final knead, to REMOVE THE BEATERS,  I separate it into three balls and tuck them back into the bread machine pan for the final rise and bake, first brushing them top with egg wash and sprinkling sliced or slivered almonds on the top.  This is an attractive presentation and can be sliced as is or pulled apart into three "midi" loaves.  

I never would have thought of baking it that way. I will give it a try.

Deb

Liberty, MO

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