What to do with bread machine

sky

Fri, Nov 13 2015, 9:20 am

seeker wrote:

but the bread machine itself was over $50, and how many years is it going to last and how many breads is it going to have to make to be cheaper than just buying bread? And how many times am I going to have to wash the pan, un-gunk the kneader, and if I find a better place, shlep it on and off the counter to use? Grrrr.

If you make about 30 loaves in there you've paid for it: 20 loaves bread * 2.50 = 50. Plus the loss of the ingredients you are making.

My machine has 100% paid for itself over and over again.

I also use motzei shabbos to mix up hot pretzel dough, calzone dough, and others for fun melava malka.

[Shhh - don't tell anyone - I really only wash it for Pesach. When I bake in it the break slides ride out. When I make dough I remove all dough possible and remove the paddle so it doesn't get glued on. The next time I use it the dough is typical hard and crusty and shakes right out, I spend a lot less time cleaning it then my Buasch that I never use now]

I also use the pizza setting all the time. I find the dough setting takes FOREVER and I don't need all that time. So I set it to pizza and it does the kneading without all the sitting and getting to room temperature.

DallasIma

Fri, Nov 13 2015, 12:53 pm

I have a bread machine (I forget what brand) that I've been using for years. It was a replacement for a previous bread machine that I also had for years but that first one finally conked out. (I originally bought the first one because we're out of town and at that time we couldn't buy kosher challah locally. We can now, but both of us prefer the homemade challah.)

The first machine came with a challah recipe that I've been using ever since. I know the quantities from memory after this long, so here it is (and it works fine in the machine I have now).

1 cup water
2 2/3 tablespoons oil (I like using extra-virgin olive oil)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt (I generally use less than that, about 1/2 or 3/4 teaspoon)
2 eggs, beaten (what I do is, I use 1 egg plus 1 egg white, and save the 2nd yolk for brushing onto the loaves later)
3 1/2 cups bread flour (I've found that 4 cups works better)
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast (I use the "bread machine yeast")

Add ingredients to the bread machine pan in the order given. Put the machine onto the "dough" setting (1 1/2 hours). When it finishes, spray a baking pan or two with cooking spray, take out the dough, and shape it into loaves on a floured surface. (Before I do that, I take off a little piece, double-wrap it in foil, and put it into a 500F oven for about an hour. Even though I think this amount of dough in the recipe doesn't need challah separated from it, I do this anyway and I don't make a brachah. We have a double oven so I use one for the burning and one for proofing the dough, I.e. keeping it warm and letting it rise.) Put the baking pan into an oven on the bread proofing setting, or at 100F, or just cover it with a cloth, and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes to an hour. Then brush loaves with egg yolk, sprinkle with sesame seeds (I also use minced garlic and minced onion - or you can use poppy seeds - or whatever you like), and bake at 350F for 1/2 hour.

Since we are only 2 people, this makes enough to last about 3 weeks.

For Yomim Tovim I vary the recipe - sometimes I use maple sugar or maple syrup instead of regular sugar, or sometimes I use honey, and sometimes I add some cinnamon and raisins, etc. Use your imagination.

baba

Sun, Nov 15 2015, 9:33 am

Get to know your machine. See how the recipes work and you'll be able to use any recipe you want.
For example, my machine says to first add water, and other liquids (like egg and oil) and sugar and salt. THen you cover everything with flour and put the yeast on top.

Since I know this I can do any bread recipe, I just have to stick to the machines order.

I cant imagine your machine doesnt have a dough function, I always use this for challe, pizza dough etc. It's really the easiest. I leave mine in longer than the alloted time and it still rizes a lot.

Btw, I always use white whole wheat flour in stead of normal white flour and use seraph's no fail challe recipe.

seeker

Sun, Nov 15 2015, 10:57 pm

chocolatecake wrote:

my bread machine is hands down my favorite kitchen appliance. I bake bread in it. I also make all sorts of doughs, challah, pizza, babka, garlic knots bread sticks etc. read the manuel but every machine I ever saw had a dough setting. also most machines have a 13 hr delay timer. u can dump all the ingrediants in at night and.wake up to the smell of fresh homemade bread in morning. here is a recipe for 100 percent whole wheat bread that I use. 1.5 c water 1.5 tbs oil 1.5 tsp salt 3 c flour 1.5 tsp yeast. recipe calls for 1 tsp sugar I skip it.

Is that whole wheat bread recipe for what size loaf? I would like to give it a try but need to know whether to set it to 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb. Can I guesstimate that 3c flour is going to yield a 1.5 lb bread?

thanks

Tue, Mar 01 2016, 8:48 am

I like my bread machine so much, I bought another. The challah dough comes out so smooth. I make one batch of white and one of whole wheat at the same time. BTW, there is no need to warm the water or poof the yeast since the machine keeps the dough at the right temperature.

I put the ingredients in the morning and set the timer. When I come home from work the dough is ready to be braided. (I usually set it for 1/2 later so I can unwind first.)