Disaster--Bread Machine

[FarmerChick]

Yuck
I got my ROCK HARD midget dense blob of a loaf of bread from the bread machine.

Funny thing is the taste was exactly what I wanted. I found a Country White bread recipe and I loved the actual taste. Too bad it was all hard crust and a mess.

When I experimented in the oven, my loaves were nicer. I did "come close" to having a real bread..LOL

So tomorrow, I will try this recipe in the oven. With normal rising etc. No machine!! And I will see if it works.

ALL OF YOU who can really bake bread....you are lucky. I know I have to put in the time to learn for real....but geez, how much flour do I have to waste..LOL-LOL


So now brownies are in the oven. Nicole and I made them. Will be done soon, and those I know we didn't screw up..LOL


bread, ugh, I want to be a breadmaker!!! preferably one that doesn't break teeth!

 

[miss_thenorth]

Lol, I am a bread machine user, I admit it. If yours is new, you just might have to play around with it for a while. If it is rock hard, maybe take it a bit sooner? your manual should have a troubleshootingsection--maybe look there?

I love my bread machine--it gives me fresh bread, and since I have arthritis, it saves me aching hands and wrists.

One of these days, I am going to try a batch by hand to see how it goes.

 

[FarmerChick]

MTN

I would love this machine to produce for me....but have made about 5 loaves so far in it and they are always just ""---LOL

You know, maybe I will try it again tomorrow. This time I will be more on top of it.......maybe when it goes into the bake cycle, I should open the lid and make the loaf fit the pan better. It rose and was just a rocky top mess, not a nice flat type loaf top.

I guess it would be OK to open and push around a bit to make it a nicer loaf? what is the worst that happens, right? couldn't be worse than it was..LOL

tomorrow I will make 2

one in the machine
one in the oven

let the competition begin..HA HA HA

 

[ScottyG]

If the problem is consistently flat loaves, I'd try adding some more yeast, and maybe starting with warmer water (around 100 degrees F) if you're not already doing that.

Otherwise, may the bread force be with you.

 

[FarmerChick]

thanks scottyg
this one called for 1 cup hot milk (between 110-115)
I didn't temp it...maybe a bit warmer would make a diff.
It rose OK, not a flat loaf, just a nasty loaf..HA HA

 

[miss_thenorth]

If it was bompy on top, sounds like it needs more liquid. do you check it while it is kneading to see the consistency of the dough?

 

[FarmerChick]

yea I peaked thru the top lid. It did "look thick"
maybe more liquid was needed????

 

[miss_thenorth]

Next time lift the lid and pinch some off. It should be well mixed, and elastic-y. If it is dry, it will make the loaf hard.

 

[FarmerChick]

yea it did have have a dense look to it.
so if that is liquid, then tomorrow I will add more and see! The more I think about it, liquid could be the problem.

THANK YOU! With great bakers like you I know I can firgure this out..LOL

 

[patandchickens]

Stupid-sounding question I know, but are you SURE you put yeast in (the correct amount) (I produce amazing 'hockey pucks' from time to time by forgetting the yeast ) and are you sure your yeast is live.

You cannot generally just use regular (hand kneaded, oven baked) recipes in bread machines... if this is a new bread machine, spend a few weeks or months making the recipes it came with,then you will have a good idea how to adapt the other recipe (but will still probably have to experiment, with some failures). Stick with bread machine recipes, made for your specific brand, until you are getting them to come out consistently well.

Also, until you are VERY confident with a given recipe in your machine, you should always hang around and check it halfway through the first kneading -- it should be a coherent elastic ball, not a batter (which means too much liquid not enough flour) nor falling apart into more than one ball (which means insufficient liquid for the amount of flour you used). You can correct it, gently and a little at a time, adding teensy bits of flour or water as appropriate (that's why you check in the middle of the kneading ) til it has the right consistency.

I honestly would not fool with it at the beginning of the bake cycle... you are likely to deflate the dough. Get the liquid/flour ratio right in the early knead cycle and the loaf will on its own turn out with a nice rounded top.

Have fun, there's a learning curve associated with bread machines but if you stick with the machine's own recipes at the beginning til you are good at them, and then experiment slowly, it really is a pretty satisfying way of mechanizing the breadmaking process

Pat