http://www.democraticunderground.com/115722705Oh my.
matt819 (3,736 posts) Fri Mar 1, 2013, 12:51 PM
Bread Machine Mishap
When I bought my bread machine a couple of years ago, I used it several times a week. Then I stopped - novelty wearing off, etc.
I decided to start up again and stuck with the tried and true - whole wheat. Came out great - I use Beatrice Ogakangas's cookbook.
Well, I've been cutting back on wheat as part of a diet and thought I'd try my hand at spelt bread - spelt mostly, with a little buckwheat. Results were less than impressive. Actually, they were even less than unimpressive. Didn't exactly come out looking like a food product. I believe my problem was with water - not using enough, even though I added water during the kneading phase. Also, the recipe called for two tbs of yeast, rather than the usual 1 1/2 tsp. I'll try it again, changing the liquid component, and see how that goes.
But, if anyone here has experience using spelt or any of the other "ancient" grains, I'd appreciate any input.
Major Nikon (8,778 posts) Fri Mar 1, 2013, 02:09 PM
1. Ah yes, you've run into the creative limitation of the bread machine
I'm a big fan of machines in the kitchen. I just did a count and I have no less than 9 machines which reside on my countertops, all of which I use on a daily basis or at least a few times per week. A bread machine is not one of them even though I dearly love to make bread and do so often.
I tried using a bread machine for a while and did a lot of experimentation, but eventually gave it up. I'm not going to say that you can't get great results with a bread machine, because I know you can, but for me it just puts too many limitations on the entire bread making process. If you really want to get into making artisan bread, I just don't think a bread machine is a great way to go about it.
I do have a couple of tips that should be of value to you even if you want to use your bread machine. One is to stick to 4 ingredients and 4 ingredients only. Those are flour, water, salt, and yeast. Countless varieties of the best bread in the world are made with only those 4 ingredients. The other is to only measure your flour by weight, never by volume. The key to successful breadmaking is consistent and repeatable methods and you just can't do that if you are measuring by volume.
wildeyed (6,842 posts) Fri Mar 1, 2013, 03:14 PM
2. Gluten free breads are not worth it in the bread machine.
At least in my experience. The nice thing about the machine is it does the rise and punch automatically. With gluten free, there is not much of that. Easier to just mix it up and throw it in the oven. Frankly, I don't much care for gluten free breads period. I too have had to eliminate gluten from my diet I keep a loaf of Udi's in the freezer for when I really, really feel the need for a sandwich or peanut butter toast. Other than that, I don't mess with it much. I still make an occasional regular loaf in the machine for the kids, but honestly, it is such an temptation, I should really get rid of it altogether.
hvn_nbr_2 (5,204 posts) Fri Mar 1, 2013, 03:20 PM
3. In what way was the result "less than impressive"?
"Less than impressive" and not "looking like a food product" doesn't really tell us much. What about the final result makes you think the problem was water?
I'm wondering if the problem is gluten (or lack thereof) rather than not enough water. Sometimes the results can be similar.
I don't know much about spelt--some people claim that it's gluten-free but people who seem (to me) to be more knowledgeable (such as the Celiac Society--not sure of the exact name) say that is not true as it is definitely in the wheat family. Maybe it has less gluten than more commonly used kinds of wheat. Buckwheat is not wheat (despite the name) and is gluten-free.
Two tablespoons of yeast for one loaf of bread seems like a huge amount. I'm guessing that that's either not right or else is that high to compensate for something about spelt and buckwheat.
In other news, the pie-and-jam primitive, the "grasswire" primitive, is on the loose again, running amok on the internet. She
knows her guardians don't want her doing that, as she makes herself--and them--look bad, but like a recalcitrant little child, addled senior-citizeness Judy doesn't care......
