Hi folks,
Recently, I got tired of the old sqare shape of the bread my breadmachine bakes.
Furthermore, I was not too fond of the fact that my breadmachine doesn't
allow for adjustments in the rise/knead cycles for those special types of
grain and sourdough cultures.
But I don't have the time to make bread by hand either.
So I found out about this great compromise: the Welbilt Dough machine. I was
just randomly leafing through a catalog, and I came across it, and it cost
only $75. I jumped on it and I am pretty happy.
What I like the most about the machine is that you can program it to make
the rise/knead cycles to be whatever you want them to be, so you can create
your very own cycle for those finnicky sourdough recipes. Furthermore, it
has built in cycles for a bunch of other stuff, including pasta, and flaky
pie dough.
Now here's the best part: it has a timer setting up to 12 hours ahead.
So the dough will be ready whenever you want it to be. Then, all you have to
do, is shape the bread, let it rise, and bake it in the oven. And the
resulting bread looks a hell of a lot better then that square stuff out of
the bread machine. Mind you I still have my breadmachine and I like to use
it as well. Nothing beats that sqaure shape for sandwiches anyways.
I am posting this not to make a sales pitch, (I am not associated with
Welbilt or whatever) but I thought some people might be interested.
Also, I was wondering if anyone else out there has got one, and can share
recipes. I haven't found any book on this kind of breadmaking. The big issue
is to set the kneading/rise cycle. One of the reasons the bread machines
don't do so well with other types of grain is because for grains other than
wheat, you need different cycles.
For example, for pure rye, one has to reduce the kneading, and lengthen the
rise cycles. For pure triticale bread, ony one kneading cycle will work.
Pure barley bread will also work, and in the oven, with a free standing
shape, one definitely gets a better rise than in the bread machine.
I assume normal bread machine recipes work just as well, but I am looking
for those special kinds of breads that need special attention. As I gain
more experience, I'll post as well. My first successful recipe follows:
1 1/3 cup rice milk (warm)
1 1/3 cup corn oil
1 TBS fructose
1 tsp salt
4 cups whole grain hard wheat flour
(I like to use home ground golden '86 hard white winter wheat; it gives a
great light textured whole wheat loaf, but I've tried good old hard red
wheat also with great results)
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Program: 15 minutes first knead
1:10 first rise
20 minutes second knead
30 minutes second rise
At the end of the cycle, the machine punches down the dough, and then, you
take it out, and shape it, put it on a pan, (or in a square pan if you just
can't give up the square shape), whatever you like, and let it rise for
about an hour, or until it doubles in size. Then, make your decorative
insisions, (That will make it look like those beautiful loaves from the
local baker) and bake it at 400 deg. for 30-35 minutes, or until the crust
is a golden brown.
The greatest part is, never again do you have to deal with a collapsed loaf!!
Why? Simply because if your loaf collapses, then reshape it, and let it rise
again. No matter what, you'll get decent bread out.
The programmable dough makers definitely are the next generation of bread
machines. They'll take off simply because they'll satisfy bread purists, and
heck, they're much cheaper than the full blown bread machines. But in the
meantime, as far as recipes are concerned, it's still the pioneering age for
these things.
California Institute of Technology
CETF - Caltech Environmental Task Force
Send E-mail to cetfers@cco.caltech.edu
"An earth is a terrible thing to waste"