Ill-Bre(a)d Machine

[muninnhuginn]

Way back before Easter, the bread machine began to play up. At almost the same time, the deliveries of wholemeal bread flour from our organic box supplier resumed. When I say "play up", what I mean is that, subject to potentially altered ingredients due to possible changes in flour, I've been following the same recipe, a slight modification on one from the manufacturer's instructions, several (two, three sometimes four) times a week for well over a year--with consistent success. Now, instead of loaves rising well, I've been getting 1kg bricks. Regularly. (One failure I might have put down to forgetting something or adding something twice: I do this loaf on autopilot.) So, I changed yeast, although the current packet wasn't that old. I tried different recipes: white rather than wholemeal, the "French" recipe rather than the standard white, the unaccelerated version of these as opposed to the fast version that previously worked. No luck. Even the dough only program that I use to do pizza dough was behaving strangely--and starting to cook the outside of the dough too much, producing a spiky pizza!

In desperation, last week I bought the extra quick sort of dried yeast to use in the one-hour program. Yesterday I achieved an almost-perfect white loaf (varied only from the manufacturer's recipe in omitting the dried milk). Today's, whilst not quite as well-risen, looks just as good. This is annoying: I like the quick loaf, but it doesn't keep and making a 1 kg loaf every day is therefore a waste. I don't like the way the smaller loaves come out: too flat even when risen.

Now, I've a dilemma. I don't know whether the machine is working again. Fully or partially. Or if the flour is the problem (I do wonder if the variety of grain or the fineness of the milling has changed in the hiatus in wholemeal flour supply). If I'm to bake all our bread, which I enjoy doing, it's got to be reliable: there are packed lunches to provide most weekdays. I can temporarily carry on experimenting, but I need to be able to bake wholemeal (or the half-and-half that the machine permits) as it's healthier and Looby Loo prefers it (if the small [and increasingly fussy] child prefers the healthy option, you go with it). I'd like to be able to make the other loaves I enjoy too and go back to home-made pizza dough. Longer term, either the machine has to work or I buy a new one. I just feel that eighteen months isn't long enough for even a half-price (£39.99) appliance to last. White goods are meant to go on for twenty years at least.

Written on a PC mainly six-years old but with added components of greater antiquity--and Windows 98!

Comments

Immediate suggestion

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Because home-made loaves don't have preservative, as soon as my loaves are cool, I slice and freeze them. It's then easy to detach slices for packed lunches - you can either briefly, gently microwave them, or make the sandwiches 'frozen' (they'll defrost by lunchtime). This is one of those tricks which Mater taught me :-)

Re: Immediate suggestion

[muninnhuginn]

Microwave them? Now that's a problem: we had a microwave-shaped gap on the kitchen worksurface, but it's occupied by, guess what, the bread machine! But I take your point: freezing and detaching the slices would be a good idea. I'm not sure I'm that well-organised.

as soon as my loaves are cool, I slice and freeze them

As soon as any white loaves are cool, I slice and eat them. One reason for doing wholemeal, which I detest, is that other folk get a look in.

Re: Immediate suggestion

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Ah - then you must plan ahead, and take the bread out of the freezer the previous evening, and put it in the bread bin to defrost naturally :-)

I slice and eat them

Heh :-) So, is Looby Loo teaching you to love healthy wholemeal? :-)

Re: Immediate suggestion

[muninnhuginn]

Heh :-) So, is Looby Loo teaching you to love healthy wholemeal? :-)

No :-( I realise that for much of my life, with a dislike and occasional avoidance of potatoes, much pasta (especially wholemeal), rice (especially brown) and bread (especially wholemeal), that I've almost followed an Atkins-style diet. This may explain my inability to put weight on.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

I'd like to be able to make the other loaves I enjoy too and go back to home-made pizza dough. Longer term, either the machine has to work or I buy a new one.

Or you could make dough by hand.... it's really not so difficult.

I make loaves in a batch and freeze them, unfreezing them one by one as necessary.

[muninnhuginn]

Kneading dough is one of those activities, like--annoyingly--riding a bike, that puts the wrong sort of pressure on my hands and wrists and exacerbates the arthritis (and I don't like dough under my finger nails).

I could use the Kenwood, of course.

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

Ow :-(

Interesting - I've never tried making bread dough in a food processor. Presumably, this is discussed in the manual?

[muninnhuginn]

Kenwood Chefs (incidentally ours dates from the early to mid '70s) come with a dough hook and recipes for bread. My mother used to bake this way when I was a small kid. I've never tried.

[yonmei.livejournal.com]

Kneading dough is one of those activities, like--annoyingly--riding a bike, that puts the wrong sort of pressure on my hands and wrists and exacerbates the arthritis

Ouch. Sorry to hear that.

(and I don't like dough under my finger nails).

*checks my fingernails*

[armb.livejournal.com]

There are bikes that don't put pressure on your hands in the same way: http://www.kinetics.org.uk/html/streetmachine.shtml

But it looks scary

[muninnhuginn]

You are kidding, aren't you? Me, on a thing like that? Feet more than a couple of inches off the ground? My feet are meant to remain less than six inches off the ground with my head at least a couple more feet above them.

A bike like that: no way, Jose.

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

Eeeeek! That looks scary. Very clever, but scary.

Is it bust?

[purpletigron.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't expect a bread machine to last 20 years, sadly. Admittedly we've moved countries, but our white goods seem to last 10 years max.

I can't really disentangle the 'fault reports' you are giving, but sounds as if there might be a problem with the temperature regulation. Several symptoms - failed rise, over-done pizza dough - suggest that the bread machine sometimes gets too hot (killing the yeast).

In your position, I would probably set aside time next weekend to test the yeast and the flour by hand-making a wholemeal loaf from a tried-and-true recipe. If it works, the ingredients are shown to be sound. Failing that, you could at least test the yeast with sugar and warm water?

Re: Is it bust?

[muninnhuginn]

Yup, one of the problems is definitely too many variables.

I've now got two packs of opened "standard" dried yeast to use one way or another. These do need to be "tested" and then used or binned (perish the latter thought!). (Beer, anyone? Wine? I've not done that kind of yeast based activity for a while!)

I have no reliable recipes done by hand, other than a rather nice medieval-trencher making recipe with fresh parsley, so I'm going to have to fiddle with what I can with the machine. I'd wondered if it was overheating, but it's puzzling why it's some programs and not others. Of course, it could also be intermittent, hence the success in the last couple of days.

It's very frustrating, having spent a year or more mechanically feeding in the ingredients and getting good results.

Re: Is it bust?

[oreouk.livejournal.com]

Given the spread of these machines I would be willing to bet you have any number of friends who also have bread machines and who will probably be willing for you to bring your normal ingredients over to their house and bung them into their machine to test the basics.

Re: Is it bust?

[muninnhuginn]

That may well be the strategy pursued tomorrow.

Re: Is it bust?

[armb.livejournal.com]

I also have a bread machine and am willing for you to bring your normal ingredients over to my house and bung them into my machine to test the basics. (Or I could bring the machine in for M to take home for a few days, if that's easier.)
I might even be inspired to make some bread myself tonight to test it first.
White goods lifespan - if only. Our washing machine currently works if you lean really hard against the door, and was bought since we moved house. Taking the door switch out, looking at it, saying "hmm", and putting it back didn't change things. We have another washing machine with dead bearings in the shed that may have a compatible door switch to swap. Or we could get a professional washing machine repairperson to come and fix for probably only slightly less than the cost of a new machine....

Re: Is it bust?

[armb.livejournal.com]

(My parents 70's Kenwood still works too though. And their fridge is older than I am, I think. Washer-driers are the worst, apparently.)

Re: Is it bust?

[muninnhuginn]

Well our washer, not drier as well, was second-hand when we bought it in 1991, so it's done 15 years. Admittedly the dial's beginning to stick when I dial up a programme, so maybe the clockwork's wearing out.

Re: Is it bust?

[muninnhuginn]

I might take you up on that offer.