Bread machine

[hugemoth]

Does anyone use a bread machine? Have any good recipes? 

I like bread and I like to boondock in remote locations so getting fresh bread isn't easy unless I make it myself. Now I carry a bread machine and it works great. For the first 2 hours it runs off the 750 watt inverter then for the 1 hour baking cycle I plug it into the generator. 

Fresh Bread!

 

[bagabum]

 Have any good recipes? 

I use to make bread a lot until HEB started selling ciabatta bread, it's so good that I just quit making bread. I will say that some of my best bread came out when I used Shiner Bock beer in place of water, the alcohol evaporates, the beer and the yeast must do something together that boost the flavor.

 

[landyachtman]

I own two of them but haven't taken them out boondocking as I don't go out in remote places and stay for extended periods.

Thanks for explaining how you rig it to use with inverter & generator.  

Recipes?   I'd suggest you look for a series of cookbooks for the bread machine by Donna R. German titled,  The Bread Machine 1, 2, 3, etc. 
(Bread Machine #1 is still in my own opinion the best)  

When I first saw a bread machine on TV years ago Donna German (an advertising exec on maternity leave) had been hired to introduce the bread machine into the USA and she began writing these cookbooks to go with them.  One of the first things I learned after spending $150 for my first one is to get ready to spend a $$$ for almost as much for ingredients to make all kinds of different breads in one of these.  Before the bread machine I never knew there were so many different kinds of bread.  Where I live here in "Hillbilly Heaven",  it's corn bread, biscuits or store bread....white, wheat, rye, and cinnamon raisin swirl.  

The last bread machine I purchased was in a yard/estate sale and still had plastic shipping tapes on it.  Got it for $5 bucks.

The most basic....and it's good....is "Peasant Bread" and is one of those 5 ingredient wonders.

The crumb is moist and chewy with a lite crispy crust.   

Medium size loaf:

1 C 
1 1/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 C  flour
1 1/2 tsp yeast  (regular or fast rising)

In my machine it directs me to add the liquids first and then the dry ingredients with the yeast on top as the last ingredient.
I set it up for regular bread on the control panel. 

What I've found,  the bread will keep for about 3 days...sometimes longer.... before it starts to mold.

I like to use Red Star Yeast but find the yeast from Aldi's works/taste about the same. 

She has these books specializing in Dough for various things such as pizza or pretzels etc,  sourdough, and pasta. Public Libraries usually have a few of these,  and some are online.

Her book list:

Bread Machine Books by Donna R German

 

[vanbrat]

OH yum. I like fresh bread too. Of course I just plain ol' like fresh food. I don't know if I could fit a bread machine in my van I wonder if there is a small version of one?
We need to camp next to each other I will make the soup and dessert, you make the bread.

 

[VanFan]

For a time, I had a small loaf bread machine that I think was suggested by Tioga George(?).  Found it in a thrift store and used it a few times in the S&B.  It worked well, but I couldn't justify the space (van) for a single-use item.

Recently, I made a decent loaf in a small crockpot.  It had to be turned upside down to get the top browned though.

I made a good round loaf in a DIY solar panel cooker (cheap, easy, folds up; highly recommended).  It was nicely browned, but the top crust was a little hard.  (Next time I'll try misting or buttering the top.)

Any good recipes for hearty breads?

 

[VanForNow]

Has anyone tried baking bread in an Omnia Oven? It is a Swedish gadget which sits on top of a stove burner l. I haven't tried making bread yet, but it works great for making casseroles, cornbread, calzones, etc.

 

[highdesertranger]

I use a Dutch Oven for baking bread. of course this doesn't work during a burn ban unless you have a propane BBQ with a lid that closes. I have done it that way before you just place the Dutch Oven in the BBQ.

also Sourdough bread easily last a month if you get it fresh, at least for me. but good sour dough is hard to find in a store. I like Goldminer sourdough brand bread(big surprise). it's usually in the bakery section not the bread section.

https://goldminerbakery.com/

tortillas last even longer.

highdesertranger

 

[WanderingRose]

Ahhh, fresh bread.

Life sustaining, and everyone should know how to make some version of bread.

IMHO

I have been baking bread and other yeast-raised goodies 48 or so years.

I have been into the one loaf, No-Knead, Dutch Oven Bread the last half dozen years or so, as it is so easy and not messy with kneading, as well as delicious and easily adaptable to variations.

I have baked it with charcoal on the road, which took some work to get right, but can turn out a beautiful loaf.

Several years ago I started using this recipe, stored in the frig, to make a pan bread when I am traveling and without a proper oven.

Tear off a chunk, pat into a warm skillet with some melted butter. Let rise an hour or so, cook in the skillet like any other pan bread.

Delicious, inexpensive, and easy.

 

[Qxxx]

I have a small 1 1/2 qt crockpot slow cooker that I use to make Bisquick biscuits and muffins, both made from complete mix packages. Just add water, plus oil or butter for the muffins. Takes a little over an hour to cook on the high setting, 120W. 

I do have a friend who uses the crockpot for bread. She mixes up flour, water, yeast and salt, and leaves it overnight to rise, then cooks for 4-6 hours in the crockpot on the low setting.

 

[WanderingRose]

Hmmm.

I don’t think I have ever heard of baking bread in a slow cooker.

Seems like an oxymoron to me.   

I have done a single serving of bisquick all-in-one, half of a packet also done in a skillet with a little butter.

Can add dried cranberries and a little orange rind to make a scone, cooks up nicely.

 

[Qxxx]

I guess you missed the discussion on the other thread, Rose.
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=40378&pid=505966#pid505966

 

[VanFan]

Wandering Rose:  No pan bread recipe link showing.  Also, slow cooker bread does seem unlikely, especially if you're using the pre-heated dutch oven/no knead method (which I've done exactly once).  I was very surprised that it worked as well as it does.  My only complaint was pale, which was solved by inverting the loaf at the end for a while.  (I expected to have to turn the loaf bottoms up in the solar cooker, but it was not necessary.)

Q:  Do you make individual muffins (like in cupcake papers) in the slow cooker, or one big one?

 

[nature lover]

I love bread. I love anything fattening. There was a fad going around our community years ago with these bread makers and we soon noticed that everybody who owned one gained at least 5 to 10 pounds the first month. But on a more positive note my mother used one for English muffin bread. That was good. God bless the nomads and give us all our daily bread.

 

[Qxxx]

With both the biscuits and muffins in the crockpot, I make one big "loaf", like the picture of my friend's bread that I posted. I think you have to admit that her crockpot bread looks very good. I line the bottom of the Stoneware insert in the crockpot with aluminum foil. She has some sort of parchment paper for lining. Otherwise, you'll never get the goodies out of the pot in one piece.

As a side note, I have been using the crockpot regularly now for cooking (dry) food items, prior to putting in the fry pan with other items. Eg, rice and red beans, after first boiling in a pot for 10-minutes or so.

Today, I cooked dry lentils in the crockpot for the first time. Did not pre-boil, but did add boiling rather than cold water to the crockpot. Then into the fry pan with canned chicken breast, stir-fry, and diced tomatoes. Just finished eating lunch. Boy was this good. Lentils are normally bland, but the other ingredients made it great.

Crockpot is the best thing I've found in years: biscuits, muffins, and various dry veggies. I've never used a bread machine, but a quick check indicates power draw between 450 and 1650 watts, whereas the 120W crockpot is better for people with small inverters like myself.
https://en.getoptim.com/home-bread-...tion and baking weight,from 450 to 1650 watts.

 

[WanderingRose]

I did miss that other conversation, and the crockpot bread looks pretty darned good.

This is a post about Jim Leary’s no knead bread, and the basic recipe I use, tho do unbleached white flour rather than bread flour.

https://www.theclevercarrot.com/2013/03/no-knead-artisan-bread/

I like to add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax meal, a half cup or so of cooked yellow grits or steel cut oats, substitute some whole wheat flour, etc.

It is incredibly easy and difficult to ruin.

But, not for the crockpot, as it needs high heat.

 

[Qxxx]

I like to add a couple of tablespoons of ground flax meal, a half cup or so of cooked yellow grits or steel cut oats, substitute some whole wheat flour, etc.

It is incredibly easy and difficult to ruin.

But, not for the crockpot, as it needs high heat.

Is the requirement for high heat due to the flax and oats?

FWIW, I also make corn bread in the crockpot, besides biscuits and muffins (and veggies and soup). And it's also difficult to overcook things too. I did cook the lentils for too long, first experience, but they were still yummy with the other items in the fry pan. So, next time, I know to cook a shorter time.

I think some people have mentioned that crockpot foods tends to taste rather bland, but I mainly use it to cook certain items before tossing into the fry pan. It's all good.

 

[WanderingRose]

I really don’t know the science of it, just that this particular bread bakes covered at 450 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10-12.

The high heat is integral to the texture and form of this particular bread, I believe.

It is a bread very crusty on the outside, lots of holes and airy on the inside, and when I do a chunk in a pan it is still airy and full of holes inside.

You don’t have to add things to it, but I like the extra nutrition from them.

 

[Qxxx]

It is a bread very crusty on the outside, 

Yeah, not being a real cook, I should imagine high heat is necessary to create the crusty exterior. Crusty is the major difference between most bread sold in the stores in the US and what is sold in europe. Over "there", you can buy a loaf of bread and carry it around in your backpack for 3 or 4 days, and it's still moist in the inside instead of dried out. I miss it.

Does the typical bread machine make crusty bread?

 

[VanFan]

Wandering:  Thanks for the recipe!  I'm going to try that one with some add-ins, too.  This small loaf french bread is on my list also:  https://onedishkitchen.com/french-bread-recipe

Q:  I used the same recipe for the slow cooker and solar cooker:  https://hedgecombers.com/slow-cooker-bread-recipe/
The solar cooker produced a very crusty bread.  (I have pics, but have yet to be successful posting a photo here.)

Looking back at my notes, the outer cooking chamber temperature maxed out at between 275F and 300F.  Most of the 3 hours it was baking was around 225F, since I didn't get it started until 1:00 and the sun was gone by 4:00.  I found the taste just a little bland, so maybe some goodies added in next time.

Another slow cooker vanner is Foresty Forest of YouTube land, but I think he goes to way too much trouble.

 

[grimmal]

We use one all the time traveling. Ran off of the solar. Mainly used for plain white bread. made half of a cake mix, banana bread, and Hawaiian bread, in it from time to time. At home we use one every other day. The bread machines are so cheap at thrift stores . About five to ten dollars. There are lots of recipes online we have tried from online sites. French toast is the best with fresh bread from one. Heck even regular toast is good. We make buns with it but they have to go in oven to finish so mainly do those when at home.