Basic Breads

I bake pretty much all my own bread, except bagels (so far). And for basic bread (loaves for toast), I use a bread maker. It’s a Panasonic that’s all singing and all dancing. I use it for basic breads, rye, sourdough starters, dough of all sorts as well as jams. I use it a few times a week and it quickly paid for itself, not least because the bread tastes amazing and making ciabatta or french baton fresh makes the world of difference.

However, as with most things I don’t quite follow the recipes in the book. It’s not that they don’t work – they do, but these are slightly modified for my taste. I use a 4 hour cycle for the white and a 6 hour cycle for the brown, you can set most bread makers to pause before starting so it’s ready when you get home, or fresh for the morning.

I use sugar in the white to get the yeast started, but the longer brown cycle doesn’t need it. I do fortify the brown with an egg (for texture and rise) and the white with semolina for a crumblier texture I prefer.