When Simon and I got married, we had put a breadmaker on our wedding list, but nobody bought it. The idea went out of my head until Simon mentioned it may be a good idea for us to start making our own bread, so we know that Isabelle is getting good quality stuff. The fact that we know exactly what is going in to home made bread, and that we can whip it up whenever we need it, is definitely very appealing. After commandeering and unused breadmaker from my parents, we set about making our first batch.
Warm from the breadmaker and ready for lunch
I had vague recollections of making bread during my time as a nanny, and we used my somewhat limited knowledge as a base as to what we would include. After several batches, trialling the different settings and different quantities of ingredients, we think we have it cracked. Using the breadmaker is so easy - I pop the 6 ingredients in and turn it on. 3.5 hours later, the house smells delicious and a batch of freshly cooked bread is waiting. It makes me feel like a total domestic goddess! OK, so it certainly isn't as impressive as hand making the bread, but the idea is there! It feels great be able to give Isabelle homemade soup and homemade bread for her lunch.
So here is our recipe. If you decide to give it a go, use this as a starting point as each breadmaker will have different functions, and will turn these same ingredients out slightly differently.
Ingredients:
350g wholemeal flour
250g strong white flour
400ml water
7g yeast (ours comes in pre-measured sachets, specifically for use in bread makers)
Teaspoon sugar
Pinch salt
As with everything, the price of breadmakers really varies, but you can pick some up quite cheaply if you fancy having a go.
Do you make your own bread? Have you a favorite recipe to share?
