Much Like The Pointer Sisters-"I'm So EXCITED!!" My EBay Purchased Bread Machine Is Arriving Today

[+ Gar1eth]

I hope it works right out of the box. I looked up a recipe for an Italian Rosemary Loaf which I hope to try.

 

Wish me luck on the machine actually working, and if it does, on the recipe. Expect pictures and a description of the ? if things work out.

 

Gman

[+ Travis69]

Good luck!!!!

[s1conrad]

Don't forget the yeast (in some stores, it's in short supply)! Also, a specialty baker told me he only uses "spring water" in his dough -- chlorinated tap water affects the rising{?}. Show us a pic of the Rosemary Loaf :}}

[+ Gar1eth]

Well it came. And as you'd expect, there have been some snafus.

 

1. After unboxing I open the machine up. The bread pan and the paddle have a few scratches. I've read online how people don't think that's a great thing as the non-stick coating could then be coming off inside the bread.

 

I'm a little worried about that On the other hand what non-stick coating doesn't kill us, makes us stronger, right? I could be the new "Teflon Don!!!"

 

2. But what really po's me off is that the kneading blade is stuck down tightly to the axle. I CAN'T GET IT OFF. And being that it's non-stick, except for the part that's flaked off of course, it's impossible to get a good grip on it. Plus due to the way the pan, axle, and blade are engineered, you can't really get under it. You also don't want to try prying it with a fork, assuming you could get under it, as you might scratch either more non-stick coating of the blade or bread pan. And using pliers might bend something you don't want bent.

 

I was in a tizzy-let me tell YOU!!!

 

3. So I did what any right thinking single 50-mumble something year old gay male would do. I called my Mom.

 

???Just kidding. I googled it. ???

 

I found a a video with an ingenious idea. In case any of you ever have a similar problem. Here it is.

 

As a hint, I'll tell you it involves Crisco and a sling. Oh wait -sorry that was the other video I was looking

 

 

 

 

However lucky me-after working at the blade on and off for about 15 minutes, I was finally able to get the blade off.

 

To be cont'd

 

Gman

Edited May 13, 2020 by Gar1eth

[+ Gar1eth]

This is the continuation...

 

1. So I wash the blade and bread pan.

2. Mix the ingredients with a few minor modifications from a Rosemary Bread Recipe I found online last night.

3. The bread is even now in the machine, but I'm concerned about

 

MY YEAST!!!

 

I bought a bag of instant yeast thru Amazon. It's supposed to be a popular brand.

 

 

And supposedly you don't need to proof instant yeast. But I wasn't sure the dough was really rising the way it was supposed to inside the machine.

 

2. So I read up on proofing. Basically for those of you not familiar -proofing is used to test the yeast to make sure it works. You add a few tsps of yeast to some warm water (100 to 115 degrees). Don't get the water too hot, or you'll kill the yeast. And add a few tsps of sugar as fuel for the yeast. Wait 20 minutes. If the yeast is good, it will produce carbon dioxide making foam in the water.

 

Here are some pictures of good yeast.

 

 

or

 

 

My yeast was much more anemic looking. The only real foam was at the very top of the picture.

 

 

So I don't know if my yeast is any good. ???

 

Guess I'll have to wait and see what the bread looks like.

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

I may have worried too soon. The bread just came out of the oven, er machine. It's probably been about 3 to 4 years since I used a bread machine. But I think this looks a lot like I remember.

 

I'm still not quite sure about the yeast. I guess I'll find out for sure after I let it cool some and cut into it. Now the recipe did call for active dry yeast. I only had instant yeast. On investigating I came up with a website that said for instant yeast to use 75% of the dry active amount listed. Maybe I shouldn't have carried out the reduction.

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

Verdict -not bad. I'm still not sure about the texture-whether it should have been fluffier.

 

And it does leave a bit of a spicy/salty aftertaste. It had 1/4th tsp oregano, 1 TBSP of dried crushed rosemary, 1/4th tsp black pepper, 1-1/2 tsp of salt. It also has 3 tablespoons of olive oil. It didn't state EVOO or regular. So I used EVOO.

 

Any experienced bread makers have any helpful hints about the spicy/peppery aftertaste that I'm still feeling on my tongue after 10 minutes or about the texture?

 

Would Paul Hollywood (famous British baker) find this texture acceptable?

 

 

Gman

[rvwnsd]

When I buy rosemary bread at the bakery it irks me that it has the big holes in it. Yours is more like regular bread, which is better when toasting or making a sandwich.

[+ Gar1eth]

When I buy rosemary bread at the bakery it irks me that it has the big holes in it. Yours is more like regular bread, which is better when toasting or making a sandwich.

 

C'mon over and you can have a few slices.

 

Gman

[jjkrkwood]

Gman, you are a much better, more patient man than I am.... I don't have patience for such stuff, even in Quarantine. Perhaps I am missing out, but I'll just buy a loaf at Whole foods....

 

Hope you enjoy your homemade confection ? Too bad you cant have it with some "Boy Butter" ?

[samhexum]

Coronavirus baking demonstration backfires hilariously

 

This baking tutorial sure went a-rye.

 

A woman’s bread-making demonstration during the coronavirus quarantine backfired hilariously after she inadvertently tipped over the cutting board and ended up with a faceful of flour. The splat-tacular mishap can be seen in a viral Facebook video that has nabbed more than 8.8 million views since it was posted May 6.

 

The uproarious clip, which is cheekily titled “The new way to make bread lol,” starts off with the unnamed baker — whose country of origin is unspecified — kneading dough and sprinkling it with flour as she explains the steps in Spanish. However, her cooking demo goes south when she attempts to use a rolling pin on her precariously placed cutting board, causing it to catapult a bowl full of flour directly into her face.

 

The clip concludes with the embarrassed host cursing in Spanish and motioning for the camera person to stop recording.

 

The would-be Martha Stewart’s cooking calamity has become a hit with the social-media masses, racking up over a half-million shares and almost 75,000 comments.

 

Baking blunders have become a viral trend as stay-at-home cooks attempt to entertain themselves during lockdown — or replicate their favorite dishes from now-shuttered restaurants with disastrous results.

 

An attempt to make a Key lime pie literally blew up in this amateur pastry chef’s face. And one woman’s chocolate-filled banana bread turned out looking like something that was exhumed from the rubble of a volcanic eruption.

 

Then there are the woman whose banana bread resembled a brick more than a loaf and the misshapen pizza that looks like it was dropped face-down on the floor.

 

But the crown jewels of cooking catastrophes could be these budding bakers’ genital-evoking macarons and cookies in need of censorship.

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=349731982672532

 

 

amanda hugandkiss nobody nearⓋ@wendybyrdm

This was supposed to be a nice, neat, braided circle of chocolate, caramel, and banana filled chocolate yeast bread, but the strands all burst and it ended up looking like a pan of Sasquatch feces. Tasted ok, though

 

Auntie Anne’s selling DIY pretzel-making kits during pandemic

 

Don’t get it twisted — cooking at home during quarantine is fun and all, but this ready-made kit is aiming to save even the most patient of home chefs from getting salty.

 

Back by popular demand, Auntie Anne’s is once again selling its DIY pretzel-making kit to keep fans satisfied during the pandemic. The kit contains instructions and ingredients to prepare 10 original or cinnamon sugar soft pretzels, offering what the company claims is the closest option to the chain’s famous fare while many shopping malls and foodservice entities remain closed.

 

“Make your kitchen, smell like our kitchen with our DIY At-Home Pretzel Kit,” wrote Auntie Anne’s on Instagram, no doubt referencing the pungent smell of pretzels that permeates the corner of any mall where an Auntie Anne’s is located.

 

“We heard from our guests loud and clear that they are missing our hand-rolled, golden brown pretzel snacks, and quite frankly, we’re missing our guests, too!” Heather Neary, Auntie Anne’s president, recently said of the news in a recent press release. “The DIY At-Home Pretzel Kit is not only a great way to satisfy those pretzel cravings, but also creates a fun activity for families to enjoy together while remaining at home.”

 

Neary explained that while the DIY kit was initially sold for a limited-time to celebrate National Pretzel Day on April 23, “it brought such joy to pretzel lovers that we decided we absolutely had to bring it back again.”

 

Pretzel fanatics have also been posting their snackable creations to Instagram, with many aiming to show off their pretzel-tying skills.

 

The pretzel kits are available exclusively in the U.S. for online purchase, currently retailing for $20.

[+ poolboy48220]

I have to dig out my bread maker (a hand-me-down from my parents, complete with my Dad's notes in the recipe book). I typically use it for mixing/kneading but put the dough into loaf pans for final rising/baking. I don't like those cylindrical loaves. There's some sort of loaf pan, a Pullman pan?, that is covered, and is supposed to result in bread with a softer crust?

[handiacefailure]

Good luck with it and hope you have yeast because that is something being hoarded right now.

 

I received one as a secret santa gift a few years ago and used it a couple times and it has sat on my counter since. The girl that manages my church's thrift shop said bread makers are something that gets donated a lot. It was easy enough to use, I just hate slicing the bread and the shelf life isn't that good. Sour dough is my favorite and I'm too lazy to make a starter so just buy my bread at the farmers market every week.

 

To be honest, when I buy or get a small kitchen appliance it usually gets used a couple times and the novelty wears out and it sits in the kitchen or my storage locker. The only small kitchen appliances I've gotten my money's worth from is my egg boiler, my vitamix and my cuisanart countertop conviction/toaster oven. I love my kitchenaid mixer but sure haven't used it that much for what I paid for it.

[handiacefailure]

I have to dig out my bread maker (a hand-me-down from my parents, complete with my Dad's notes in the recipe book). I typically use it for mixing/kneading but put the dough into loaf pans for final rising/baking. I don't like those cylindrical loaves. There's some sort of loaf pan, a Pullman pan?, that is covered, and is supposed to result in bread with a softer crust?

 

Kitchenaid mixer and Vitamix are both great for mixing dough. I make my own pizza crust sometime and either one of those is a lot easier to use than the bread machine kneading function.

[+ Gar1eth]

Gman, you are a much better, more patient man than I am.... I don't have patience for such stuff, even in Quarantine. Perhaps I am missing out, but I'll just buy a loaf at Whole foods....

What patience, @jjkrkwood? Not to be argumentative-ok, maybe a little ?. But you mix the ingredients which takes like 10 minutes or less. Dump the mixture in the bread machine. Decide which program you are going to cook the bread on. Press the button. Then you have three to four hours free to solve World Peace. The timer on the bread machine dings. You carefully take out the pan, so you don't burn yourself. Let the bread cool for a few minutes. And then have a delicious fresh loaf to slather butter on.

 

Hope you enjoy your homemade confection ? Too bad you cant have it with some "Boy Butter" ?

 

You mean like this?

@jjkrkwood, just thinking about this in connection with bread-yuck, just ? ?. (I used to think this stuff was mainly for gay use and unknown to the populace at large. But I found this picture on the Walgreens website.)

 

Gman

[+ Gar1eth]

I have to dig out my bread maker (a hand-me-down from my parents, complete with my Dad's notes in the recipe book). I typically use it for mixing/kneading but put the dough into loaf pans for final rising/baking. I don't like those cylindrical loaves.

Unfortunately I don't have any bread pans. ?

 

I considered a bit on whether to buy a bread maker or a good roasting pan because there's a no knead bread recipe from the NYT that's very popular. But you need a covered roaster or a pot of some type which will stand up to about 500 degrees in the oven. These are surprisingly expensive. Plus you have to preheat the roaster before putting the dough in it. The oven I'm using-the spring on the door is broken. Sometimes it stays down. But sometimes it rises. It can be quite a juggling act in trying to one-handedly get a hot dish out of the oven while trying to keep the door open. I decided that messing around with a dish preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (with or without an oven with a door problem) was just a great opportunity for me to burn myself . So I went with the bread maker.

 

There's some sort of loaf pan, a Pullman pan?, that is covered, and is supposed to result in bread with a softer crust?

 

I hadn't heard of a pan to make softer crust. I thought it was the reverse-that they made a crispier crust.

 

What I've heard about are clay pots.

 

 

They're called Romertopfs (this brand at least) and are made in Germany.

 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/433424-how-to-bake-bread-in-romertopf-clay-pots/

 

Gman

[MikeBiDude]

Any experienced bread makers have any helpful hints about the spicy/peppery aftertaste that I'm still feeling on my tongue after 10 minutes or about the texture?

Leave out the pepper. When you try and proof your yeast, what’s the water temp? Add a pinch of sugar. Sugar feeds yeast, salt controls the growth.

 

When I buy rosemary bread at the bakery it irks me that it has the big holes in it.

Natural starter type fermentation vs commercial yeast. My homemade bread from sourdough starter isn’t always good for sandwiches. Thank goodness is extraordinary in other ways!

 

There's some sort of loaf pan, a Pullman pan?, that is covered, and is supposed to result in bread with a softer crust?

Pullman pan is used for making perfectly square sandwich bread. May affect crust a bit, IDK?

 

 

[MikeBiDude]

Unfortunately I don't have any bread pans. ?

 

I considered a bit on whether to buy a bread maker or a good roasting pan because there's a no knead bread recipe from the NYT that's very popular. But you need a covered roaster or a pot of some type which will stand up to about 500 degrees in the oven. These are surprisingly expensive. Plus you have to preheat the roaster before putting the dough in it. The oven I'm using-the spring on the door is broken. Sometimes it stays down. But sometimes it rises. It can be quite a juggling act in trying to one-handedly get a hot dish out of the oven while trying to keep the door open. I decided that messing around with a dish preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (with or without an oven with a door problem) was just a great opportunity for me to burn myself . So I went with the bread maker.

I hadn't heard of a pan to make softer crust. I thought it was the reverse-that they made a crispier crust.

 

What I've heard about are clay pots.

 

 

They're called Romertopfs (this brand at least) and are made in Germany.

 

 

 

https://www.livestrong.com/article/433424-how-to-bake-bread-in-romertopf-clay-pots/

 

Gman

Those clay pots are beautiful! I use a versatile and inexpensive Lodge “combo cooker” cast iron for baking. Versatile because it’s a top and bottom (couldn’t resist?).

 

For baking I preheat it, use the shallower lid on the bottom and the deep lid on the top (upside down vs, this pic below). But then for other cooking you basically have a cast iron skillet, and a pot as well. I have two, love them!

[+ Gar1eth]

Leave out the pepper.

I appreciate the advice. I was really surprised 1/4th of a tsp could possibly be that spicy. I was thinking of definitely decreasing the amount next time.

 

When you try and proof your yeast, what’s the water temp? Add a pinch of sugar. Sugar feeds yeast, salt controls the growth.

 

The temperature was about 107 degrees Fahrenheit. I put around 2 teaspoons of sugar in the water. And no salt.

 

 

Gman

[jjkrkwood]

What patience, @jjkrkwood? Not to be argumentative-ok, maybe a little ?. But you mix the ingredients which takes like 10 minutes or less. Dump the mixture in the bread machine. Decide which program you are going to cook the bread on. Press the button. Then you have three to four hours free to solve World Peace. The timer on the bread machine dings. You carefully take out the pan, so you don't burn yourself. Let the bread cool for a few minutes. And then have a delicious fresh loaf to slather butter on.

Gman

 

The patience I was referring to was fiddling around with the blade... I would have just dumped the thing in the trash.... that's why I don't buy IKEA furniture.

[+ Gar1eth]

Those clay pots are beautiful! I use a versatile and inexpensive Lodge “combo cooker” cast iron for baking. Versatile because it’s a top and bottom (couldn’t resist?).-

 

very droll!!'?

 

I did think about a Lodge Pot in deciding on whether or not to just use the no Knead bread recipe or get a bread maker. Again I went with the bread maker because -Lodge Pots can be on the expensive side for a poor working guy. And then I'm not sure I'd use it very often because they are really pretty heavy. I recently bought a cast iron corn stick pan which I haven't used yet.

But it's surprisingly heavy for its size -or maybe not so surprisingly since it's iron. But I have a bit of arthritis in my hands and didn't want to deal with the weight of a pot. Combine that with the wonky oven door and the fact that the stove is a glass cooktop-I didn't want to take a chance on cracking the cooktop with a burning hot cast iron pot that I needed to set down quickly.

 

Gman

[MikeBiDude]

I appreciate the advice. I was really surprised 1/4th of a tsp could possibly be that spicy. I was thinking of definitely decreasing the amount next time.

 

 

 

The temperature was about 107 degrees Fahrenheit. I put around 2 teaspoons of sugar in the water. And no salt.

 

 

Gman

107° is a bit high. Try 92-95°

[+ Gar1eth]

107° is a bit high. Try 92-95°

 

Thanks. The article I read said between 100 and 115. But maybe my yeast likes it more balmy as you suggest.

 

Gman

[+ poolboy48220]

I recently bought a cast iron corn stick pan which I haven't used yet.

I have one. So far I've found it to be a total pain in the ass. I've never gotten the baked cornbread out of it cleanly, no matter how much I grease it. If anyone else has, please share your secret.

[+ Gar1eth]

very droll!!'?

 

I did think about a Lodge Pot in deciding on whether or not to just use the no Knead bread recipe or get a bread maker. Again I went with the bread maker because -Lodge Pots can be on the expensive side for a poor working guy. And then I'm not sure I'd use it very often because they are really pretty heavy. I recently bought a cast iron corn stick pan which I haven't used yet.

But it's surprisingly heavy for its size -or maybe not so surprisingly since it's iron. But I have a bit of arthritis in my hands and didn't want to deal with the weight of a pot. Combine that with the wonky oven door and the fact that the stove is a glass cooktop-I didn't want to take a chance on cracking the cooktop with a burning hot cast iron pot that I needed to set down quickly.

 

Gman

I have one. So far I've found it to be a total pain in the ass. I've never gotten the baked cornbread out of it cleanly, no matter how much I grease it. If anyone else has, please share your secret.

I know corn sticks because they used to serve them at Furr's Cafeterias and maybe Luby's and Wyatt's too. They were never corn shaped. I would have been fine to find a corn stick pan that didn't look like corn. But I didn't see one.

 

I haven't used mine yet -but I'm wondering whether these suggestions might help

 

1. Overly grease the molds-maybe solid shortening or lard is needed.

 

2. You could try molding foil or parchment into the molds. But I guess that would defeat the purpose of having the hot metal almost 'carmelize' the outside of the sticks. Plus there's always the worry with foil of ingestion of aluminum which is probably not good for you. (They used to give renal patients an aluminum antacid to bind phosphorus (which collects in patients in renal failure) until they figured out the patients were developing aluminum toxicity on it.).

 

3. Would a stiff scrub brush help? Also my Mom swears by soaking hard to clean pots and pans in hot water followed by scrubbing with kosher salt if needed. Of course it would have to be reseasoned after that.

 

Gman