I'm not ashamed to admit that I use a breadmaker for most of the bread that I bake. The only dough that I physically handle is pizza dough and dough for breadsticks, but only after it has been kneaded in the stand mixer.
After a neck injury left me with chronic pain, I am not able to knead bread myself and I like the convenience of being able to put everything into the machine and have a perfectly cooked loaf come out at the end of the process.
Since we got our 'new' breadmaker (second-hand, but in as new condition), I've stuck to the recipe for quick French bread, which gives excellent results in only two and a half hours. I did try a malted loaf, using a recipe from another breadmaker book, but it was not successful, as it came out burnt and crispy. As our machine is a Cuisinart, I suppose that Americans don't bake malt loaf, so there is no recipe supplied.
I fancied a change and decided to try the Rustic Italian loaf. This bread is amazing and it even keeps well for a couple of days. I can't resist the still-warm crust with melted butter, though I usually share it...delicious!
I'm lucky that my husband makes all our bread. A friend of ours uses his bread maker to prove the dough but puts his bread in the oven for the final bake. Your loaf looks delicious:)
ReplyDeleteRosie - I used to take bread dough out to make in the oven, but with this convection oven, I get a much better loaf leaving the dough in the bread maker. Marie x
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