Bread Machines For Dummies (45 page)

Read Bread Machines For Dummies Online

Authors: Glenna Vance,Tom Lacalamita

Banana Quick Bread

You will enjoy the mild banana flavor in this fine-textured bread. To us, the walnuts seem a must — but if you don't care for walnuts you can omit them.

Preparation time:
20 minutes

Approximate cycle time:
1 hour and 20 minutes

Yield:
12 to 16 slices

Wet Ingredients

2 large eggs

2 ripe bananas

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Dry Ingredients

2/3 cup bean flour

2/3 cup rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup walnuts

1 Be sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.

2 Combine the wet ingredients and pour them into the bread machine-baking pan.

3 Measure the dry ingredients, including the yeast, and mix well to blend. Place them in the pan.

4 Place the pan in the bread machine.

5 Select the Cake or Quick bread cycle and press Start.

Do not confuse the Quick bread cycle with another short cycle, like the Rapid cycle. The Quick bread cycle has no rising time. Quick breads use baking powder and/or baking soda, which leavens in a chemical reaction to moisture and heat that occurs once you start baking the bread.

When the bread is completely baked, take the pan out of the machine and place the pan on a wire rack. Do not take the bread out until ten minutes have passed. This allows the structure of the bread to firm up so that it won't fall apart when you remove the bread from the pan.

Per serving:
Calories 160; Protein 4g; Carbohydrates 21g; Dietary fiber 1g; Total fat 7g; Saturated fat 0.5g; Cholesterol 35mg; Sodium 100mg.

Cranberry Nut Bread

You will love the texture and the flavor of this delicious bread. Take it with pride to any gathering, be it a meeting of people who can't eat gluten or the neighborhood picnic. It will receive raves no matter where you serve it or who you serve it to.

Preparation time:
20 minutes

Approximate cycle time:
1 hour and 20 minutes

Yield:
12 to 16 slices

Wet Ingredients

2 large eggs

1/2 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Dry Ingredients

2/3 cup bean flour

2/3 cup rice flour

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup arrowroot

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Grated rind of 1 orange

1 cup of dried cranberries

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1 Be sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.

2 Combine the wet ingredients and pour them into the bread machine-baking pan.

3 Measure the dry ingredients, including the yeast, and mix well to blend. Place them in the pan.

4 Place the pan in the bread machine.

5 Select the Cake or Quick Bread cycle and press Start.

Don't confuse the Quick Bread cycle with another short cycle, like the Rapid cycle. The Quick bread cycle has no rising time. Quick breads use baking powder and/or baking soda which leavens in a chemical reaction to moisture and heat that occurs once you start baking the bread.

When the bread is completely baked, take the pan out of the machine and place the pan on a wire rack. Do not take the bread out until ten minutes have passed. This allows the structure of the bread to firm up so that it won't fall apart when you remove the bread from the pan.

Per serving:
Calories 210; Protein 4g; Carbohydrates 32g; Dietary fiber 2g; Total fat 7g; Saturated fat 0.5g; Cholesterol 35mg; Sodium 100mg.

Pumpkin Bread

When we think of pumpkin, we think fall or winter. But this bread will be a favorite the year around. It makes an excellent accompaniment to a chicken or turkey salad. You can serve it as a dessert perhaps with mixed fruit cocktail. Try it toasted for breakfast.

Preparation time:
20 minutes

Approximate cycle time:
1 hour and 20 minutes

Yield:
12 to 16 slices

Wet Ingredients

3 large eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Dry Ingredients

1/2 cup bean flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins

1 Be sure that all the ingredients are at room temperature.

2 Combine the wet ingredients and pour them into the bread machine pan.

3 Measure the dry ingredients, including the yeast, and mix them together. Place them in the pan.

4 Place the pan in the bread machine.

5 Select the Cake or Quick Bread cycle and press Start.

Don't confuse the Quick Bread cycle with another short cycle, like the Rapid cycle. The Quick bread cycle has no rising time. Quick breads use baking powder and/or baking soda which leavens in a chemical reaction to moisture and heat that occurs once you start baking the bread.

When the bread is completely baked, take the pan out of the machine and place the pan on a wire rack. Do not take the bread out until 10 minutes have passed. This allows the structure of the bread to firm up so that it won't fall apart when you remove the bread from the pan.

Per serving:
Calories 180; Protein 4g; Carbohydrates 32g; Dietary fiber 2g; Total fat 4.5g; Saturated fat 0g; Cholesterol 35mg; Sodium 270mg.

Spelt Bread

Spelt, sometimes referred to as
German wheat,
is an ancient variety of wheat that was widely grown in the upland areas of Germany and France until the twentieth century. As with wheat flour, spelt flour contains gluten — that allows the dough to stretch and makes a nicely shaped loaf. Unlike wheat flour, spelt flour is usually tolerated by those with gluten sensitivities.

Preparation time:
15 minutes

Approximate cycle time:
2 1/2 to 3 hours

Yield:
12 to 16 slices

1 1/2 lb loaf

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups spelt flour

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 lb loaf

1 cup + 1 tablespoon water

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 cups spelt flour

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

1 Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

2 Place the ingredients in the pan in the order listed.

3 Select a Basic, White, or Normal cycle and a medium crust color. Press Start.

Variation: You can make a cinnamon raisin bread with this recipe by adding 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 3/4 cup raisins to the 1 1/2-pound loaf. If you are making the 2-pound loaf, use the same amount of cinnamon but increase the raisins to 1 cup. Be sure the raisins are a bit dry or they will disintegrate in the bread.

Per serving:
Calories 130; Protein 4g; Carbohydrates 26g; Dietary fiber 5g; Total fat 3g; Saturated fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 200mg.

Part IV
The Part of Tens

In this part . . .

E
very
For Dummies
book ends with top-ten lists. We offer you ten tips for dealing with a troublesome bread machine and ten tips for fixing your bread creations that don't turn out as you expected.

Chapter 19
Ten Tips for Troubleshooting a Bread Machine
In This Chapter

Your machine malfunctions

Your electric power is interrupted

Where's the kneading blade?

The machine's too hot

Warning: Don't overwork that machine

S
oon you'll be turning out breads so delicious and so easy that you and your family won't be able to live without them. And then there will come a day when your bread machine baffles you. We can hear it now, “I did everything right, but. . . .” Here are the most common bread machine–related problems — and their solutions.

None of the lights come on

First double-check that it's not your outlet by plugging the machine into other outlets. If the machine does not work in any outlet, locate your receipt so that you can return the machine to where it was purchased.

In the meantime, you have to do something with the ingredients you have in the pan, if you've gotten that far. Dump your ingredients into a large bowl, and using a wooden spoon, mix as much of the ingredients together as you can. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. With your hands, begin to work the remaining flour into the dough and continue kneading the dough, by pulling the dough from the far side toward you with one hand and pushing that section into the dough with the palm of your other hand. Turn the dough a quarter of a turn and repeat the kneading action of pulling toward you and pushing down until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and turn to grease top. Cover; let rise until dough doubles in size before punching down and shaping. Sometimes it is hard to tell if it is double. Here's another way to determine if the dough is ready to be punched down. Push two fingers into the dough, all the way to the second knuckle and take them out. If the holes remain and do not close back up, the dough is ready to be punched down (have all the air bubbles deflated).

You can be creative and shape the dough as you so desire; cover and let it rise again before baking. You can tell if it is ready for the oven by lightly pushing in with one finger on the side of the loaf. If the indentation remains it is ready to be baked. An average baking temperature is 375° for approximately 35 minutes.

Electricity to your home is interrupted during the cycle

If the bread has already completed the kneading cycle and if your machine has a cycle that will only bake the bread without any mixing, let the dough set in the pan and continue to rise. When the dough has risen close to the top of the pan, select the Bake cycle and push Start. The bread will bake in the machine.

If your bread has already completed the kneading cycle but your machine does not have a bake only cycle, you can remove your bread from the machine and place it in a greased pan for baking. When it has risen until an indentation remains after touching, (approximately 40 minutes) bake in your conventional oven. An average baking temperature is 375° for approximately 35 minutes. If the machine has not completed kneading the dough, start the cycle again.

The bread sticks in the pan

Another helpful hint is to let the bread remain in the pan for a few minutes before trying to remove the bread. Take the pan out of the machine and set the pan on your cooling rack, on its side; turning it from side to side will loosen the bread from the sides of the pan.

If none of these solutions help, you may have to replace your pan. With your new pan, be sure not to use soap or detergent when cleaning.

The kneading blade sticks in the pan

If you intend to remove the kneading blade from the pan, you will have to remove the blade from the pan every time you use it. As soon as the bread has been removed from the pan, fill the pan with hot water to soak. When the pan and the water have cooled, usually the blade will come off the shaft quite easily. If the blade sticks, hold the wing nut on the underside of the pan with one hand. With the other hand, hold the blade and using very little back and forth movement, pull the blade off the shaft. If you did not soak the pan immediately, you may have to soak it quite a few times before you can remove the blade.

If you absolutely cannot remove the blade from the pan, don't fret about it. But be sure you clean out under the blade with dental floss or something else that will slide between the blade and the pan.

The kneading blade comes off in the bread

This is very common and very easy to fix. A crochet hook is the best solution. As soon as you take the bread out of the machine, while it is still very warm, put the crochet hook into the center hole of the blade, catch it onto the side of the hole, and ease the blade out. If you do this while the bread is warm, it hardly disrupts the dough structure of the loaf. Unfortunately, there's no way to stop the blade from coming off into the bread. But don't worry about it. It doesn't affect the bread, the blade, or the rest of the machine one bit, as long as you quickly remove the blade from the bread.

Also, it's a good habit to always check for the kneading blade when you get done baking, so that you don't lose it. Some people have thrown it away, others have given it away, and still others have no idea where their kneading blade has disappeared to.

Your machine won't make several breads in succession

After the machine has completed the cycle that baked the bread, it will need at least 20 minutes to cool down before it will work again. If you're in a big hurry and you want to try to help the machine cool down, you can try some of our favorite methods. We have a small fan that fits over the top opening and helps to circulate the hot air out faster. We've also placed cold soda cans in the machine itself (without the pan) to help it cool down. But the best solution, and the one that helps your bread machine have a long and happy life, is to patiently wait for the machine to cool itself down.

Your crust is too dark or too thick

Look in your manual for a chart that describes what happens during the cycles. If your manual does include this type of a chart, look at the baking times in each of the cycles. You may want to choose a cycle that has a shorter baking time.

Another solution is to choose a sweet bread cycle. Sweet breads are baked at a lower temperature.

The third possibility is to take the bread out of the machine before the Bake cycle is complete. Sometimes we've had to take the bread out as much as 15 minutes before the baking is completed. A digital readout thermometer stops the guesswork. Inserted into the bread, it will read 190° if the bread is done. Always press Stop and hold the button down until the machine indicates that you've cleared the cycle. Do not unplug the machine before you've stopped it.

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