[chrissie B]

I don't bake bread all the time and usuall buy allinsons but have bought and used aldi strong flout which is I think less that £1  for the big bag and its been good , going today so will check ,I mix in a mixer now and I find I get a better result , don't have the energy for all that kneading , made a lovley loaf the other day came out the oven as hubby came in from work ,
chrissie b

[Paul Plots]

I feel like a right cheat... but I love our cheap bread maker / machine. £89. I use it every day and we have bought no more than 4 shop made loaves in the last couple of months.

I often mix white and brown flour - usually use the cheap 89p a bag type of supermarket own brand.
Results are consistantly reliable - bread tastes good and has a good "crumb" (?) - recipe is easy. 10 minutes max to measure and add all ingredients, select programe and *clear-up (*at most a tiny rare sprinkle of flour on the work-top).

I often set the machine to make and bake over-night so the bread is cooled and ready for lunch.

Hand-made bread is lovely but I simply do not have the time. Our bread is a very good basic staple liked in preference to shop bought by the whole family including my mother. Cheaper too!

[Annen]

I feel like a right cheat... but I love our cheap bread maker / machine. £89. I use it every day and we have bought no more than 4 shop made loaves in the last couple of months.

I often mix white and brown flour - usually use the cheap 89p a bag type of supermarket own brand.
Results are consistantly reliable - bread tastes good and has a good "crumb" (?) - recipe is easy. 10 minutes max to measure and add all ingredients, select programe and *clear-up (*at most a tiny rare sprinkle of flour on the work-top).

I often set the machine to make and bake over-night so the bread is cooled and ready for lunch.

Hand-made bread is lovely but I simply do not have the time. Our bread is a very good basic staple liked in preference to shop bought by the whole family including my mother. Cheaper too!

it isn't so much mixing white and brown flours I was asking about but using a plain flour instead of strong flour. I use a bread maker too and its great.  I'm going to try using plain in it and see how it goes.

[grendel]

I too use a bread machine most of the time, generally when I get up for work, I use the end of the loaf for my sandwiches, and put the machine on, then 3 hours later when the rest of the family get up (9am) there is a lovely hot fresh loaf waiting for them.
Grendel

[chrissie B]

just love the smell of bread you just carnt beat it no matter how its made , I think the rougher it looks the better it tastes all those knobbly bits .

chrissie b

[Kleftiwallah]

I've found the advice on this site very useful

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/10/bake-your-own-bread

Cheers,   Tony.

[Snoop]

At long last, Annen. I've come across this, which you might find useful.

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/02/09/back-to-basics-tips-and-techniques-to-create-a-great-loaf-in-5-minutes-a-day

Here's a video in which one of the authors demonstrates the 'cloaking' technique. He goes on to make pita bread, but the cloaking technique is the same for all their loaves.

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/03/08/new-video-shaping-the-ball-from-a-very-wet-dough

(Edited to add link to video)

[Annen]

Thanks for those links, it is a lot clearer.  My loaves were very wet and when I shaped them, they wouldn't form a cob loaf, but settled and spread out into a flat loaf. When I broke the cooked loaf open it had huge bubbles, so I think I have gone wrong somewhere in the rising of the dough. (it was still nice though)  I have given up bread for the moment because it is just too temptaceous and I am trying to lose a few pounds, but when I am down to my target weight I will give your method another go because it looks useful.

I've also been reading your diary, it is interesting to see how even in Spain you are weather challenged, but just differently. And I also am addicted to this website  somebody always knows the answer when you ask 

[Snoop]

Spain is huge and has many different types of landscape. The typical view of the Spanish climate applies only to coastal areas, and even then not all of Spain's coast. Here it's perishing cold in winter, especially at night, and boiling hot in summer; dry for most of the year but we have periods of torrential downpours and tremendous winds that go on for weeks on end. The longest wet spell we had went on for six weeks, when 440 litres of rain (which I calculate to be getting on for a hundred gallons or 44 cm) fell per square metre (hope I've got my calculations on gallons and cm right).

Despite the weather, it's a fantastic place to live, which is just as well really!