[HelenK]

Baddum dum tishhhhhhhh......   

[Kate and her Ducks]

Maybe it should have a name.

How about Homer?

He always says D'oh in a sour way 

Homer it is!

[Poolfield2]

I would like to know how many molecules of my original starter are still in my mix after over a year, I guess it's a bit like homeopathy

Kate if you don't want to use your starter for a while I have found if you feed it and make it a bit wetter than usual, leave it for a couple of hours then put the jar in the fridge, it will keep for weeks. You get a weird grey liquid on the top that stops it going mouldy ( I guess it's acid) when you want to use it again, take a heaped teaspoon of the sludge from the bottom of the jar and mix it in with flour and water. It takes about 8 hours to get going again at room temperature.

[Trillium]

Love the propogator idea for warming rising dough. Only wish I had a propogator  I just warm up the oven for about 3 minutes, turn it off and throw in the bowl of dough. When I used to have a proper woodstove years ago I'd park a tall hunk of wood on end close to the stove and the bowl on top of the wood. Made a lot of bread over the years that way.

[aelf]

I'm really intrigued by this idea and will give it a go! I was wondering what sort of container would be best to keep the starter in?

[Kate and her Ducks]

Mine is in a plastic microwave pot with a little valve in the lid so that if too much gas builds up it doesn't blow the lid off.

Presuming we are talking about the sourdough starter.

[soupbox]

I have never baked my own bread before but you all are making me want to start!

What are the main things I should buy to get started with this?  What tools will I need?

[Val H]

This link should help http://www.allotment-garden.org/allotment_foods/bread-making/index.php

[mumofstig]

As I haven't got the heating on till this evening....I put my slow cooker on keep warm function (without the pot in) and put the bowl with the dough in to rest on the top I put a carrier bag over the lot to keep out the draughts, and it has doubled in size quite quickly.
Result....lovely crust bread later

[mrs.ploppy]

Invest in a bread oven maker and cut out all the faffing about.  I have had mine for  about 6 years now and do most things on the dough setting and bake off what ever in the oven wether that may be rolls, loaves or pizza dough!!  Large strong bread flour in super market about 99p enough to make 3 loaves.  How come bread prices have gone up sooooo much but the price of flour is so cheap?  Home made pizza bases are scrummy and with all the flavoured bread mixes so cheap you can't go wrong.

[mumofstig]

Invest in a bread oven maker and cut out all the faffing about.

I have one!! But the  tin refuses to release the loaves and they end up with a humungous hole in the bottom by the time I do prise them out.....that's what I call really faffing about

I find that the process is much less stressful if I bake by hand. Sometimes I do use the m/c to mix the dough, but then it's just another pot to clean

[wighty]

We've got a bread maker and it's fine to use to mix the dough but if you let it cook it it trips the switch and we have no electricity.  We first found this out when we set the timer so we would have nice fresh bread to wake up to.  We got woken up at five to nine by a phone call to ask why we weren't at work!  (Have since invested in a battery alarm clock as a back up to the mains one.)  Tried it again on automatic (from mixing to cooking) and the same thing happened.  It's now been sat  in the cupboard not being used.

[mrs.ploppy]

What a shame cause my one makes smashing bread although yes you do get small hole in bottom of loaf which is a bit anoying when you slice it.  When my morphy richards goes to the bread maker in the sky I shall get one that cooks long ways like a true loaf.  When I first had it I made bread like a looney until MOH said stop making b****y bread.  Then I realised we had 5 different sorts in the bread bin and it only really keeps for a day.  Making the dough is a doddle though and no trouble to bake of into any shape you like.  Horray for baking tins and silicone bakeware!