Bread like bricks....

[Spinney]

With my breadmaker I'm usually lazy and use the packets of bread mix.

However I've recently been trying to use up the various bags of flour in the cupboard. Made a loaf to a recipe in the breadmaker manual and it came out like a brick (tasted nice, but was very solid and was best toasted, even when fresh). Yeast had sell-by date of this May.

Tried again with a new packet of yeast (sell by date sometime in 2015). Another brick.

Different recipe today, another brick.

My question is - could it be old flour that is doing this? I can see why yeast would go off, but not sure why flour would.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

It could be the flour, only way to be sure is try again with fresh stuff.

These might seem daft questions but:

• exactly which flours are you using?
• have you put in sufficient water?
• what temperature was it at?
• is the kneading paddle in the machine?
• is the machine kneading the mixture? (check that the drive belt hasn't snapped, it'll sound like it's kneading when it isn't)

GC

 

[swee'pea99]

If the paddle is absent or not working, you don't get a brick, you get a tin full of flour, burned. I've proved this on more than one occasion. My first question would be, is it bread flour you're using? Ordinary flour doesn't work quite the same (and tends to result in bricks). Real bread flour has more something in it. Can't remember what the something is, but it does make a difference.

 

[MikeG]

Chuck your breadmaker away, and make it by hand. It never goes wrong, takes very little time and effort, gives your upper body a bit of a work out, and is extremely satisfying.

Check your yeast and flour isn't old........

 

[Canrider]

I've found it varies by breadmaker too. Used one that would make a perfect loaf no matter what you put in it. Used another that would make bricks if you were the slightest bit off in your measuring or order of putting in the ingredients.

 

[raleighnut]

With my breadmaker I'm usually lazy and use the packets of bread mix.

However I've recently been trying to use up the various bags of flour in the cupboard. Made a loaf to a recipe in the breadmaker manual and it came out like a brick (tasted nice, but was very solid and was best toasted, even when fresh). Yeast had sell-by date of this May.

Tried again with a new packet of yeast (sell by date sometime in 2015). Another brick.

Different recipe today, another brick.

My question is - could it be old flour that is doing this? I can see why yeast would go off, but not sure why flour would.

You're not using fast bake setting are you. Ours does this on fastbake its Ok on standard 3hr settings also watch the salt quantities (it can kill the yeast)

 

[Spinney]

No, today's brick was made with the standard 4 hour setting
It is not the breadmaker machine itself, because using a packet mix the other day on the fast programme made a perfectly good loaf.

The flour is bread flour, and some has been used before successfully. It is probably that it is too old, so I'll try new flour...

The bricks are actually quite nice toasted with a bit of cheese, but are not exactly what I intended!

 

[vernon]

The bricks are actually quite nice toasted with a bit of cheese, but are not exactly what I intended!

Use your bricks as door stops.....

Don't look for my coat, I didn't bring one.

 

[EltonFrog]

As @MikeG says, check the bread maker away and use your hands

Try this Nigel Slater recipe it's ACE.

Bread

250g spelt flour
250g white bread flour
7g dried yeast
Gently-heaped teaspoon salt
150ml whole milk
250ml cider/beer/stout
Teaspoon honey or treacle

Put the flours, yeast and salt in a bowl and mix well. Warm the milk and honey/treacle until it is all dissolved. Pour into the flours with the cider/beer/stout, mix, knead and prove for about an hour in a warm place, then kneed again, then prove for another 20 mins then kneed again then bung it in oven. It's easier than it sounds.

We usually make this loaf (or very similar) every week, it tastes fantastic. You can change the flours if you want, use/don't use cider. You don't need a tin, once you've done the proving, just chuck it on a oven tray and bake it for 25 ish mins @ 200 degrees. Tap the bottom when its done it should sound a bit like a drum when cooked.