My mix master came with standard beaters and dough hooks which I'd set aside because I didn't know what they were for!
To start experimenting we found a pack of Lauke German Grain bread mix which comes with 4 individual packs of bread flour suitable for 1 loaf each (600g) and a sachet of yeast. I followed the instructons and ended up with a fairly good loaf... but then things started going wrong.
I've made about 7 loaves now and 3 of them had various levels of fail. I started playing around with the times and amounts and had a great success with the Lauke Crusty White bread mix which has translated well to the other loaves. I now use 380ml of water (the german grain says 410ml) and I've learned that the kneading period starts after the water is combined and not as you start mixing.
So all up this means I am using a little less water and kneading for a bit longer. There seams to be a sweet point where the dough looks amazing and light it is wanting to start to rise. I think this may come purely with experience.
The last thing I'm doing different is after I forgot I was making bread between rising stages and left it longer than I intended. I now allow both resting times to go for at least 30 minutes and then bake for 35 minutes at 220C. This may have to vary depending on ambiant temperature, loaf tin size and oven.
The last 3 loaves I've made have been perfect so I think I have the hang of this now!! Cost is about $1.8 per loaf with the fancy bread kits, but we could probably reduce this by using a plain bread flour. It takes about 2 hours to make the bread, but only about 20-30 minutes is hands on time and the rest is just watching the clock to check in when the process needs attention.
Nothing better than fresh bread straight out of the oven!
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