| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| giraffe |
breadmaking tipscheapo tip for baking your own bread -If you use a bread maker, you will probably use the expensive breadmaking flour (about a pound a bag) and if you eat a lot of bread the price can add up. We mix the flour so a third is proper bread flour and two thirds is the cheapest economy ordinary flour (about 27p a bag from my supermarket) you can buy. We discovered this when we really needed bread but had run out of the proper flour. There is still enough gluten in this mix to get a decent loaf and the quality difference isn't noticeable. We buy a couple of 1.5kg bags of bread flour and 6 bags of ordinary flour every 6 weeks or so and have all the bread we can eat for half the price! oh, and its already been mentioned here, but get free yeast from supermarket bakeries (ASDA are particularly good at this in my experience). |
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| Cathryn |
I have been doing this for awhile due to my dreadful habit of getting half way through a recipe and then checking that I have the ingredients  My family are very tolerant of the taste of things as well since nothing ever comes out the same the second time (and if they are really lucky the second time is almost edible).
I have only been using dried yeast in my breadmaker - if I use fresh is it in the same proportion as if making an ordinary loaf by hand? Actually what I mean is - how much fresh yeast should I use in my breadmaker? 
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| wellington womble |
I buy my flour by the sack, but I don't know how much cheaper it is - probably not at all by the time you add on delivery, but it does (generally) prevent you running out of flour! Or at least so often. | ||||
| Northern_Lad |
Ditto. I recently recieved my order for 29.5Kg, for £26 delivered. Less than a pound a kilo, and I got 7 different types! The odd thing is, it came in a box maked 'fragile' and 'do not drop'! |
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| giraffe |
I have no definitive answer as to how much fresh yeast to use - I generally add about a teaspoon and it comes out fine. It depends how much flour you use. Our tried and tested easy peasy foolproof recipe is this, which uses a standard mug to measure flour (doesn't matter how big it is as long as it's not enormous!) You must also use the same mug to measure out all the ingredients.
1 mug bread flour 2 mugs cheapo economy flour 1 mug water 1 teaspoon fresh yeast or a quarter of a sachet dried yeast splash of vegetable oil (not compulsary) teaspoon sugar teaspoon salt Put all ingredients in breadmaker and switch on using standard bread cycle for wholemeal or white depending on which flour you used. You can easily adapt it by switching one of the mugs of cheap flour for oatmeal;make sweet bread by bumping up the sugar and adding cinnamon and raisins; add mature grated cheese and herbs for cheese bread; dried rosemary and olive oil turns out lovely too. |
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| bernie-woman |
Which supplier did you use NL ? |
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| Northern_Lad |
http://www.clarksflour.sagenet.co.uk/shop.htm Very good, and quick delivery - 2 days this time. |
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| bernie-woman |
Thanks - I think I may order some - as a matter of inetrest where do you keep it? - would I need to put it in a bin of some description -
We sometimes have mice in our garage |
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| Northern_Lad |
I got a big plastic tub from BandQ (see Bernie66) which sits on the floor in my kitchen.
The 10Kg bag gets used from there, but the normal bags live in a cupboard once they're opened. |
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| lr110td5 |
Breadmaking tipsThe other day I went round to a wholesaler for Italian produce, to buy a pizza peel. I got talking to the owner who convinced me that his flour was the (world's) best; I ended up taking away a 25 kg sack of durum wheat for just over €17 - that's less than 12 quid !Taste's good too...... Colin |
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| wishus |
aha - I was wondering because my local Morrisons is always selling fresh yeast in the reduced chilled section, but I never see it actually on sale anywhere else...
The use by date on it is always about to expire, and there is usually loads in a pack. Do you think it can be frozen? |
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| Lozzie |
Re: Breadmaking tips
Colin I think you can use durum wheat to make pasta, too - if you are so inclined! I often make bread in my machine using odd mixtures of whatever flours I have to hand. Stops people getting bored with the taste, and any total disasters ghet turned into bread pudding which disappears even faster than the fresh bread! L x |
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| 2steps |
thats a great idea, Lozzie
I use the cheap flour mixed with bread flour now as well. comes out fine 
I was going to try making all our bread but seem to end up making other things instead  this morning I've done some rolls but also some chelsea buns
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| lr110td5 |
@ Lozzie
Pasta? Whaddya reckon my next task wil be ... ? Colin |
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| Treacodactyl |
http://www.downsizer.net/Projects/Processing_Food/Home_Made_Pasta/
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| katie |
Fresh yeast can be frozen. When I get free yeast from the supermarket I split it into one ounce portions and freeze in polthene bags. | ||||
| dougal |
Yeast.
Learn more than you thought there was to know... here: http://www.theartisan.net/yeast_treatise_frameset.htm |
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| katie |
Fascinating - if you've got a week or two! |
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| lr110td5 |
@Treacodactyl
Thanks for the pasta link - that's exactly the same equipment as mine, the handcranked Imperia. Sometimes I wish I could add a motor (there are such things available) to give me two hands free for the task. I do have an attachment for the trusty Kenwood Chef but I have difficulty in keeping the tagliatelli apart as they come out. Colin |
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| wishus |
Ta!
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| wellington womble |
Mine comes from Clarkes too, and lives in the spare room. I fill up big plastic boxes from the sack in the spare room, and take them down to the kitchen, every couple of weeks, or so. |
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| calisnenath |
fresh yeastMore info on using fresh yeast in bread makers please. I thought that you couldn't do that. Do you have to make a sponge first or anything? Or do you just bung it in? What is the convertion from standard breadmaker yeast?? |
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| Mr BlueSky |
Re: breadmaking tips
I use a bread-maker  Been married to her for the last five years 
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| Penny |
I get my flour from here,
SHIPTON MILL LTD Shipton Mill, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8RP Tel: 01666 505050 Fax: 01666 504666 Email: enquiries@shipton-mill.com Web: www.shipton-mill.com the website doesn't appear to be working at the moment, but it's fantastic flour and costs 16.50 for organic white and 14.00 for ordinary white - that's for 32kg, so about 44p per kilo (if my maths is right  )
It's only a couple of miles from me, so I don't know how much delivery would be, but I can definately recommend the products |