Bread making

[sparrowhawk1]

Not as classy as yours but quick and easy. PS. Next time I'm going to mix the pepperoni and cheese into the batter hey hey

[JanetGroene]

While cruising the tropics without refrigeration I kept sourdough starter going for some months as an experiment. The secret is to feed the starter almost every day and that means using it in everything from bread and waffles to chocolate cupcakes. My trusty breadmaker is a cast aluminum pressure cooker, minus pressure and rubber gaskets. I find that cast aluminum spreads heat better than ferrous metals for stovetop baking and the old Presto pressure cookers sell for almost nothing at yard sales and thrift shops.

[sparrowhawk1]

I've recently learned that soaking grains or flour overnight removes toxins even if you don't rinse the water with the flour. So my latest bread I soaked raw buckwheat groats for a couple days trying to get them to sprout which they didn't ,the bread still came out great . Everything was organic except for the almond flour which is outrageously expensive. Started with two cups of whole wheat flour that I soaked overnight, 1 Cup of the buckwheat, 2 cups oatmeal, three quarter cup almond flour 1 cup sugar one teaspoon yeast. My solar oven's only hitting 250 so my understanding is to not let the bread rise fully before you put it in there but I'm surprised I got very little rise but they still tasted awesome almost like granola bread.
PS. It took a long time to bake. Put them in a preheated oven at noon, flipped them after 3 hours and cooked for another hour.

[sparrowhawk1]

I forgot to add after letting the bread rise for a little while I added some potato flakes to get the dough at the right moisture content and to add a little fluffiness. Also I keep all my grains and flour( all my long-term food storage) in vacuum-sealed mason jars. The high humidity and temperature on a boat is not good for storage but I found if I vacuum seal them and keep them in the coolest part of my boat it makes a huge difference.

[ssmoot]

Oven baked bread is great!

I do prefer a bread-maker most of the time though. So they're efficient (the smaller the oven, the more efficient all else being equal). That's nice. But to me the biggest advantage is cleanup.

If I make dough in my stand-mixer I have to clean the bowl, the dough-hook, a spatula, use plastic-wrap for the rise, grease a bread-pan, etc.

With a bread machine I just remove the pan and set it on my scale, add ingredients, put it back in the machine and start it.

After the bread is done, the pan itself is pretty much clean. No raw dough to clean up. There might be a bit of crust on the removable paddle. So I remove the paddle, add a bit of water and soap to the pan, and then let the paddle soak in it. Use a straw-brush to clean the paddle, wipe everything with a sponge and rinse. Done.

No extra pans or utensils. No floured surfaces or bench scraper. No plastic to dispose of. I can't think of a cleaner, more convenient way to make bread. The kids love to help (adding the ingredients) as well.

I think you can definitely make better bread by hand. But convenience and efficiency count for a lot for me most of the time. School nights are busy enough!

Also, doesn't really apply to liveaboards much I suspect, but having a delay function on a bread-maker is really convenient as well. Nothing better than spending a few minutes throwing it all together in the morning, and walking in the door after work right on time to the aroma of just-baked bread.

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by ssmoot

Oven baked bread is great!

I do prefer a bread-maker most of the time though. So they're efficient (the smaller the oven, the more efficient all else being equal). That's nice. But to me the biggest advantage is cleanup.

If I make dough in my stand-mixer I have to clean the bowl, the dough-hook, a spatula, use plastic-wrap for the rise, grease a bread-pan, etc.

With a bread machine I just remove the pan and set it on my scale, add ingredients, put it back in the machine and start it.

After the bread is done, the pan itself is pretty much clean. No raw dough to clean up. There might be a bit of crust on the removable paddle. So I remove the paddle, add a bit of water and soap to the pan, and then let the paddle soak in it. Use a straw-brush to clean the paddle, wipe everything with a sponge and rinse. Done.

No extra pans or utensils. No floured surfaces or bench scraper. No plastic to dispose of. I can't think of a cleaner, more convenient way to make bread. The kids love to help (adding the ingredients) as well.

I think you can definitely make better bread by hand. But convenience and efficiency count for a lot for me most of the time. School nights are busy enough!

Also, doesn't really apply to liveaboards much I suspect, but having a delay function on a bread-maker is really convenient as well. Nothing better than spending a few minutes throwing it all together in the morning, and walking in the door after work right on time to the aroma of just-baked bread.

But but but, gotta find a place to store the bread maker when not in use.
When I consider buying a piece of galley equipment, ie the brea maker, I ask myself, 'What else can it do besides make bread.'

[sparrowhawk1]

If I have the power to run one I wouldn't be worried about where I store it because I'd be using it everyday[emoji48] . Does anyone know the amp hours used to make a loaf?

[john61ct]

Toss a KillaWatt on there and find out. Would think a hella lot

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Toss a KillaWatt on there and find out. Would think a hella lot

What is a KillaWatt? Is it a brand name for a clamp meter?

I’m also interested in measuring my various small counter appliances to see how much they actually draw before bringing them onto the boat (well, toaster and coffee machine already sailing, but I’d like to try my kettle, convection oven, slow cooker, bread maker, and sandwich press). Sheesh, looking at that list I guess I better start looking at multifunction appliances.

[StuM]

The figures I see quoted are generally around 300 Wh per loaf, so 25Ah @12V would be a reasonable estimate.

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

But but but, gotta find a place to store the bread maker when not in use.
When I consider buying a piece of galley equipment, ie the brea maker, I ask myself, 'What else can it do besides make bread.'

The only 'open' storage space I have left is the chain locker SMIRK

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by ssmoot

Oven baked bread is great!

I do prefer a bread-maker most of the time though. So they're efficient (the smaller the oven, the more efficient all else being equal). That's nice. But to me the biggest advantage is cleanup.

If I make dough in my stand-mixer I have to clean the bowl, the dough-hook, a spatula, use plastic-wrap for the rise, grease a bread-pan, etc.

With a bread machine I just remove the pan and set it on my scale, add ingredients, put it back in the machine and start it.

After the bread is done, the pan itself is pretty much clean. No raw dough to clean up. There might be a bit of crust on the removable paddle. So I remove the paddle, add a bit of water and soap to the pan, and then let the paddle soak in it. Use a straw-brush to clean the paddle, wipe everything with a sponge and rinse. Done.

No extra pans or utensils. No floured surfaces or bench scraper. No plastic to dispose of. I can't think of a cleaner, more convenient way to make bread. The kids love to help (adding the ingredients) as well.

I think you can definitely make better bread by hand. But convenience and efficiency count for a lot for me most of the time. School nights are busy enough!

Also, doesn't really apply to liveaboards much I suspect, but having a delay function on a bread-maker is really convenient as well. Nothing better than spending a few minutes throwing it all together in the morning, and walking in the door after work right on time to the aroma of just-baked bread.

As you say, it is more convenient, but bread maker machine bread just isn’t as nice as a handmade loaf. Besides, with the machine you miss all the tactile joy of kneading and punching down. Where’s the fun in that .

My baking process doesn’t produce much in the way of dirty dishes. I have a large mixing bowl which contains all the flour, and is where I rise my dough. I use a moistened cloth rag to cover the bowl. I mix with a wooden spoon and a bit of elbow grease. So, the only cleanup that is required is a wooden spoon, the mixing bowl, and a simple wipe-out of the baking pans. Easy.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

If I have the power to run one I wouldn't be worried about where I store it because I'd be using it everyday[emoji48] . Does anyone know the amp hours used to make a loaf?

It might vary a bit between types, but our uses about 40 amp hours (at 12 volts) to make a loaf.

[sparrowhawk1]

Thanks StuM and 44'crusingcat. And Mike I'm with you, but some days when I'm busy with other projects it would be a nice convenience.

[SVTatia]

Originally Posted by fxykty

... but I’d like to try my kettle, convection oven, slow cooker, bread maker, and sandwich press). Sheesh, looking at that list I guess I better start looking at multifunction appliances.

No, you should be looking for a Winnebago. Err, a caravan...?
Kidding!