Questions about ingredients
and recipes
Question 14
Why is my breadmaker making a loud noise? The pan may not be correctly located, press it
until it locks into place.
Question 15
How come my bread comes out too moist? What can I do?
Humidity may affect the dough. Add an extra tablespoon of flour. Also, high altitude may have the same effect. Decrease the amount of yeast by 1/4 teaspoon and decrease the sugar and/or water/milk slightly.
Question 16
Why do I get air bubbles at the top of the bread? This can be caused by using too much yeast.
Decrease the yeast by 1/4 tsp.
Question 17
Why does my bread rise and then collapse or crater?
The bread may be rising too much. To reduce the rate of rising, reduce the amount of yeast and/or increase the amount of salt by 1/4 teaspoon.
Question 18
Can I use my favourite bread recipes (traditional yeast bread) in my bread machine?
Yes, but you will need to experiment to get the right proportion of ingredients. Become familiar with the unit and make several loaves of bread before you begin experimenting. Never exceed a total amount of 41/2 cups dry ingredients (that includes the total amount of flour, oats, oatmeal, bran, fruit and nuts etc). Use the recipes in this book to help determine the ratio of dry ingredients to liquid and amounts of yeast, sugar, salt, and oil/butter/margarine to use. We advise creating your own bread recipes using the 1basic menu setting, then progress to the others, using the Baking cycle times chart as a guide.
Question 19
Is it important for ingredients and baking pan to be at room temperature before adding them to the baking pan?
Yes, even when the delay timer is being used. (Water must be between 21°C and 28°C) and room temperature between 15˚C and 30˚C.
Question 20
Why do the loaves vary in height and weight? The wholewheat breads are always shorter. Am I doing something wrong?
No, it is normal for Whole Wheat and Wholemeal breads to be shorter and denser than Basic or French breads. Whole Wheat and Wholemeal flour are heavier than white bread flour, therefore they don’t rise as much during the bread making process. This is also true for bread containing fruit, nuts, oats and bran.
Question 21
Can I premix the yeast with water?
No, the yeast must be kept dry and put into the baking pan last, above the flour. this is especially important when the delay timer is being used.
Question 22
Why is there a large hole in the base of the bread? This hole has been created by the kneading
blade. Sometimes this hole is larger than normal. This is because the dough has rested to the side of the blade after the second kneading cycle - normal with bread makers. You could position the dough evenly in the base of the pan, but only do this after the ‘shape’ cycle, see cycle times. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to reposition the dough back into the centre if required.
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