Hi,
I'm sure this must of been asked before but I did a search and couldn't find so, here's the problem.
I've been making bread for a year now with a breadmachine. I really love the bread but the hole in the bottom created by the paddle is frustrating as heck. I don't mind a small hole but lots of times, it's a huge hole. I tried oiling (cooking oil) the shaft inside the paddle, tried oiling the outside of the paddle etc.. and nothing helps. Does anyone have any tips to avoid a big hole?
Thanks
Depending on your bread machine, you could pull the paddle out after it deflates the dough for the 2nd rise.
If the above doesn't work then I would take it to the next level since you obviously desire a better product. You could mix the dough in the bread machine and then form it into buns, loaves, retard it, do pretty much anything.
I started with a bread machine myself about 10 years ago. Since then I've stopped using it and learned so much about poolish, pate fermentée , bigas, pastries, cold retarding dough, etc etc.
I stopped using the bread machine just because I hated that paddle imbedding thing! Never thought of taking it out after the kneading was done... still I agree there are so many better ways to make better bread... love the prefermenting and the sourdoughs and using bigas etc...
I did remove the paddle once before the baking and it was great. Problem is with my busy schedule, I usually put the ingredients at night and let it do it's job over night. There' s new bread maker machine that came out that has a collapsible paddle. I looked at it and it seems cheap; not sure + the pan is small.
Thanks
After the last punch down(stir down), remove the dough, remove the paddle(s) from the shaft(s), shape loaf and place back into pan for final rise and bake.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/04/18/zo-handy-cheese-bread-and-baked-pasta-without-the-fuss/
Of course this does not apply for automatic, delayed mix/bake.
I was given a breadmaker a number of years ago and I used it for a while as such but I was put off by the paddle in the bread/spindle-hole situation. Also the crust was never to my liking. However seeing as I'm being moaned at for over use of the oven I have attempted to remedy the dent situation.
What I tried was this:
A. getting hands on the sort of foil tin you sometimes get take-away meals in.
B. Cutting away the bottom leaving only a small section of the walls of the tin.
C. putting it over the paddle free spindle leaving a hole.
D. putting the mixed dough into the modified container and using the bake only setting. Normally If I use the machine at all it's as a mixing machine if I'm being lazy so it was my first time using this setting.
E. As you can see the bread looks okay for a bread machine but where my experimental false bottom has been it's a bit pale and there is a visible line where the two surfaces connect.
F. Here is the bottom of the loaf, no paddle, no dent but not much colour.
In conclusion if the dent is a big issue you might as well use the oven :-D