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Consider making your own bread, it's fun.

NingSi (61 posts) • 0

Hi
Can anyone recommend their bread machine (brand? how cheap/expensive was yours and does it work ok?) I saw a Joyoung brand at Carrefour today for about 500RMB (I think it also doubles as a yogurt maker), but not sure if that is a good price...

Also, how do you say in Chinese:
—mantou improver
—baking soda (eventually I'd like to bake cookies)
—vanilla extract
(And are the last two items even available in places like Carrefour and Walmart?)

Thanks!

GoK Moderator (5096 posts) • 0

I bought mine second hand. Non descript brand. My brother has had a couple and swears by the cheapest one he bought.

Success or failure is in the recipe, and this will need tweaking to meet your taste, and the type of yeast. The only critical seems to be the balance of water. Too much and the bread over rises and then collapses leaving a big crater.
500 seems a little high, but then again it is dual purpose. A separate yog machine would cost about 60-70.

Mantou improver is a Chinese thing and the words 'mantou improver' are written in English on the bag. I have stopped using this, as it contains soda, which makes the bread a bit dry and crumbly. I now use a teaspoon of lemon juice to acidify the mix, and improve the yeast action.

They have baking soda in Metro, but only in wraps of 3 boxes. I think I may have seen it in Paul's Shop as well, and I saw baking powder (not soda) in Carrefour once.
Vanilla extract, I have not seen.

Someone once mentioned a baking shop near WangFuJin, not sure if it is still there though.

English Tutour (123 posts) • 0

After 8 years my other brand of bread machine quit on me so I recently saw the 599rmb on at Carrefour and bought it on TaoBao for 399, shipping included. The make is Joyoung. It's all white with a red plate on top where all the buttons are and has a white plastic carrying handle. I've use it twice and it's great.

I don't use mantou improver because it has chemicals which are unknown to me.

You can buy baking soda, baking powder and vanilla at Carrefour in the Int'l section. Also the Angel brand yeast. Store in a sealed container in your fridge. And all are available at Pauls shop too.

I tried the Chinese brand of bread flour and the bread flopped (there is added sugar in the flour). I only use the Gold Medal Flour for Bread, also sold at Carrefour and Metro. Worth the extra price for great bread.

Good luck!

English Tutour (123 posts) • 0

Yes you're right, all Carrefour do not carry the same lines. I found these items intermittently available at the Nanya Feng Qing and the Shi Ji Cheng Carrefours.

Heller (62 posts) • 0

This is a great thread, there should be more like this and less of the usual dreck that is beginning to infect the forums here.

I'd love to make my own bread but am one of those who doesn't have a great deal of time. Using the Carrefour bread maker mentioned, i'm curious as to how much bread can be made in one go, and how long would it take (not including the rising) from start to finish, including cleaning the bread machine. A rough guesstimate would be appreciated. Also, what are people's thoughts on freezing dough pre-risen? I'm thinking it might be good to churn out a huge batch, freeze it, and then take out and let rise the night before needed.

Thanks.

English Tutour (123 posts) • 0

I agree Heller! This is a nice Thread to follow unlike some of the other ones where 'blowhards' spout off personal philosophy, go off on extreme tangents, and forget the original question that started the thread!

The amount of premixed dough depends on the size of bread machine. A 1 kilo dough makes a good sized loaf, but to the dough stage is 1.5 hours or so. Some machines made a 1.5 kilo dough - so generally you can't make many batches at one time. It's a slow process where time and heat (as well as following the recipe accurately) are the factors. Also as noted previously, altitude in KM is also a factor not related to the time but related to the quality so recipe amounts need to be adjusted a little.

I've frozen pizza dough with success but have never done it with dough that's going to be a loaf, so I can't say.

But timing depends on the setting of the dough which depends on the kind of bread you are making (ie whole wheat, or French, or plain white bread and your machine. In general a baked loaf takes about 1.5 hours including clean up, but again varies according to your brand of machine.

Good luck!

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