Wrights bread mix is amazing and we have even used this in the campervan and cooked it on the hob in the double skillet. Never fails to produce a good loaf.
the more you knead the better, also don't rush anything, let it rise. I used to have my kids bread making on a wet day, by the time they finished playing with it and making their own little bits the rest was used for a lovely loaf.
Watching Paul Hollywood make bread after the last Bake Off, I noted that he didn't so much 'knead' the bread as stretch it into a long skein and slap it back together many times. Streeeetch, slap, roll... over and over for 15 minutes. He said the stretching made the dough more elastic, so it could rise better, and would give it a good texture.
I was inspired, so have bought some strong flour and yeast and intend to get bakin'! Haven't made bread for about 20 years, so will come back and report my success or failure!
Well, made my first loaf using the food mixer and it turned out fine although I had to knead it which I don't with the Panasonic. Still, as I said, the Panasonic is getting a bit long in the tooth and can be a bit eccentric at times so it'll have to go at some stage.
we have a bread machine,its ok but we have a coal fire,and its lit 24/7.I leave it to rise in front of that.The important thing is to knead it,let it rise,then knead it again,it makes your arms ache but its the air you knead into it that makes it lighter.So knead twice,rise twice,cook,job done
------------- i dont sell cheap tat.I sell tat cheap
I have used bread machine in the past and tired of it after a few months. Now use traditional methods and have cultivated my own sour dough. I am still persevering to make something close to the pain de campagne (country bread) bought from the boulangeries. If you want a quick fix, buy the very reasonably priced bread mixes from Lidl - the rye bread mix is particularly good.. Apart from the occasional failure, hand kneaded, oven baked bread, definitely the better option (unless you live in France of course).