If your recipe calls for 5 cups of whole wheat flour, then use 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of white bread flour to make it lighter. It will rise higher too. That’s the ratio that I use when I make light wheat bread. If you prefer it lighter yet, use half whole wheat and half bread flour. It’s a personal taste thing.
Here's the first test loaf of my favorite bread recipe. It turned out pretty well; much the same as my old machine as far as taste and texture. I'm on the fence about the machine. I usually love Breville products but that unbalanced leg just annoys me. I went back to read reviews and saw another complaint about a short leg, and several people complaining about how the machine "walks" when kneading. I'm thinking those walkers are probably out of balance, too.
I only saw one bread machine on Breville's website, and people were talking about issues with a hinged paddle. My Kitchen Aid walks on my counter when I knead bread, so I use rubber shelf liner doubled over on itself so it grips the mixer and it grips the countertop. It greatly reduces the walk, but does not eliminate it. I guess that walking pretty much means you can't set the thing to work while you're asleep.
This is mine; I guess it's the only model they make. Has the familiar controls, too. Actually, when I put the magazine under the low leg and had it sitting level it did not walk at all. Very smooth operation.
I'm sure there must be something I don't understand about breadmaking machines since I've never used one, but once I figured out how to make bread (manually), I never found that to be a particularly complicated or troublesome process. Once I got started, I enjoyed making bread, and, since my wife has a breadmaking machine, it seems that the cleanup is even worse with a machine than when bread is made by hand. To me, it just seems like an odd thing to automate, kind of like making Koolaid in a blender.
I enjoy making hand-kneaded bread, too. But the machine makes the whole process easier; just dump the ingredients in and press "start." I can't imagine making a bigger mess with the machine since there is no need for a floured surface to manually knead or an oiled bowl to proof the dough. Machine loaves aren't as pretty as hand-shaped, though.
I"ve never used a bread machine but I cleaned up the mess. It seemed like more of a mess than I make when I make it manually.
I saw a youtube video on making English muffins. It looks easy to do so I'm going to give those a go. I never realized that they are cooked on top of the stove and not baked.
After reading so much about ya'll bread baking, I want to try that myself. i do not want have to buy a machine - least not yet to make the bread. I am going to buy yeast on next big grocery shop day. Do I need to buy self raising flour or is all purpose okay? all help appreciated .
I like using bread flour. I believe it has more protein than all purpose so it rises better. Self-rising flour contains baking powder, not yeast. It's used to give a mild rise for biscuits, cobblers, etc.
@Hedi Mitchell -- as John said, you do NOT want self-rising flour to make bread. I usually use all-purpose or bread flour. Check a few recipes for "Easy White Bread" online and see if they call for "rapid" or "instant" yeast, or "active dry" yeast. It will make a difference in the rise of your bread so follow a recipe at first. I think you will have fun with it.
G--Here's a link to one of my favorite sandwich bread recipes. This makes 2 loaves, so you can halve the recipe for a single loaf. https://www.iheartnaptime.net/homemade-bread/ Also, there are many "no knead" breads that are super easy and are baked in a cast iron dutch oven. They are more artisan-type with crusty exterior and more coarse "crumb". Here's an easy one... And yes... that's Jenny Jones. She has a lot of very good recipes on her channel.