Experiments
with
Unleavened Breads, Crackers, Bread sticks & Crumpets All with NO ADDED SALT
Note.
All recipes were tested in a breadmaker that takes up to a 1kg loaf.
A machine with 750g capacity should be ok but for smaller
machines the recipes should be scaled down.
There
is no problem that I can see to making no added salt bread.To
prove the point I decided to make a very simple loaf and it turned out really well.
For this
loaf I used Anchor Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Plain Flour from
Woolworths. It is described as strong flour and has a protein level of
11.0g/100g. Normal plain flour for cakes has around 9g/100g.
In the breadmaker I placed (No breadmaker—see method on the flour packet)
330ml water direct from the refrigerator 500g bread flour
(do not use normal "plain" flour)
2 teaspoons Lowan bread improver
1 sachet of granulated yeast (you may find a 7g sachet is a little too much see below) Note I FIND I
MUST STIR THE MIX ABOUT IN THE PAN BEFORE I START THE MACHINE OR THE
PADDLE MAY END UP WASTING ITS KNEADING TIME JUST STIRRING THE WATER
BELOW THE FLOATING FLOUR.
I set the machine for white bread, medium crust. The loaf above
demonstrates that salt
free bread is not rocket science. Try the "proper" (the recipe above was just to prove a point) recipes that came with
your bread maker leaving out the salt and using chilled water. Without salt there is
more chance of the bread rising too much and falling back to give a
hollow top than the reverse. If that happens cut back on the
yeast. Bread making requires a little practice—salt or no salt.
A slice of my preferred low salt grain bread (see below).
I
have to reduce my salt intake so I have started reading the nutrition
labels on packaged food. It did not take me long to realise just how
much salt is added to processed foods. I was happy to find that
some
almost sodium free products (click here)
were
available but I could not find grain bread with with less
than
about 450
mg per 100g.
So I bought a bread machine and
started to experiment.
I
invite your feedback just go to
the INDEX
OF MY OTHER PAGES and click on
the link to send me an email.
All measures are leveled.
T
= Tablespoon (20ml not 15ml)
t
= teaspoon 5ml
a
cup = 250ml
The
flour and the water are
weighed and you will need a set of digital scales to get accurate
results. If you use the reset function of your scales it is more
accurate if you add the lightest ingredients first.
Set
the machine for whole-wheat
light crust and follow any specific instructions for a 750gm loaf.
NOTE
Sometimes the dry ingredients just float on top and never mix so I
give them a bit of a stir when I first put them in. This may be just
a characteristic of my machine or something to do with the lack of
salt.
**Note
The
highlighted ingredients will
depend on just what you can get locally but you need to substitute
something with similar absorbency for each item. You should be able to
find LSA
mix, if not use almond meal. You can make up a 5 seed mix or a 2 seed
mix from the seeds shown
in the pictures below. The recipe is very forgiving and in my
daily bread I tend to use
up whatever odds and ends I have in small quantitys. Bread flour
has
more protein than plain
flour and it is available in some supermarkets. Wallaby Bakers Flour in
5kg packs I have found in some Coles and 10kg bags of other brands
I have found in all sorts of shops that cater to ethnic shoppers.
After hearing that a
reader in SA used plain flour I made
a loaf using it as an experiment. The plain flour loaf did not raise as
high and the bread lacked strength and elasticity. There is another
good reason to use bread flour—it is fortified with thiamin while plain
flour may not be. see http://www.gograins.com.au/grainsnutrition/ie/ie7_7.html. Whole meal bread
flour is harder to find. However in a pinch you can replace
it with the more readily available and
lower protein wholemeal plain flour in this recipe.
A visit
to your local Indian grocery could pay dividends as they have ATTA
flour
which is a fine wholemeal wheat flour and they usually have bulk bags
of
other flours.
When experimenting with
different
flours and in any case check to see if a smooth dough ball forms soon
after kneading commences. It should be just tacky like a post-it note.
If it is not make a small adjustment by adding teaspoons of flour or
water and adjust the recipe next time.
LSA
mix is a grind of Linseed, Sunflower Kernels and Almonds.
5
Seed mix is a combination of Sesame Seeds, Pipitas, Sunflower
Kernels, Poppy seeds , Linseeds.
I live in Sydney Australia and it
is hard to believe but I have not found it easy to buy Wholemeal
bread flour locally so I am buying it and most of the above ingredients
from www.basicingredients.com.au . If you cannot get wholemeal bread flour at least try an organic wholemeal flour. Contaminants tend to
collect on the outside of the wheat. This is discarded when
manufacturing
white flour but kept for wholemeal. Using "Organic" for the wholemeal
flour avoids possible
residues and will not add much to the cost of a loaf.
RESULTS. (for an older recipe but sodium should not vary)
The
above was my first effort at a spread sheet using Open Office, do not
rely on the results. You can see that the sodium level is about
21mg/100g. Most of the sodium comes from the skim milk about 73 to 88mg
and from the commercial bread improver 51mg (check this with your
particular brands of ingredients). The total comes to around 157mg for
a 773g loaf ie. 20mg per 100g which compares well with the usual 450mg
per 100g for my store bought grain bread.
The
texture was light and
flexible with some holes but none completely through any
slices.
The crust was great when using the light crust setting. This is now our
standard sandwich bread and it is also good toasted especially the lower end which is denser.
EQUIPMENT.
The
picture shows some helpful tools. I gave up using a tea towel and
bought some gloves. I could not cut straight so bought a guide. The
tray is vital to catch crumbs as is a brush to clean the crumbs from
the guide. I bought a cheap bread knife and threw it away
then
spent 1/2 a hour to get the old
but high quality knife sharp and I found it then worked better than my
cheap electric
knife which also went in the bin. If you are about
to
buy a bread maker and use it for your daily bread consider one that can
produce a square slice that is suitable for toasting
and sandwiches.
Generally these use a single paddle and make a vertical loaf. I
use a Breville BB290 (see Choice
for
a review). I have updated to the BB290 successorclick here for review. I lay the bread on its side to cut it in the guide but
bread from a horizontal type of machine may rise above the guide. You
may like to try a bow type knife that gives some giudence. A digital scale is vital. Look for 1g resolution
and a
fast display that does not blank off for some seconds while it
recalculates the new weight. When you use a postal scale you just dump
a letter on and check the weight but for cooking you will be adding
small amounts to get the correct measure and blanking off is a pain.
See this short video for an example of what to aim for. KITCHEN
SCALE
DISPLAY
The scale
should also have a "Tare"
or "Reset" function that that enables you to reset the scale to zero
after adding things so the next thing added on top can be
weighed. For accuracy use a light container and add the lightest
ingredients first. If the scale can show negative values it is a bonus. I often
use this feature when wanting say 20g of grated frozen
ginger, I weigh the ginger, reset (Tare) the scale to zero then grate
some of the lump off and reweigh. What I have grated of the lump shows
as a minus
amount. When the correct amount registers I scrape it all off the
grater into the recipe. Your scale
may have a
quirk that affects accuracy check it out here.
I have no idea about the keeping
qualitys of this bread but for me that is not a problem as it is
sliced and kept frozen then thawed by microwave or toasted as
required. I make a loaf every few days so there is plenty of
room
in the freezer. I make up 12 batches of the dry ingredients
without the yeast which is added on
top
of the ingredients in the baking pan.
After
some experimenting I found
that the recipe is flexible and that so far I have been able to eat
all the results. I tested a loaf without the Lecithin and it tasted the
same but the texture was more crumbly, it was not as elastic.
After
looking at nutrition
information using the free USDA SR17 software I can see why whole grain
flour is important so I have tested some loaves using 200g of both
flours. This gives a slightly denser loaf that I prefer for toasting.
This grain
bread makes
wonderful
hamburger buns and dinner rolls. I use the machine dough
setting
then divide the dough in half and knead to form 4 hamburger buns. The
other
half I knead into 8 dinner rolls. I place them on baking paper and
after covering with cling film and resting
in a warm but turned off oven for 1/2 hour to double in size I bake on
the top shelf for
15 minutes at 200ºC.
HINTS
The
white flour used for all recipes is BREAD FLOUR ( Bakers flour) This
has
special properties that help make a good loaf. It is also fortified with thiamin. It is not that hard to
find in supermarkets. Lighthouse, Wallaby and Defiance are three brands.
These test loaves were baked side by side in bread makers
with confirmed identical performance. Wholemeal Bread flour is
very hard to obtain so the recipes shown can use wholemeal plain flour.
Flour
floats for around an hour on top
of water and the machine paddle will be wasting its time if
it can not get to the flour. Before you start the machine stir the
mixture around with a nonmetallic utensil until the mass is wet and
down near the paddle. This only takes 5 seconds and ensures that your
machine starts mixing immediately.
Picture shows flour and water after 30 minutes. If your machine
has a collapsable paddle put it in the upright position before adding
the ingredients.
Yeast sachets are an expensive way to make bread. I buy my yeast in 500g packs at about a fifth the price per loaf.
If
the loaf does not have
a smooth round top try reducing the water by 5ml. Make sure you do not
accidentally use warm water from a mixer tap ie. always start with the
same temperature water (I now use water from the fridge).
When
you have settled on a
bread recipe, making up a good few ready to go mixtures (no yeast) is a
good idea as this reduces the time required to make an
individual pre-mix to about
5 minutes. Keep track of how each loaf comes out and make small
adjustments to the yeast or liquid as necessary and a little way into
your pre-mixes you will have it down pat with perfect loaves each
time. Note each mix is measured individually as opposed to making a bulk mix and dividing it.
If the bread looks like rising too much or not enough
and your machine
has a bake only option you
can usually stop your bread machine by holding down the stop
button for an extended period. You can then start the bake only
option before the bread over rises or delay until it rises
correctly. On my machine the "Bake Only" option defaults to 5
minutes
but you can enter in up to 55 minutes. The normal loaf will require
around 50 minutes but this is something you will need to determine for
yourself.
The
paddle spindle of my bread maker
became stiff after a while and a lot of soaking and work was
necessary to free it. I now put the oil in first and jiggle the paddle
about to lubricate the bearing. It then soaks in the oil for a bit
while I measure out the liquids. So far this has resulted in a
perfectly free paddle after every baking. This may not agree with your
bread machine instructions.
After
a lot of use the bread pan may lose some of its non stick ability. If
the bread will not shake out give the sides of the tin a good thump.
Yeast
comes vacuum packed to
help preserve it I divide
it into two airtight jars, both are kept in the refrigerator and one
is never opened until the other is all used. Do not leave the cold jar
out of the fridge and open for long as water will condense in it.
Plastic jars are less prone to condensation.
Give
your pre-made batches of
ingredients a good mix up after you make them up or the milk powder may
form lumps in
storage.
Make your own bread improver.
10/09
Lowan no longer sells bread improver but Lotus brand is sold in health
food stores. 9/10 Coles now stocks Healthy Choice bread improver and
Wallaby brand can be purchased from www.onlyoz.com.au or some IGA.
Although commercial bread improvers have a high sodium level of
around 1000mg/100g they are used is such small amounts that they
only add around 10mg/100g to the finished loaf.
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) makes a good bread improver and is needed in very small amounts. The
1984 flour regulations in the UK allow up to 200mg/kg to be added to
bread or flour. A 125g packet may cost $10 but there will be
enough for around 1000 loaves. Ascorbic acid degrades with heat and
light so I keep mine in the freezer. A level teaspoon of Melrose brand
crystalline vitamin C ascorbic acid powder weighs around 4000mg and you
are only going to need around 100mg for 750g loaf. The way to get
around trying to weigh or spoon out such small amounts is to dilute the
ascorbic acid with flour. Mix
1 level teaspoon of ascorbic acid with
6 tablespoons of flour and use one level teaspoon of the mixture per kg
of flour to give 160mg/kg. It is near enough to use 1 to
2 teaspoons
of the mixture per loaf.
The picture on the left shows (from the left), no bread improver and
ascorbic acid used in a basic no added salt white bread recipe.
Dave Brigden
the editor of The Ménière's newsletter the
Balancer and I
cooperated on Dave's Oat Loaf below.
DAVE'S EASY LOAF
As posted to the Saltmatters mailing list July 2011
The
recipe I now use all the time uses a half quantity of Lighthouse
"Crusty Ancient Grains" Bread Mix, which results in a very nice loaf
that would have a sodium level of a little under 100mg/100g. If
you are not too concerned about going over the 120mg guideline, then
the Lighthouse "Crusty Ancient Grains" Bread Mix can be simply used
according to the instructions and it will give a loaf that is
188mg/100g. To use the half measure, proceed as follows:
Add
315 ml water (or 315g, if you weigh it) to your bread pan. Add 250g of
bread mix Add 250g of Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Flour (a strong
baking flour) Add the contents of one of the sachets of yeast (included
in the "Crusty Ancient Grains" bread mix packet). Use the BASIC cycle
on your bread machine (the one for white bread).
I set the crust to "hard", but the bread mix packet recommends "medium"
Check
after it has been mixing a few minutes, in case it is too dry or too
wet, which can be adjusted by adding quite a small amount of extra
water or flour (respectively)
If you want a more wholemeal
style, you can substitute a good quality wholemeal flour for some of
the Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Flour - I often substitute wholemeal
flour for 50 to 100g of the bakers flour.
Notes:
· When
you run out of the 6g sachets of yeast that come with the Crusty
Ancient Grains mix, you can use 6g of your favourite brand of instant
yeast instead. 6g of yeast is about 1.8 level teaspoons. So if
you use a one teaspoon measure, use slightly less than two level
teaspoons.
· Yeast sealed in sachets gives the most
consistent results, as bulk yeast, while cheaper, becomes less active
over time, once the package has been opened. Note that sachets often
contain more than 6g (there are 7g and 8g sachets), so when you use a
different yeast to the one supplied with the Crusty Ancient Grains mix
(which does contain exactly 6g), you do need to measure the yeast.
· As
bread recipes perform differently in different bread machines, some
small adjustment to the amount of yeast may be necessary to get the
size of loaf you desire. If you have a small bread machine, you may
need to use less yeast or reduce the quantities of water, flour and
bread mix to make a smaller loaf.
· In Sydney, we have been
able to buy Lighthouse "Crusty Ancient Grains" Bread Mix and Lighthouse
Bread & Pizza Flour in Coles supermarkets.
Regards, Dave
From a follow up postings on the Saltmatters mailing list
Dave posted that adding a teaspoon of bread improver made a worthwhile difference.
Following
the posting of Dave's recipe I had a tip from Chris who had
difficulty getting hold of the Lighthouse bread mix and had used a
similar method with Laucke Multigrain Soy & Linseed. Note Laucke also has another multigrain with a higher sodium level.
Laucke Multigrain Soy & Linseed has a
sodium level of 246mg/100g (.25g on the label) so diluting it a little
more than 50:50 is preferable. It comes in a 2.4Kg box so using
240g will get you 10 loaves when mixed with 260g of bread flour and
this results in a nominal sodium level for the finished loaf of
120mg/100g. The recipe I ended up with was the above mix plus 330g/ml
cold water and one and a quarter level teaspoons of yeast. The resulting
bread had a great texture and still had plenty of grains. Some
adjustment of the yeast may be necessary when switching yeasts after
using up the one supplied. Update -- I add 1 teaspoon of bread improver and sometimes 1/2 a cup of seeds.
Regards, Peter
DAVE'S
OAT
LOAF
Dave liked the idea of a low cost
bread high in
oats and with a low GI and no added salt. This recipe is the result of
ping pong testing where we each made a test loaf in turn slowly making
improvements. As we have different bread makers it was
interesting
to say the least. After about 12 test loaves we settled on the
following recipe. Like the others shown here consider it a work in
progress so please let me know how it performs for you. Unlike the grain loaf
above
the ingredients are easy to obtain but having more wholemeal flour it
is
a dense loaf that weighs
in at almost 1kg.
See the above recipe for
general instructions but use the whole wheat loaf setting for a 1 Kg
loaf set to medium crust.
Place 45g
of coarse
cracked wheat (Burghul) in the bread maker pan.
Into a container on your digital
scales add:-
20g White vinegar or real (not bottled) Lemon
Juice.
1 Egg. (55g)
Make this up to 430g with ice water then pour
into the bread
pan.
While the cracked wheat is soaking measure out into a separate
container:-
45g linseed meal. You can buy this or grind some
linseeds in
an electric coffee grinder.
45g Rolled Oats (not quick type).
45g Oat Bran.
220g Whole Meal Plain Flour.
220g White Bread Flour.
28g (2½ Tablespoons) Gluten flour (Ensure
protein
above 65g/100g).
2 Teaspoons Bread Improver.
2 Teaspoons Yeast granules.
Mix the ingredients and add to the bread pan.
Stir the mixture around a little with a non metallic utensil before starting the machine. This is
to
ensure that within a few seconds of
the machine starting the ingredients are melded together.
I recommend you slice this loaf when it is slightly warm, seal it in a
bag and freeze it. A couple of slices easily de-thaw in the microwave
and it toasts beautifully direct from the freezer.
Test loaves were made with Tip Top High grade flour (disconinued so use another bread flour) and Lowan stone
ground wholemeal flour.
SPICED MUESLI
LOAF
I love to have a slice of
fruit bread in the mornings and although sweet breads usually have less
sodium I thought that to make a nutritious version of a fruit bread
without adding salt would be a good next step. This bread is soft,dark
and moist and may not keep well but I slice it, keep it frozen and I
eat it warm from the
microwave first thing in the morning with a cup of tea.
See the above recipe for
general instructions but use the sweet loaf setting for a 1 Kg loaf.
Mix the following and allow to stand while you
prepare the
other ingredients then add to the dough at the recommended fruit
adding time.
150g
Sultanas
40g
Chopped Prunes
40g
Chopped dried Dates
1T water
Pour the liquids in the order that your bread maker
requires.
20g
White wine Vinegar
290g Water (some adjustment may be necessary)
2 T Canola oil (Get lowest in trans fat)
1 t Vanilla essence
Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix before adding to
the
bread maker.
270g
Bread flour
135g
Wholemeal Bread flour (you can use wholemeal plain flour if necessary)
50g
rolled oats (quick
cooking type)
2
T Skim milk powder
3
T Brown Sugar = approx. 50g
1
T Gluten flour (the sort that has about
83mg protein/100g)
3
T Almond meal
2
T Sunflower seeds
1 1/2
T Mixed Spice (see
below)
1
T Lecithin granules -- optional
2
t Bread Improver (use the amount recommended for 500g of flour)
1
t Ginger powder
1
1/4 t Bread
machine yeast granules
30g
Chopped Dried Apples ( these are hardy enough to add with the main
ingredients)
This makes a 1·2 Kg loaf which has about
the
size of a normal white 640g loaf.
You can
use store bought
Mixed
spice but I use the following mixture of powders.
By Volume.
3
Parts Cinnamon
3
Parts Nutmeg
3
Parts Allspice
2
Parts Mace (see Herbie's
Spices
on my low sodium diet page)
1
Parts Clove
Seed Loaf
Here
is a version of a seed loaf. It could be used as a sort a biscuit when
sliced thinly. It is a simple easy process that only takes a few
minutes work. You could try it in a tin but when I did it stuck like concrete.
In a bowl place
250g warm water 1 teaspoon sugar 2 teaspoons or a sachet of yeast
Whisk and let stand while you prepare in a mixing bowl . 100g of bran or equal weights of oat bran and wheat germ — any sort of "bran" really 150g of wholemeal flour 100g of seeds. A mixture of a range of seeds, see the mix above as an example
Using a wooden spoon work the liquid into the dry ingredients to make a uniform paste. Place the paste onto a sheet of baking paper, spray with cooking spray and form into a roll then clip the paper together. Leave for about 1 hour in a warm place to double in size. Bake in a 200C oven for 30 minutes then unclip and bake a further 10 - 15 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Experiments with
Unleavened Breads.
Indian Rotis
I was searching at an Indian grocer for a source of bread making
flour when I spotted some Pillsbury brand Chakki Atta flour which
stated it was 100% whole wheat (I was told "atta" means whole wheat) so
I bought a 1Kg packet to try in my normal bread. On the back was a
recipe and instructions for making Rotis. There was no mention of salt
so I decided to have a go. First thing was to get hold of the iron
skillet called a "Tawa" (Tava).
I rang a few Indian grocers from the phone book and ended up at a
warehouse type shop. In the far corner was a pile of various types of
Tawa. The $8 one I chose was 30cm diameter and was very obviously made
by hand. At home I removed some rust and seasoned it by heating and
wiping on vegetable oil then set about making my first Rotis. There are
websites that give a rundown of what is required but I think the main
thing needed is a lot of practice. Of my first batch only one puffed up
on the pan but they all were very edible.
Flame puffing should take about 15 seconds with the gas correctly set.
I took the rack off between times or it got so hot it burned holes
which let the steam out.
My
$8 tawa is now in regular use as a high temperature griddle for fillet
steak. I use a little oil, 2 minutes 30 seconds on each side and 2
minutes rest. A rub over with a metal scourer ball under hot water
and dry while still hot ensures no rust in storage and It should
last forever.
Unleavened bread
There are no cracker type biscuits that I know of that can
be
classed as very low sodium except matzo. I was running out of
the
small Mosmarks Matzo Crackers that
I prefer to
the normal large sheets so I thought I would have a go at making
something in the style of Matzo. There is nothing in Matzo except
flour and water so a recipe is not difficult to come up with.
Plain Crackers. Atta on the left White on right.
1½ Cups Flour (
I used Atta (Indian
wholemeal) and Weston Milling Continental Sharps
(White)
but try any Wholemeal or plain flour)
½ Cup + 2 teaspoons Water
Mix together knead into a dough and
roll out as thin
as possible. (if not thin they will be doughy in the center)
Cut into desired shape
Prick with a fork or you will end with puff balls like the one on the right.
Bake for 3 to 4 minutes in a very hot oven on a pizza stone or a metal
cookie sheet. Update
21/6/2009 10:47 AM. I had great success placing the crackers on a sheet
of baking paper and transferring them in one go onto a flat metal sheet
in a 220ºC oven. When cooked I could pull them all out on the sheet and
pop the next sheet in. The hardest part of the process is handling the
delicate uncooked crackers and using a paper sheet eliminates a couple
of steps.
Production proceeds well, as the first 10 or so cook you can roll out
the next lot. When cooked just scoop them out onto a tray for a
couple of minutes to cool. The hard part is the rolling out. A pasta
maker made the job easier and more
uniform.
Notes:-
I prefer Indian Atta flour as it is wholemeal. You can get it at any
Indian grocery shop. Kneading is hard work and it is necessary to press
down with one hand on top of the other to work the stiff dough. Keep at
it until you have a pliable dough that can be stretched.
I run the dough through the pasta maker on the thicker setting, fold it
and run through again and repeat the process a few times then set it
for about 1mm and give it a final roll through. I cut the shape with a
cookie cutter then without lifting the cutter I remove the surrounding
material then slide it to the top of the board and with my fingers
inside on top of the dough I lift the cutter. When about 10 are made I place them
on the hot tray in the oven. When they start to brown things happen
real fast so keep an eye on them. With experience you learn in what
order and position to place them so they all brown evenly.
We use these crackers with various dips based on ricotta cheese so
plain is OK but because you are in charge you can easily add some
flavour to your crackers. I added some sesame seeds with success and
will experiment further. Please let me know if you find a spice
combination you like. See my
index page for
mail button
Other Things to make
Crumpets.
I guess that eventually
you will miss having crumpets on a low sodium diet. The best I
could find in the shops had a sodium level of 600mg/100g. So here is a
recipe.
The
crumpets on the left were mini versions made with egg rings. I was
finally able to find a supplier who has real crumpet rings made locally.
Wheat Free world specializes in allergy cookery advice and
supplies. www.wheatfreeworld.com.au
Big non stick rings are available from BBQ sections of Woolworths
and
Big W. Look for cooking rings as opposed to egg rings.
1½
Cups plain flour (230g) You can experiment. Perhaps try a
50-50 mix of plain and bread flour.
1½
Teaspoons yeast granules
1
Teaspoon sugar
½
Teaspoon of cream of tartar
Mix the
above together than add
1
Cup warm water
Beat
very well with a wooden spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and
leave it in a warm place for an hour.
I sat it on top of my CRT computer monitor (make sure it does not rise
and overflow). Wait until it has doubled in size.
Beat the batter again for a minute and rest it for half an hour in that
warm spot.
add
1/3
Cup warm milk
1
Teaspoon of Salt Skip baking powder. Sprinkle this on and try not to
form lumps.
Beat until
smooth but try to keep the air in the mix
You may need
to adjust the thickness of the mix by adding water.
Next
time I will set the bowl aside in a warm place for 30 minutes at this
point to let the yeast do a little more work.
The picture below is what
you should see within 60 seconds or so if the mix is right and the temperature of the hot plate is correct.
Make a note of how much water had to added so you will know for next time.
Your
crumpets need to be cooked in a pan on high heat. My first attempt was
using an electric fry pan but it would not get hot enough to
form
the holes in the crumpet (holes should appear almost immediately). I
had better results on the gas stove.
I wish I had some larger
rings (see above) but had to make do with egg rings. Some egg rings have a ridge
around the bottom formed when they were made. With plain aluminum
rings this can be removed by scraping with the back of a knife. With
smooth well oiled rings (Canola oil) there should not be a
problem
removing them. A tip from Lola at wheat free world was to completely dip
the rings in oil held in a round tray of some sort.
As soon as your crumpet looks like the above get the ring off then lift the crumpet with a
spatula to check the bottom. (Hold it right up in the air). After some
practice you should get the hang of it. When the bottom is ready and
the top firm turn your crumpet over and lightly cook the top.
Bread Sticks
I
used a simple white bread recipe (see top of page) with 3 tablespoons of oil in the bread machine on
the dough setting. I rolled the dough out about 1.5cm thick and sliced
it 1cm wide, stretched the strips and laid them out well spaced on baking paper, coated
them with wash made from slightly diluted egg yolk and sprinkled
with herbs or seeds. I baked them for 15 minutes at 200C then left them
in the turned down oven to crisp up for better keeping.
There
is no problem that I can see to making no added salt bread.To
prove the point I decided to make a very simple loaf and it turned out really well.
For this
loaf I used Anchor Lighthouse Bread & Pizza Plain Flour from
Woolworths. It is described as strong flour and has a protein level of
11.0g/100g. Normal plain flour for cakes has around 9g/100g. 
285ml(g)
Water
NOTE
Experiment with the amount of yeast. 1/8 of a teaspon can make a difference. Start off with 1½ t.
All
photos taken at the
same size using . A
low cost close-up system
The
picture shows some helpful tools. I gave up using a tea towel and
bought some gloves. I could not cut straight so bought a guide. The
tray is vital to catch crumbs as is a brush to clean the crumbs from
the guide. I bought a cheap bread knife and threw it away
then
spent 1/2 a hour to get the old
but high quality knife sharp and I found it then worked better than my
cheap electric
knife which also went in the bin. If you are about
to
buy a bread maker and use it for your daily bread consider one that can
produce a square slice that is suitable for toasting
and sandwiches.
Generally these use a single paddle and make a vertical loaf. I
use a Breville BB290 (see Choice
for
a review). I have updated to the BB290 successor click here for review. I lay the bread on its side to cut it in the guide but
bread from a horizontal type of machine may rise above the guide. You
may like to try a bow type knife that gives some giudence. A digital scale is vital. Look for 1g resolution
and a
fast display that does not blank off for some seconds while it
recalculates the new weight. When you use a postal scale you just dump
a letter on and check the weight but for cooking you will be adding
small amounts to get the correct measure and blanking off is a pain.
See this short video for an example of what to aim for. KITCHEN
SCALE
DISPLAY 
The
white flour used for all recipes is BREAD FLOUR ( Bakers flour) This
has
special properties that help make a good loaf. It is also fortified with thiamin. It is not that hard to
find in supermarkets. Lighthouse, Wallaby and Defiance are three brands.
These test loaves were baked side by side in bread makers
with confirmed identical performance. Wholemeal Bread flour is
very hard to obtain so the recipes shown can use wholemeal plain flour.
10/09
Lowan no longer sells bread improver but Lotus brand is sold in health
food stores. 9/10 Coles now stocks Healthy Choice bread improver and
Wallaby brand can be purchased from www.onlyoz.com.au or some IGA.
Although commercial bread improvers have a high sodium level of
around 1000mg/100g they are used is such small amounts that they
only add around 10mg/100g to the finished loaf.
To use the half measure, proceed as follows:
Dave posted that adding a teaspoon of bread improver made a worthwhile difference. 
