The Backmeister

This little beautie is our latest kitchen gadget purchase and goes by the grand name of "The Backmeister" (makers name, not ours). Eric wanted to hone his breadmaking skills here in Berlin but unfortunately our oven is an ancient gas oven with no fan. It's fine for stovetop cooking but it's pretty crap for baking. So, after a couple of bread disasters we decided to invest in a bread machine.

Now I know that bread purists may turn up their noses at a bread machine, that it's not the same as bread from an oven, that it's not the same when not kneaded by hand. Which, I'm sure, is all true. And to be honest, Eric loves the kneading part of making bread. He claims it's a good way to vent frustration.

How and ever, I have to say that we are pretty happy with our Backmeister. We have tried a couple of different breads and they have all come out quite nice. It's also saving us a bit of money as we realise, since we are at home most of the time, that we eat about two loaves each week. And it is SO easy. You just literally bung in the ingredients, set the programme and hey presto, you got a loaf of bread! I have to say that I have never made bread before and it is actually quite thrilling!

Above is a pic of one of Eric's breads. This was a recipe from the manufacturer's book and is a more of a traditional German bread, which means it has a dense texture and moist crumb. It is a very good lunch bread with cheese and salami. Below I am posting a recipe for a bread that I tried - an olive oil and rosemary bread. I got it from Allrecipes and made a couple of adjustments to it. It turned out more like the bread that we are used to, a little lighter in texture. It's delicious as a sandwich bread or toasted for breakfast with eggs.

ROSEMARY AND OLIVE OIL BREAD

1 cup water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh/dried rosemary
2 1/2 cups bread flour (I have used both white and brown and both turned out great)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Here are the directions for the bread machine

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select white bread cycle; press Start.

Someone on the site also made this recipe by hand - her instructions below:

1. yeast + 1/4 c. warm water, wait 10 min.
2. Add flour, salt, sugar, oil knead like heck.
3. Add the herbs & pepper.
4. Let rise an hour or so in an oiled, covered bowl in a warm place.
5. Punch down, let rise another hour.
6. Bake at 375 until browned.
7. Remove from oven, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Enjoy!