Jennifer McM

Read a book several years ago by a doctor called 'Wheat Belly' (the book not the doc) - in it he tells that Monsanto changed (genetically - in secret) wheat which now has a shorter stalk, more seeds, grows better in droughts, has a resistance to fungus, etc., and the gene count of the modern wheat variety has gone from about 12 genes, to 50 (don't quote me on the figures, but the gist is there). This doctor makes a claim that this is why we've got fatter, suffer from diabetes, etc. I bought a bag of Spelt flour (£1.50 ish from Tesco) a couple of weeks ago to try it out, TBH I forgot about it. Next time I bake I'll have a go. Packet says: "Spelt, triticum speltum, was widely grown in Roman times. It is an ancestor of modern wheat and its genetic heritage is a cross of wild grasses and early cultivated cereals". Mike, do you think the bag of 'ready mixed' flour is designed specifically for bread makers? Just a thought, I've not tried a packet. BTW my bag took 6 weeks to arrive too. Luckily it went to my sister-in-law's address, otherwise, I might never have got it.

The free website fatsecret.co.uk is great for analysing your fat/protein/carb amount in meals. Just log in what you eat everyday, it's good to learn what's high.

That looks great Mike, but what does it taste like? Keep experimenting until you find what suits you, and what's the best setting on your oven. There're lots of different types of bread flour out there to experiment with. I'm getting this (always room for improvement) down to an art now, as soon as we cast off in the morning, I drop downstairs and mix up a bag of dough, then about half an hour before we're due to stop, I pop back down into the galley a couple of times to fire up the oven, put the dough into a tin, and pop the bread tin in the oven. When we stop we've got fresh bread for lunch. Making a few naans is easy too on a curry night. Just form a couple of 'tangerine sized' balls of dough into a pancake, cover and leave to rise, then cook in a hot frying pan with butter, adding perhaps a bit of garlic - takes about a minute or so each side.

But I don't have a big bowl to wash up. Just a bag that rinses well, and drips dry. I don't bother washing the bread tin either. Kneading the dough is easier and quicker too using the bag as I'm not stopping to rub flour on my hands to get the sticky dough off, It's easier to knock seven bells out of the dough 😂 I like the Hovis multi-grain flour too, mixed with some white strong bread flour. The advantage of putting the dough to rise in the fridge overnight, it makes it so easy to have freshly baked bread for breakfast.

After Strictly lol

Made without a drain on the batteries.... and with minimum mess. There's hardly any washing up either.

Yes you can live without carbs.... seriously. We can't live without fat, or protein obviously. Athletes are dropping carbs for performance. See Prof Tim Noakes on Youtube.

What goes through their heads 😂 You can see how this 'trait' is within them and is brought out in those police drug dogs.

After mixing the dry ingredients together (flour, salt, yeast) add the liquid. Then knead it, gently at first, then go for it! When it's stopped being sticky, leave it to rise. Give it another kneed after it's risen to knock it back down to size, tip it out of the bag on a floured area and shape it to what you want, rolls, or the shape of the bread tin. Cover while it rises, remove the cover, and put into a hot oven. As Lady G says, it's cooked when the bottom sounds hollow when tapped.

Sorry, no, the cling film is to stop the top drying while it's rising. Remove the film before putting in the oven.

I gave him a little bit for the effort, and the lol!

Don't be mean.... I'll give that a 7 and 3/4s! Think the rule of thumb is 2 parts flour, to one of liquid.

Well 'they' do say a wet mix doesn't matter for bread dough, so long as you can handle it. Can't wait to see it baked! 🙏🙏 I've never used breadmix, so can't really comment. It does look rather wet though. Just had a go, with a mix of white and wholemeal bread flour

Well that's lively! I can see the air bubbles.

Crumbs...... Did mention not to trust the silly clip. I've been experimenting, and if I may say so, think I've got it just right. 600g strong flour (cheap as chips) 3 teaspoons of dried yeast about 4 teaspoons of salt Put the above in the bag, clasp the neck tight, and 'massage' (for want of a better word) to stop the flour exploding out all over the place. Then I weigh... (cos I can't see the writing on the measuring jug very well) 300g of water (blood heat, not hot, and not cold) or 300 mls of water Tip the water into the bag with a good glug of olive oil. Hold the neck tightly while the liquid soaks into the flour mixture. Then knead the mixture. It takes about 5 minutes until the dough leaves the sides of the bag clean. Leave the dough in the bag until it rises (about half to an hour). Knead the dough again, then tip onto a floured surface, shape and put it into a greased bread tin. Cover the dough with a sheet of cling film to stop it drying out. Put into a hot oven, bake until the loaf comes out of the tin easily. Knock the base of the loaf, and it should sound sort of sound hollow. The mixture makes a small loaf, and 4 naan breads / or a small loaf and a pizza base. Practice makes perfect