Hi there --

Not one favorite recipe but a book to recommend -- "Whole Grain Breads by Hand or Machine" by Beatrice Ojakangas. A really wide range of whole grain recipes, all of which have been delicious when I've made them... The one thing I will say is that I can't imagine that a breadmaker will give you the kind of texture and crust that you loved in Estonia if that bread was hearth baked... You might want to use the cuisinart for mixing dough and then get a baking stone for the actual baking process...

Emily

I'd add to Emily's post by saying go to the library and check out a stack of Bread Machine Cookbooks. I'd also say you'll probably find you use the bread machine for mixing/kneading dough more often than baking in it. That way you control the type/style of loaves you want. I never bake in mine - but it makes WONDERFUL dough.

Here are some books I have on my shelf you might find (or have your library get them through Inter-Library Loan).

-America's BEST BREAD MACHINE Baking Recipes - by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt - a great recipe for Russian Black Bread on page 107.

-Bread Machine Baking for Better Health - by Maureen B. Keane and Daniella Chance - a great book for those of us who mill our own flour and want "healthier" recipes. European Black Bread with Anis Seeds (pg. 119)

-The Cook's Encyclopedia of Bread Machine Baking - by Jennie Shapter. The most beautiful book, full of breads you won't believe you use your bread machine to make. Russian Black Bread (pg. 94), Dill, Onion and Rye Bread (pg. 146), Honey and Beer Rye Bread (pg. 120), Pain de Seigle (pg. 124)

-The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook - by Beth Hensperger. This book is not a big favorite of mine, but her book, "The Pleasure of Whole-grain Breads", IS. It includes both bread machine recipes and traditional methods.

-Another beautiful book: BREAD Electric - developed by Innovative Cooking Enterprises

-The All-New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook (Fleischmann's Yeast Edition) by Tom Lacalamita

-Last, but not least, "Bread Machines for Dummies" by Glenna Vance and Tom Lacalamita. A great book for bread machine beginners. I've never made a "flop" out of this book, and it has a very wide range of recipe types. This is the book I suggest for all people new to bread machines.
Dark Pumpernickel Rye Bread (pg. 114) and Beer Rye Bread (pg. 118)

-Grainlady

Punamytsike, I can't add to what the bread experts here can tell you--I just wanted to say HI! I haven't see you lately.

Cathy

I've been using this pumpernickel recipe, but I usually leave out the caraway seeds. I made it last week and used only about 2-1/2 cups white flour instead of three, and so you might have to adjust that. I also used pumpernickel flour instead of rye flour, but I think they are very similar. How do you adjust for liquid to flour ratio in a bread machine? I've never used one.

I make pizza and focaccia frequently, but that's not for the bread machine.

Lars

I second the Beatrice Ojakangas suggestion. She's of Finnish heritage and has travelled all over Northern Europe collecting and developing wonderful whole-grain bread recipes. You can see clips of her working with pastry dough and making hardack on PBS (excerpted from the Baking with Julia series).

Lars, for the bread machine I don't change the flour to water ratio at all. I use the least flour the recipe calls for. The only change I make is in the order in which ingredients are placed in the machine.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Beatrice Ojakangas with Julia Child

Lars -

You open the lid of the bread machine after it's been going for about 5 minutes and check the condition of the dough by looking at it or touching it, and adjust the hydration accordingly, if necessary.

What you want is a nice soft, sticky, well-formed ball. Just as in traditional dough making, it's still about the "feel" of the dough. Ingredient measurements in bread recipes are always just a good guess because protein count in wheat/flour and the moisture the flour has absorbed during storage all affect the dough. Flour is usually very dry during the dry winter months, and contains more moisture during humid weather and amount needed often changes because of that.

A hard dry dough will end up a bread "brick", so it's necessary to add liquid. If the dough is crumbly and not formed in a ball, add more water. If the dough is loose, sticking to the sides or bottom of the pan, add a bit more flour.

From years of experience, I know if I add dry multi-grain cereal or oatmeal at the add-in beep (towards the end of the kneading cycle), it's best to have a dough ball that is a little slack because the dry ingredients will absorb the additional hydration during fermentation. I want a slack dough if I want a holey type of artisan bread. I also want a slack dough for English Muffins to maintain that traditionally holey crumb.

I also add chia gel (chia seeds + water) to all my loaves, and I always have to adjust the hydration because of this addition. I also use a liquid sweetener instead of sugar (agave nectar) and it's possible to need a little flour because of the additional liquid from the agave nectar.

Hydration requirements changes because of the protein level of the flour, and that will vary with each bag of wheat I purchase, or bag of flour. I recently purchased some hard white winter wheat that is 13.1% protein. That tells me I'll need to some liquid because the higher protein level (gluten) will absorb more hydration.

It's just a machine that does the work in bread making. It still needs a human to assess the dough condition.

-Grainlady

Hi Cathy, Hi Karen, in case she peeks into this thread :)
My work schedule is kind of crazy, so I have had no time for any decorating projects, hence I am less on GW.

Thanks for everyone else for really good advice. Grainlady, thanks for detailed additional instructions.

Couple of more questions:

Where do you all buy rye flour?
Can molasses be substituted with something else?

Thanks

Rye flour is generally found in most grocery stores - Hodgson Mill or Bob's Red Mill are good brands. I mill my own to assure I get fresh flour.

There are different types of rye flour and they are used in different ways and in different percentages (in combination with a high-gluten flour from wheat), much like using bleached flour, unbleached flour, and whole wheat flour.

Light Rye - 75% extraction (the bran and the germ are removed)

Medium Rye - 87% extraction (more bran included)

Dark Rye - 100% extraction (the whole grain has been milled for the flour)

Rye Meals - include fine/medium/coarse/pumpernickel and flaked rye. These consist of a variety of broken or cracked rye grains after being classified by passing through a series of sieves.

Rye flour, in and of itself has little flavor difference from wheat flour. The taste associated with rye breads is from caraway seeds or other spices or onions. You can add caraway seeds to white bread and you'll think you are eating rye bread.... The dark color in rye breads is from ingredients like coffee, molasses, cocoa, etc. Rye flour, especially light rye flour, is not dark. Light rye is so processed, it's almost white. I use rye flour in cookie and quick bread recipes, so think beyond the loaf of rye bread.

Substitute for molasses. In rye breads, molasses adds deep flavor and a lot of coloring. Sorghum syrup is closest to molasses in taste and color. If you don't like the taste of molasses, then you can use dark corn syrup (an especially good one is Steen's 100% Pure Cane Syrup), maple syrup, honey, or dark agave nectar can be substituted. Even dark brown sugar can be substituted.

-Grainlady

Thank you so much, grainlady.

In estonia, they do not use any seeds or additional coloring agents to get the taste that I love.
Here it the recipe that I found on Estonian site that says it is the type of bread I love. I will try this and see if it comes out the way I remember.

Ingredients:
Starter:
2.5 dl luke warm water
2.5 g yeast
2.5 dl rye flour
48 hours later:
25 g yeast
7 dl luke warm water
3 tbs. oil
2.5 l (about 1.3 kg) rye flour or rye and wheat mix
2 ts salt
2 ts sugar
Mix starter and let is stand for 2 days, then proceed as usual to make the dough. Bake 350 for 50 - 60 min.

I guess they use the dark rye. I will try to find it. They do not sell rye flower in our regular supermarkets. I will go to Whole Foods on Friday and hope they have it.

So for now I will try to use dark syrup, honey or brown sugar.

Thanks

I have the Ojakangas book also, and I agree that it's great! I think that's where I got the recipe for Anadama bread that my kids love. It's a delicious dark bread. Let me know if your interested and I'll find the recipe for you.

AM
The Dinner Chronicles

So I got my machine and made my first bread :)

I did the Basic Honey Whole Wheat Bread from the book that came with it. I promised that I will let the machine do the job without me interfering but after 2 rises the dough looked little bit too sticky, so I added one more tablespoon of flour. Not sure if it would have come out better, if I did not do that. It tastes great, although the loaf lot smaller than I hoped for :)

Oh, dear...you REALLY shouldn't have added the flour at that late stage in the process. If you need to adjust the hydration, you should do that ONLY during the kneading, not after it's rising. And don't be lifting the lid to check on the dough once the machine has gotten past the kneading stage. You alter the inside temperature of the bread machine. By the looks of the loaf size and the crumb, you deflated the rise by adding the flour.

A mistake I made when I got my first bread machine was using a recipe for a 1-pound loaf when the machine is capable of making 1-1/2 and 2-pound loaves (many of the early bread machines only made this small size loaf).

When I first got my Zo, I made a 1-pound loaf recipe out of Beth Hensperger's huge book, "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook", and baked it in the bread machine. Although you CAN make a 1-pound loaf in the Zo, it's just not enough dough in that huge pan and you end up with a squaty little hocky puck kinda' loaf.

Lesson learned, make the largest size loaf and cut it in half and freeze half after it's cooled.

-Grainlady

I kind of figured once I did it, that I might have messed up but you know, this is my first time. At least the end result is edible, quite good actually, and I will try to do better next time.

Thanks for your guidance, Grainlady :)