Hi! My name is Dusty and I am new to this list. I just received an
Oster
breadmaker for christmas. It has already been put to use several
times, and I
just love it. I was wondering if it is possible to make cornbread in
a
breadmaker, and if anyone has a good recipe. Also, any general tips
would be
appreciated. I noticed several people talking about bulk yeast.
Where would
I find such a product? Is it really better to use bread machine
yeast? Thank
you.
To Dusty:
There are several recipes for "cornbread" floating around that
contain yeast but if you're talking about making yeast-free cornbread
in your bread machine, you need a machine that has a cake/quick bread
cycle. The standard cycle would overmix the batter.
You can purchase bulk yeast at warehouse discount stores like Sam's
Club and Costco. It comes it either two 1-lb packages or one 2-lb
package. Bread machine yeast produces superior results but
unfortunately, it is not sold in bulk and can be quite costly if you
bake bread frequently.
There are many good bread machine tips. Here are two of my
favorites: 1. Be a spooner, not a scooper. Don't use your
measuring cup as a flour scoop....instead, spoon the flour into your
cup and level it off. Scooping is the prime cause of heavy, dense,
short loaves. 2. Observe your dough as it kneads. After 5 - 10
minutes, open the lid and give it a pinch. It should be slightly
tacky to the touch and pliable. If dry and stiff, add liquid 1 T at
a time. If wet, add flour 1 T at a time. You'll soon be able to
judge a "winning" dough just by giving it a quick pinch.
Linda Rehberg
co-author of the BREAD MACHINE MAGIC series of books