Breadmaker entered my home as a gift. At that time I did not have any inkling that my crusade of bread making had started.
As such I like bread, so far it is fresh and soft. From ‘pav’ to packaged bread any bread is welcome on our table. As we have a well-known bakery in the vicinity, we can have any bread from brun to methi nan and danish to pizza sandwich for breakfast. But the attraction of homemade bread is omnipresent.
As soon as I got the breadmaker I was forced to make bread to check the working condition of the breadmaker. The breadmaker worked but not the bread. ’Bread’ was below my expectation. No doubt the bread maker came with instructions and recipes. The recipe demanded for certain yeast, bread flour, gluten, bread improver etc. My way of cooking is ‘with whatever is available at home’.I tried making bread again and again, but bread quality was not reaching the expected mark. Around same time a distant relative gave discouraging report about breadmaker .In one cookbook also the comments were not so favourable about breadmaker.Then I became skeptical about usefulness of breadmaker.
As my cookbook was taking shape and required my full attention, I shelved bread making for few days. Once the book was published, I reverted to my daily cooking and trials. I turned to breadmaking .I thought of putting to use my knowledge of analysis of maida and atta. I decided to bring my all-purpose flour and atta up to the bread flour mark. Gradually I was tweaking the flours and making breads. One day my home was filled with bread baking aroma and I could set a fine bread on my table.
I am happy with my breadmaker. I use it regularly. Not only is it useful for breadmaking it can be used for making dough. I prepared pizza dough, enjoyed homemade pizza. As poori dough is hard to knead, breadmaker makes it easier.
Breadmaking will always remain in the forefront. Now I am moving over to flavoured breads (still in the experimental stage).Chatani bread, mixed grain bread and banana bread, fruit bread are to be tried.
Nowadays home made bread is a regular at home .My guests ooh and aah over its appearance on the table and do full justice to it.The breadmaker has come to stay with me just as my mixer and grinder,pressure cooker and my other gadgets like wet grinder.