There’s nothing quite like a warm slice of homemade bread topped with a slather of butter – absolute heaven. Making your own bread, however, isn’t always as heavenly.
Fortunately, there are some great gadgets and apps available to help raise your bread-baking game, and I’ve tried a lot of them. So, if your New Year resolution is to master the art of making perfect loaves – without a bread maker – you’re in the right place.
These gadgets and apps won’t make you a bread master overnight. It can take some time and practice to perfect the art of bread making, and in the meantime, you may end up with some sunburnt tiger loaves, squishy bloomers, and baguettes dense enough to take onto the battlefield.
They will, however, do some of the work for you by proofing, kneading, and slicing your homemade bread – as well as give you some inspiration for what to whip up next. So get your apron on, it’s time to bake…
1. App inspiration
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? You want to start making bread but need recipes to try or inspiration. There are lots of cooking websites and apps out there, but there are a few that really stand out when it comes to baking and bread.
1. Proofing perfection
When using the proofer for a basic white bloomer, I set the minimum to 30 and the max to 30.1, then put my dough (in a bowl covered with cling film) in for at least two hours. Once your dough is twice the size, take it out and you can fold the proofer away easily into a cupboard. Alternatively, you can put the risen dough in the fridge overnight which will enhance the flavor!
2. Kneading your dough
When kneading a white bloomer dough in the Aucma, I turn it on for about five minutes at setting two.
3. Don’t weigh the bowl!
Make sure you pop your bowl (or whatever you’re weighing the ingredients into) onto the scale first, then zero it, so the weight of the bowl isn’t factored in alongside your ingredients.
First up, there’s Rise, an app that’s perfect for those wanting to learn how to make sourdough bread. While some recipes are available for free, the main features of this app are locked behind a pretty reasonable subscription: $3.99 /£3.99 / AU$5.99 a month, $14.99 / £14.99 /AU$29.99 a year, or a one-time payment of $19.99/£19.99/AU$22.99.
Not only does this app include lots of recipes for sourdoughs and other breads, but the paid version lets you schedule reminders to feed your sourdough starter, access recipes from other users, and estimate how long your dough needs to rise based on factors like hydration, salt, and temperature. If you’re only starting out, though, there are free resources for creating a sourdough starter and how to fold and shape dough.
If you’re less fussed about sourdough, check out Kneady. This is also a subscription service, but 50 recipes are available for free, including ones for boules, ciabattas, baguettes, and more.
Kneady Pro’s subscription costs are a bit confusing, but the current offer is £1 (roughly $1.27 / AU$1.98) a week for three months, £1.61 (roughly $2.05 / AU$3.18) a week for one month, or £0.58 ($0.74 / AU$1.15) a week for a year. This unlocks over 500 professional recipes, a bunch of baking guides, and even the ability to ask the author of a recipe any questions you may have.
2. Accurate kitchen scales
You’ve got your recipe, and now you need to measure everything out. This may seem very basic, but a good set of kitchen scales is critical in my opinion – with bread baking and anything else you cook.
While traditional kitchen scales can do the job, electronic ones are often more accurate and you don’t need to keep resetting them. If you’ve got slightly wonky electronic kitchen scales, it’s worth considering a replacement or checking the batteries.
Fortunately, a good set of scales don’t cost the earth, nor do they have to be super fancy. I recommend the Accuweight 201 Digital Kitchen Scales from Amazon, which RRP at $24.99 / £11.99 / AU$29.44 and will do the job nicely.
Weighing your ingredients incorrectly will have a major impact on your dough, making everything else much trickier.
3. A kitchen mixer with a dough hook attachment
A kitchen mixer isn’t essential to bread making, but if you have a recipe that requires you to knead dough, a mixer with a dough hook attachment makes the task much easier.
I recently got this 6.5 Litre Aucma Stand Mixer from Amazon (for $169.99 / £129.99 / roughly AU$257), which has a whisk, beater, and dough hook attachment. This isn’t a super fancy kitchen mixer but it does the job wonderfully, is very easy to clean, and has suction cups at the bottom to ensure it doesn’t slip all over your countertop.
If you want something more professional (and expensive), I highly recommend the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker, which is probably the only mixer you’ll ever need – but it’s pretty big and retails at £529.99 (roughly $672 / AU$1,046).
4. A convenient proofer
When I was a kid, my mum would put a towel over her bread dough and put it in the airing cupboard to rise. While this method works, it can be temperamental, so it’s worth getting a proofer if you want to make doughs that require proofing/rising.
When I came to the realization I needed a proofer (because it’s winter and my old Victorian house isn’t the best environment for proofing), I was worried about the cost – but then I found my secret weapon.
This Versatile Dough Proofer from Molgayol is $39.99 / £39 /AU$82 on Amazon and has been my bread-making savior. Now, it doesn’t look exactly like its pictures, but it works.
Essentially, it’s a yellow, foldable box (a bit like a picnic cooling bag) that comes with a heating pad, thermometer, and temperature control device. Simply put the heating pad in the bottom of the box along with the thermometer, plug it in, and then set the controller to the maximum and minimum temperature you want.
5. An electric carving knife
You’ve made your bread, and it’s cooled – so it’s time to see whether your hard work paid off.
While a standard bread knife can cut bread with no bother, if, like me, you make an absolute mess with a bread knife – with everyone getting a different-sized slice – you can make your life easier with an electric carving knife.
An electric carving knife isn’t essential but can be a handy kitchen gadget to have, especially at Christmas. I’m a fan of this one from Russell Hobbs that’s only £18.99 (roughly $24.16 / AU$37.57). Just make sure to watch your fingers!
