Panasonic Breadmaker - Bad results

[Twentyseven]

I have a Panasonic Breadmaker and I follow the instructions very carefully but most of my bread comes out dense and sometime wet. I made sourdough recently and it was very dense. I have bee through all the normal reasons, i.e. flour, yeast etc etc, but nothing seems to change it. Any ideas?

 

[foxhole]

I have a Panasonic Breadmaker and I follow the instructions very carefully but most of my bread comes out dense and sometime wet. I made sourdough recently and it was very dense. I have bee through all the normal reasons, i.e. flour, yeast etc etc, but nothing seems to change it. Any ideas?

Using strong bread flour ?
What type of yeast?

 

[Twentyseven]

Yes, I use strong flour and Allinsons Easy Bake Yeast which are all new.

 

[Mottie]

Yes, I use strong flour and Allinsons Easy Bake Yeast which are all new.

Are you putting them in the machine in the right order? Yeast first, flour, salt, sugar, water, oil or butter?

If not, the machine may be faulty. There’s a whole thread on here about repairing them. https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/panasonic-bread-maker.350833/

 

[Twentyseven]

With my bread maker you put the ingredients into various compartments in the machine and it releases them when required.

 

[Deleted member 294929]

I have a Panasonic Breadmaker and I follow the instructions very carefully but most of my bread comes out dense and sometime wet. I made sourdough recently and it was very dense. I have bee through all the normal reasons, i.e. flour, yeast etc etc, but nothing seems to change it. Any ideas?

You have come to the right place. There are a good few wet dense posters on here.

 

[Mottie]

With my bread maker you put the ingredients into various compartments in the machine and it releases them when required.

What model is it? How old?

 

[Twentyseven]

SD-ZB2512

 

[Mottie]

Might be a silly question but have you tried their customer support chat/phone lines?

 

[Notch7]

SD-ZB2512

I think that’s the model I’ve got.

I tend to use this recipe, which is 64% hydration:

400g flour
256ml water
20g olive oil
6g salt
6g sugar
5.6g easy bake yeast

I use accurate digital scales that measure the small ingredients to 0.1g

I use menu 1 set on Medium and dark crust.

Or rapid menu 2

I use various strong flours, usually a mixture of white and wholemeal, say 300g white and 100g wholemeal.

I would try a white loaf first, wholemeal is more difficult to get a good rise and baked through.

I tend to use Lidl cheap flour or Wessex mill or Waitrose.

I have had failures with both yeast and flour -some flours just don’t want to rise and yeast can go off quite quickly

 

[fillyboy]

I bet Roy bakes a nice Bloomer.

 

[securespark]

I had this issue a few years ago.

The solutions seem to be split into issues with the machinery and issues with the ingredients.

I discounted the mechanical issues as the main one was a dysfunctional paddle, which was OK on my machine.

There are a couple of points of failure with ingredients.

Flour with weak gluten.
Old yeast.

At the time I had my baking issues, there were some UK grown flours that had weak gluten, compared to US and Canada grown crops.

So I bought a different flour and it didn't seem to make much difference.

Then I read two things. The yeast, even though it may be long life and in date, keeps better when refrigerated.

I also read that the bake could be improved by adding a little vinegar or lemon juice. A similar product (Ascorbic acid) is used as a flour improver in commercial bakeries.

At the moment, I have consistently good results using Aldi's own brand of dried yeast (that I keep in the fridge) and Aldi's own brand of strong bread flour, either wholemeal, white or a mix.

I put the yeast in the bottom of the pan, followed by the flour. Then I put the salt, sugar, fat and cold water on top.

Good luck!