Hollywood or Bust!

I tried SCaz'smuffins this weekend - very nice and juicy, and couldn't taste the beetroot.  I think in my oven they took slightly under the recommended time as the tops were a bit dry and the bottom burnt on a couple

Bear, you're always after an excuse to get your hands on my muffins, but I resent being told I have a dry top and a burnt bottom

If anyone can tell me the secret to cooking on gas I would very much appreciate it.  My hobs seem to burn everything.  The rings are either on or off.  There doesn'tt appear to be a low setting.  Gas is supposed to be so controllable *strops*

Just had my first shot since I was a kid at home made bread - it came out tasting delicious, but it seemed not to have much height to it.  Maybe I've just become too used to shop bought loaves but this one was about three inches high (so about the height of the tin.

If this is how it's meant to be then fair enough but it puffed up so much during the rising and proving that I was sort of expecting it to do the same during cooking.

Any ideas anyone?

My mum makes amazing bread - every time you visit her house, you just want to stand there inhaling the amazing smells!

But she does cheat a little bit and uses quite an expensive bread-maker - the benefit is, though, that it has a timer on it so she loads it up in the morning, we all go out for the day and, bingo, beautiful fresh bread when we come back.

Maybe try a different recipe XFR Bear? I think bread generally should rise above the tin... Either that or I'll nick my mum's bread-maker for you... What's that old saying? "Run like you stole something..."

I only bought it yesterday so it should be.  Plus it rose okay when I left it.  It said it the back to slice into the risen dough and it did fall back quite a lot then but didn't rise again

I actually have a  breadmaker SLB but I fancied taking a bit more "by hand" approach

oops that should say "in the book"

I often find that bread doesn't rise much in the tin.  The quality of the yeast is important and you can't necessarily go on the price.  I find Hovis awful, Sainsbury's ok and Tesco's the best.

Also lots of breads are not supposed to come over the top of the tin.  Generally the quantities you make are much smaller than for the bread you buy in the shops so the loaf won't be as big.  If you are making a standard loaf and using a standard loaf tin then I would generally expect it to come close to the top but not above it.

Yup it's a standard loaf tin.  It did taste jolly nice - I could happily have eaten the loat.  Didn't feel massively dense like you might expect if it was meant to rise a lot more.  Then again it didn't look like the pictures.

It rose so well when I left it to rise so I don't think it's the yeast unless it died off somewhere between that and cooking - could it get too hot to work?  I did leave it in front of the fire so maybe so.

I might well have another go tomorrow

And take them using a loaf cooked in a smaller tin to make it look bigger

i fancy making bread now.might ask steve to kniock that machine off his mother...

Can anyobne recommend a really good roasting tin.one that can go on gas mark 9 if needed and still leaves all the non stick on the tin not on the food

hmmm not sure Seren - all mine say not above 230 which I believe is under gas mark 9.

I had a second go at the bread - managed to stop it dropping so much after the second rising bit so the loaf is about 50% higher.  It's delicious - but still nowhere near the shop bought ones but I'd take it any day (except it goes off to quickly and I'm single so no-one to share it with most of the time).  Slightly burnt on top - then again I'm using the top oven as my bottom one is busted.  Might try dropping the temp a bit until I get round to getting a new cooker

I'm going to get fat trying all the scrummy sounding recipes

I've had a look and none of mine will go to gas mark 9. I know that my mum has some from years ago that can go and remain at the temperature but the make has rubbed off.

@XFR - what did you do differently this time to make it rise? Did you look at how much salt you used?