This easy recipe for a basic malted brown loaf will become your to go recipe whenever you make bread.
Good bread is one of life’s greatest pleasures, I think that the Pythons got in wrong in the Life of Brian, and really it should be the bakers who are blessed. With just a little skill, and practise, it really is very easy to make good bread at home, the trick is to use all your senses to assess the dough – sight, smell, touch, taste and the sound it makes when you knead it. Bread is visceral, you need experience to know when it is ready for the next stage of the baking process. Recipes are very useful but flour, yeast, proving temperature, water, style of kneading all make a huge difference to the proving and the finished loaf. But please do not be scared of making bread – it is both satisfying and rewarding and is a skill that will stand you well for the rest of your life – the only downside being that you will start to look down at commercial bread and wonder why you ever bought or ate it.
We made our loaf in the Tefal Cuisine Companion, cooking food processor, whose controlled knead speed and proving temperature take some of the bread variables out of the equation leading to more consistent results for the inexperienced baker.
- 300 g whole meal flour
- 300 g malted white bread flour
- 400 g lukewarm water
- 1 tsp dried instant yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
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Place the kneading/grinding blade in the bowl of the cuisine companion.
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Add all the ingredients, and knead at speed 5 for three minutes.
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Then set program P1, which kneads the bread for a further two and a half minutes before a forty minute bulk raise at 30 degrees.
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Using a spatula or scraper, get the dough out of the bowl and roll into a cylinder shape the size of your loaf tin. Oil the loaf tin, and place the dough in it.
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Cover the tin with a plastic bag or shower cap and put it somewhere warm, but not hot, for a second raise for about 45 minutes.
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Place in a pre-heated oven at 220°C for 40 minutes. The loaf is cooked when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
The Cuisine Companion is Tefal’s cooking blender/food processor, competing against the likes of Thermomix and the Froothie Optimum Thermocook. At its most basic the machine cooks whilst it either stirs or chops. It offers sauce, soup, slow cook, steam, pastry and dessert programs and comes with four different blades: cutting, mixing, whisking and kneading. The bowl is large enough for most household tasks, with a capacity of 2.5 litres. A steamer basket that fits inside the bowl is also supplied.
It’s controlled using an easy to understand touch screen control panel on the front. The simplest way to use it is by the pre-set programs: for example, there are two soup programs, program 1 for a smooth soup and program 2 for a chunkier option. We’ve found that the best way to get to grips with machines like this is to thoroughly read the instructions, and then make a few simple recipes that are supplied with the machine. The Tefal recipe booklet contains 300 different recipes (100 first courses, 100 mains and 100 puddings) that they advertise can be combined into 1 million menus; we feel that this is more of a mathematical construct than serious dietary advice, but there are some tasty looking dishes included, such as fig, ham and walnut cake, classic risotto (the Tefal is especially good for risottos), polenta, vegetable couscous, classic custard, and hollandaise sauce.
A gadget’s utility depends a lot on how much time is saved by using it, and the Tefal does particularly well here, mainly because it’s dishwasher safe: an essential for us. We also thought that it is robustly built, and the control panel is easy to understand whether using the pre-set programs or going off-piste and rolling your own. We also liked the way that each blade easily drops onto the central spindle, making it straightforward and safe to swap them to use the right blade for each job – when we made risotto, the plastic stirring blade kept each grain whole rather than blitz them down to a mush.
It is a good solid machine and is especially good for the classic one pot type dishes – stews, casseroles, risottos (when we were first testing we made risotto 3 three times a week). It makes prep a breeze, simple drop in the ingredients, chop them, fry or sauté them, then add liquid to cook. It is perfect for the busy family, you can set the cooking time and walk away leaving the Cuisine Companion to safely do its thing. It has a handy keep warm function so is perfect when family members are coming and going and eating at different times.
I was impressed with the whisk – it whipped up a huge pavlova in a matter of minutes, I’ve also made smoothies and soups in it, as well as an impressively smooth custard.
However, we did have a few niggles. Temperature control is to the nearest five degrees, so it can’t be used as a sous-vide substitute, unlike the Froothie (temperature control in the Cuisine Companion is impressively steady). We’d like a larger valroma style steamer attachment as the Thermomix and Thermocoook have.
The maximum operating time is 2 hours, so it’s not really a replacement for a slow cooker. The way the lid locks on means that the bowl can’t have a defined spout which makes pouring smoothies and soup difficult. The small cap in the main lid doesn’t let much steam out, meaning that frying takes far long then it does in a conventional pan.
We also think that compared to the minimal bowl design of the Thermomix or Thermocook, it is slightly over engineered, the lid contains a seemingly unnecessary extra plastic dish, and the way the plastic is attached to the cooking bowl means that the mouldings fill with water in the dishwasher.
With the addition of a spout, simpler bowl design and full manual control over time and temperature (to the nearest degree) this could be our ideal cooking food processor. For busy mums with a family who enjoy classic one pot dishes, it has the potential to become trusted second pair of hands in the kitchen.
Tefal Cuisine Companion is currently retailing at £699 with a three year guarantee, John Lewis are currently offering a free additional bowl with purchase.
For another perspective read Dannii’s review.
You might also be interested in Lucy’s review of the Tefal Cook4Me – a multicooker with pressure cooker function.
We received a Tefal Cuisine Companion for review. All opinions our own.
Thank you for the recipe, I’m hoping to try to make new breads this year
I love home-made bread, and am fortunate to have some to make it for me.
Such a gorgeous looking bread. I love baking and would love to try this one out. Bookmarking!
I love a good loaf!
I love how simple this is! Makes me think I should start making my own bread :0
Go for it. It is such a good skill to have.
I was just thinking about making homemade bread this morning! Brings back good memories when I smell a loaf baking in the oven! I have not tried a malted loaf before, very interesting!
SO often Ed gets a loaf in before I get up – lovely to wake up to freshly baked bread
I completely agree that good bread is one of life’s pleasures; I’m addicted to bread, especially fresh out of the bread machine. There’s nothing like that smell of homemade bread! This malted loaf looks fabulous!
We’ve never had a bread machine, but do like having something to knead it.
This looks like a good all-purpose bread – perfect for sandwiches, I bet. Although, I’d like to toast a piece and top it with some tomato and avocado :)
Of that sounds good. I love avo on toast.
I knew I shouldn’t have looked at this post – now I want one of those machines, fab!
It is a really good machine. Perfect for a busy family.
I am gluten free and salivate over the thought of real bread! This looks so good, I’m sure my family would love it but I would be far too jealous to watch them sit and eat it!!
My mother used to make bread every Monday. It was the best tasting bread ever.
MAry
Home made bread always is the best.
I love baking bread and there is nothing better than that warm bread smell. Sadly my bread maker died last year and I’ve fallen out of the habit of making my own. I think I need to invest in this
Kara, with your large family you would love a Cuisine Companion.
I can almost smell the fresh bread! Do the love the smell :) We love a fresh loaf and use our breadmaker to make them :) I must say that Tefal cuisine companion looks like a fab product!
Love fresh bread. The Cuisine Companion is a good machine.
This looks so much better than our old bread maker, which leaves big holes in the bottom of the loaf. I can almost smell the fresh bread…..
the secret is in the hand finishing of the loaf. Knead by machine, shape by hand.
That looks delicious Helen! Definitely need to make my own bread more x
It was amazingly good!
Looks like a pretty cool toy! I’m new to the world of multi functional kitchen gadgets so already have a kitchen full of gizmos.
But for those just setting up home, or with a small amount of kitchen storage space this sounds perfect to buy instead of having a cupboard full of different single use items.
Janie x
It is a good solid machine, needs a few tweaks, but it has real potential.
I’ve never made my own bread before but you’ve really made me want to now, there’s something so wholesome about it isn’t there? Your food photography is fantastic by the way.
I love homemade bread – once you start to make it you will never buy any again.
What a brilliant machine! I love the way the house smells when homemade bread is baking, yum!
It is a really useful piece of kit. Needs a little refining but it has potential.
THat’s a good looking loaf, and so much easier than doing all the kneading by hand. Not as easy as a bread machine, though, but a more versatile machine!
It is certianly far more useful than a bread machine. We really like kneading by machine and then shaping by hand.
That looks like a useful looking machine.
It really is!
I really must try baking, but it seems so difficult. I bet that loaf is nice with butter and marmalade, though.
Go for making some bread! It really is very easy.
That looks like a versatile heated blender. I like the different blades.
those blades are super swift to swap for one another.
This looks absolutely amazing, what a great companion to have in your kitchen if it helps to produce something like this x
I think that is is more aimed at families, but it is like having another pair of hands
I usually bake sweet bread, such as brioche, but your malted loaf looks delicious and I should definitely try it! :)
I’ve not made brioche for ages. I must bake one!
This looks great, im really bad at making bread unless its soda type bread but i will have to give this one a go. :)
I think the hard thing is knowing when it is ready to be knocked back or baked. A class really does help.
I absolutely love fresh bread! I haven’t made any in a long time as we usually take a walk into the village to the bakery instead.
Well if you have a good local bakery then it is worth supporting them.
Well hello gorgeous! I love a good malted loaf and quite frankly would eat this by itself because I bet it is that good!
There is nothing like a lovely fresh loaf of bread is there?
Oh you just can’t beat freshly baked bread, this looks delicious!xx
Love freshly baked bread!
Having an artisan bakery avross the road from my house is not conducive to making bread anymore but I do pop on a loaf from time to time and I love the malt version you have here. I tend to use my kitchenaid for kneading. It’s easy and fast. I’ve never heard of this gadget. So versatile. I think it would be perfect for my cousin who starts uni soon. They are so lucky nowadays aren’t there? I went to uni with a frying pan, saucepan, plate, bowl and some spoons!
It is perfect for our cold kitchen in the winter for proving dough.
Looks perfect – and the recipe looks straightforward. I don’t have a cuisine companion but I’d love to try this in any case.
Love a good homemade loaf of bread
I love homemade bread, and this cool gadget will certainly make it fun and easy!
We love the Cuisine companion. So easy to use and not just for bread.
That Cuisine Companion gadget looks cool. It looks nice and compact, and I love that it has different accessories.
It is really really useful, not quite perfect, but if you do not want the sous vide functionality it is an excellent gadget.
I love baking bread! This whole grain loaf looks perfect for sandwiches. I’ll have to check out the Cuisine Companion, too. It sounds like it really streamlines the process!
It is a really good, once you have one a cooking food processor becomes an essential!
I would love to this a try. I have an antique blender/ cooker but have never used the cook setting. It doesn’t have any of the other attachments either. I love that you can bread with it, seems like it will save a lot of time, which is key!
It is the best thing for making risotto with rice, or any other grains, I have been storming through the stockpile of different grains since having it.
That machine looks interesting! It does so many functions…I’ll bet I could find a lot of uses for it. I do like to let the bread machine do the hard kneading work for me, and this looks quite useful. Thanks for your honest comments about its many pros, and just a couple of potential cons.
I look forward to seeing what they do it if and when they update it. It is interesting how these machines are popping up.
I totally agree that freshly baked bread really is the best. But I am TERRIBLE at making it and my OH needs nagging to bake us a loaf. My biggest issue is proving so I am VERY impressed that the Tefal Cuisine Companion has controlled proving temperatures! Might it just solve all my bread making problems?!
If you are struggling do a bread course – bread varies so much according to temperature and the weather and you have to know how it feels for it to be right.
Omg I haven’t baked bread in ages and I’ve always loved a malted loaf! Bookmarking this! Thanks for sharing!
Oliver x
I love baking bread, so relaxing.