I am a huge fan of silicone bakeware. Non-stick, pretty much indestructible, versatile and squashable for easy storage it ticks many of my Fuss Free boxes. It does not do for everything, but for muffins, and bite sized bakes it is my preferred bakeware. I also regularly use my silicone muffin trays to freeze egg whites, and individual portions of strewed fruit, pasta sauce, herb oil etc.
We were recently sent a selection of items from Lékué who offer a massive range of silicone items; including a bread maker, silicone mat, bite sized brownie and sticks moulds.
The Lékué Bread maker (£29) is a multi-purpose silicone mixing bowl and cooking container. Ingredients are weighed directly into the bowl for initial mixing, but once the dough comes together kneading is more effective on the counter top. The dough is returned to the bowl for the initial rise and proofing after knocking back and shaping. Finally, the loaf can be baked in the bowl: either in its round shape for a boule, or with the top clipped together for a longer loaf. The accompanying recipe book suggests doughs using between 250 and 400 grams of flour.
The advantages of the bread maker are that it’s an all-in-one piece of cookware, reducing washing up and storage requirements. I found that mixing the dough in the flexible bowl was a little less straightforward than in the more usual mixing bowl, but I did like the way that the bread maker produced a nicely shaped loaf without the need for a proving basket and baking stone.
Stages of making bread in the Lékué bread maker
- 100 g strong white flour
- 100 g strong wholemeal flour
- 50 g rye flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp dried yeast
- 166 ml water
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Place all the dry ingredients into the bread maker and mix well. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together.
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Hand knead the dough on the counter top for about ten minutes until smooth and pliable, and then return to the bowl, clip the top together and leave for about an hour, or until doubled in size.
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Take the bread out, stretch and fold in thirds, then repeat. Return the shaped loaf to the bowl to prove for about half an hour, again with the top clipped closed.
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Bake for about 40 minutes at 220C / GM7, opening the bowl for the last 10 minutes of cooking. When done the bread will sound hollow when tapped.
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We also loved the Lékué sticks maker (£15) – simply whisk a batter together of flour, egg, yoghurt, olive oil and pipe into the mould with the Decomax (£18.30), pop into the microwave and within minutes you have golden crunchy sticks perfect for snacks and dipping. We’ll be experimenting lots more with these one.
We feel that all of the Lékué range is well made, robust (unlike some very thin and flimsy items on the market and of good quality, we are fans and have bought items in the past. They seem relatively expensive compared to other silicone items, but you do get what you pay for and the items do last (I have had my muffin trays for well over 6 or 7 years now). All items come with recipes and full instructions.
Many thanks to Lékué for the samples. All opinions are our own and we were not obliged to write a positive review.
London Unattached
sounds like good stuff! I know in a london flat space is of the essence and anything that helps save space is a great find
Helen
Anything that either saves space, or can be squished into a corner!
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy
I love Rye bread. We have a great little bakery stall near my house that sells it, but I am yet to make my own.
Helen
the trick with rye and indeed wholemeal is to get 100% white wheat spot on and then start experimenting with the other grains.
Madeleine Morrow
My husband has been making our daily loaf for many many years in a breadmaker. Always uses wholemeail flour and will now suggest he adds in some rye too.
Helen
Go for it! Just a little rye and build it up.
Janie
You are spot on that you get what you pay for with silicone, I had a very cheap & rubbish loaf tin that would collapse whenever you put anything ‘wet’ like a cake mix in it. Nightmare!
Janie x
Helen
The trick with silicone is to pinch it. If it goes white on the crease it is not 100% and will not perform well.
Jacqueline
It’s such a good idea isn’t it. I am loving their products!
Helen
Really really love my silicone, and the fact it squishes!
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry
I have been hearing about them recently and it seems like a fab range.
Helen
I love them. Must experiment more.
Choclette
That looks to be a lovely loaf you’ve knocked up there Helen. I’ve used my bread maker loads now. For no-knead it is just fantastic.
Helen
Thanks! Must get back to grips with no knead!
Nayna Kanabar (@SIMPLYF00D)
The bread looks delicious as does those sticks.Nothing beats the smell of homemade bread.
Helen
the sticks are a great idea. perfect for dipping!
Katie Bryson
Great review Helen – what an innovative product for making bread! I’ve got the bread sticks mould and am looking forward to giving it a whirl next week as the boys will love it i’m sure. I tried out the rice and grain cooker last week and was really chuffed with it as a hassle free way of cooking rice.
Helen
I always use a microwave rice cooker as it cuts down the time for brown rice to 14 minutes.
Tina @ The Spicy Pear
Now here is a gadget I would love to get hold of. I enjoy bread making and this would be a very useful space saving tool.
Helen
It is a very useful gadget.
Jan
Nice products and the bread look lovely. I love the bread sticks mould.
Helen
the bread sticks mould is great!
Janice Pattie (@FarmersgirlCook)
It’s a clever device, and your loaf looks great.
Helen
Love my silicone bakeware!
Lou, Eat Your Veg
Sounds like a lovely bread mix. Very impressed with all my LéKué products so far and the bread maker looks spot on. Intrigued by the microwave breadsticks mould too, we seem to get through a lot of them in our house and haven’t as yet considered making my own.
Helen
Love the LéKué! The sticks are great for dipping, but a bit of a faff, it gets speedier with practise.