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Reconciling our Recipes with different size mixing bowls and Manufacturers stated loaf sizes

Most bread machines are currently promoted as being able to produce loaf sizes that are “small“, “medium“ and “large“, with some being described as “extra large“. The loaf and dough weights associated with these sizes are approximately 500g, 750g, 1000g, and 1200 g.

Our Recipes describe the amounts of the ingredients necessary. The resultant dough weight for each recipe is the sum of the weights of the Yeast, Premix and water used. The weight of a final bread machine loaf is typically about 12% less than the Dough weight, as moisture is lost during the baking process.

Our “large bowl“ recipes provide about one kilogram of dough, varying slightly to suit each type of Premix. As the majority of machines, such as the Panasonic SD200/206, Breville BB400, Sanyo SBM 20, and Sunbeam BM 001 have a similar bowl size, this quantity of dough gives excellent results.

Our “small bowl“ recipes provide about 600g of dough, varying slightly to suit each type of Premix.

However, different dough sizes are required where some machines produce a “medium“ loaf of about 750g of dough. This also is required if machines have 'odd' size bowls; and where different sized loaves or batches of dough are required for hand moulding and oven baking. Please refer to the directions below.

When a specific loaf weight is required, the weight of the amount of dough required to make that loaf is simply calculated by multiplying the desired loaf weight by 1.14.

To calculate the approximate weight of the amount of Premix required to make a specific dough weight, multiply the dough weight by 0.58 to give the desired Premix weight.

Then calculate the water required by multiplying the Premix weight by the suggested individual Premixes 'water rate'.

For example; say a 750g Loaf of Crusty White bread is required, where the “water rate“ of 0.69 is suggested in the Bread Density section of our Crusty White Premix pack instructions.

• 750 x 1.14 = 855g of dough is needed.
• Then 855 x 0.58 = 496g of Crusty Premix is required.
• And then 496 x 0.69 = 342 ml of water required.

Alternatively, a dough weight variation may be simply achieved by estimating the percentage of extra dough required above the recipe dough weight, and then increasing all of the ingredients by that same percentage.

Yeast quantities should be varied in line with the Premix quantity variation from the recipe. Best baking results come with experimentation.