How To Make Fantastic Pan Fried Chicken

Southern fried chicken is a classic American dish, offering almost as many ways to cook it, as there are families who eat it. However, no matter which recipes you choose, this guide can help you cook it better. Here are a few tips that will help you steer clear from the most common issues and get a great meal.

Start With Smart Battering

It is a good idea to set up a battering or breading station, depending on how you are making your chicken. The flour coated type is the most common. Set things up going in the most comfortable direction, with seasoned flour, egg/batter, and coating mixtures in baking dishes or shallow bowls. Remember to have a place to put the chicken safely when you are done.

It is a good idea to designate one hand for wet ingredients and another for dry to avoid cross contamination of your dishes. Get started by rolling a piece of chicken in flour, then coating it in batter. The wet hand can then be used to transfer it to the coating bowl and roll it in its coating.

Once all your pieces have been coated, you will want to give them time to rest, and for coatings to stick. If you will not be frying the chicken in a half hour or less, do this part in the fridge. This is not the only way to do this - you may have your own fried chicken batter recipe. If you prefer, use that instead to produce a recipe closer to what you are used to.

Successful Pan Frying

If you have ever had bad fried chicken, you know that there is a huge difference between crisp on the outside and moist on the inside and the soggy, greasy chicken that results from frying it wrong. The factors that are most likely to cause problems are the temperature of the oil, plus the way you choose to fry. Make sure you use a high smoke point oil such as peanut, melted shortening, lard, and similar ones that will not smoke when hot.

A cast iron skillet produces the crispiest, most golden chicken, but heavy steel or other materials that can maintain and distribute heat easily are also an option. Make sure the fat is deep enough to come halfway up your chicken, and is at least three hundred and fifty degrees. Oil that is not hot enough will produce an oily and unappealing result.

Lower the pieces into the oil with the skin side down to reduce splatters and work away from your body to keep spatter down. Use tongs and fry in batches to avoid overcrowding. A crowded skillet lowers the oil temperature and causes cooking problems.

Your chicken should be removed from the pan when the pieces are a rich golden color, then transferred to a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. This will catch drips. An instant read thermometer will allow you to check the internal temperature to make sure the chicken is safely cooked. Then you can start the next batch.

If you think fried chicken means you need a good southern fried chicken recipe then we have the recipes for you. SouthernFriedChickenRecipe.com home of great tasting fried chicken from around the world.

Enjoy Healthy Eating With Gluten Free Recipes

Getting away from wheat products can seem like a chore, considering how many foods contain wheat. They range from bread and wraps to cereals and anything with a thickener or a coating. While many companies continue to emerge offering gluten free foods, finding your own gluten free recipes can be a very freeing option, allowing parents to involve gluten sensitive kids in the kitchen.

They will not feature barley, spelt or kamut either. All of these contain gluten, but they would be safe for people avoiding just wheat. When baking or cooking for sensitive individuals, check all ingredients. Stock cupboards with gluten free baking powder, and watch out for baking mixes.

Bread and muffin recipes will want something to take the place of gluten, the main role of which is to keep the finished product from crumbling. Suggested ingredients include xanthum gum, guar gum and pre-gel starch. All of these can be found at health food and specialty stores, although as supermarkets become increasingly aware of the demand for gluten-free baking products, they will sometimes carry such things or will order them in.

Your choice of safe flours is actually quite long. Amaranth, tapioca and potato are just some. Compare them with all-purpose flour and see the difference. Regular wheat flour has a lighter, less grainy texture than rice flour for example.

Though experimentation will lead consumers to new ways of lightening recipes, many will still come out heavier than their traditional counterparts. Texture will differ also because in some cases the flour has a grainier quality. Mix flours together and see what works for you.

Certain tricks help give rise to bread products. One of these is especially popular with kids. Make sure you use a large bowl when combining yogurt with baking powder. The acid in yogurt reacts with baking powder, causing the mixture to bubble and rise. After a few minutes, transfer this brew to your muffins and fold in gently to see a tall, light result. In place of yogurt consumers can try using sour cream, buttermilk or soured milk in the same way.

For thickening a gravy or sauce, stock regular items such as cornstarch or tapioca starch. Use these safely as before. When creating a custard or thick filling in baking, make sure products such as custard or pudding powder do not contain thickeners with gluten in them. If you can get rid of all wheat from the kitchen, all the better. If not, at least dedicate a cupboard and label it up for safety.

Many gluten free recipes can end up tasting awful as I’m sure you’ll be aware if you have a gluten or yeast intolerance. Allergydiet.co.uk provide a variety of gluten free recipes, including gluten free bread recipes that have become extremely popular, purely on the strength of the recipes themselves.

What Are Fad Diets?

A fad diet is a trendy diet plan that purports to help you lose weight more often than not in a comparatively short time. A fad diet frequently attracts a lot of media coverage, which then attracts a large number of overweight people to try it in order to get back in shape. Fad diets are often quickly discredited, but they keep raising their head from time to time.

The grapefruit diet was or is an example of a fad diet. People wanted to accept as true that you could lose weight solely by eating. The food in this instance was grapefruits, but there is also a cabbage diet. The trouble with these fad diets is that their slimming effect is only temporary, because you cannot eat only cabbage or grapefruit for the rest of your life, so the weight comes back as soon as you go back to normal.

‘If you always do what you always done, you will always get what you always got’ is a true saying. But what is worse is that a lot of of these diets can be injurious to your health.

However, do not think that fad diets are a new phenomenon. Fad diets or fad medicines have an ancient history going back to fake witch doctors, medicine men and quack doctors who doubled as barbers! Fad practitioners have a long and scandalous history and they are still alive and doing very well, thank you very much, today.

These days, medicine is too tightly regulated for them, so they have turned their attention to susceptible, desperate dieters. Most of those that take up a fad diet are overweight teens longing to look like their favourite movie star.

Fad diets usually concentrate on reducing or completely eliminating carbohydrates. It is the low intake of carbohydrates that brings about the rapid loss of weight. In fact, this quick loss is due to the quick loss of water that these low-carb diets stimulate. Much of the fat might still be there, so that when you stop the diet, your body re-absorbs its normal amount of water and the lost weight is put back on just as fast as it was discarded.

In the normal course of events, carbohydrates are the basis of energy for work and activity, but with these fad diets, the carbs are no longer there, so the body begins to break down its store of fat. This may seem advantageous but it is not necessarily so. The ketones resulting from the breakdown of fat are excreted via urine and often increased quantities of urine, which can cause dehydration. People with certain medical conditions have to be very cautious too; diabetics, for example.

Fad diets are popular, but they can be very damaging to your body and when they do not work in the long-term, it can be very depressing leading to comfort eating. This is why many people start a fad diet, lose weight and are radiant for a month or two, but then slip back when they are getting near to their ideal weight. They go back to their old ways and the weight begins to return. They become depressed, convinced that they will never be able to lose weight; they comfort eat some more, maybe giving up any hope of regaining a normal weight permanently.

Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on many subjects, but is currently involved with lose weight fast and safe. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

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Traditions and Foods for Cinco de Mayo

Lots of residents in the US know a little bit about Cinco de Mayo. Some even celebrate it each year in one way or another. There are many who do not understand its history, however. If you were to ask an average American about why Cinco de Mayo is celebrated, they will likely guess it is Mexican Independence Day. That is not right. Mexican Independence Day falls on September 16.

During the 1950s, the United States had a program called The Good Neighbor Policy that encouraged Americans to reach out to our neighboring countries. Cinco de Mayo was first introduced to Americans at this time. In the 1960s, Chicano activists made the holiday more visible as a method to inspire cultural pride among Mexican-Americans.

By the time the 1980s rolled around, the holiday had been slowly growing in notoriety. Throughout this decade’s commercialism, Cinco de Mayo had been advertised as an excellent holiday to devote to drinking alcoholic beverages from American companies. It is because of these companies that Cinco do Mayo had become mainstream in American culture, although the true meaning of it, to celebrate Mexico’s victory against the French in 1862, was diluted.

As Cinco de Mayo became more mainstream, more Americans wanted to explore better ways to celebrate. They began researching the Mexican traditions, foods, and music that would make Cinco de Mayo a holiday to anticipate every year.

Today, Cinco de Mayo is a great excuse to really indulge oneself into all things Mexican. Partygoers can dress in traditional bright clothing, decorate their homes with the Mexican flag, sombreros, and chili peppers, and have a lot of fun with the day. Kids learn about the holiday in school and bring home more interesting bits of information to share with their parents.

Some people plan big parties for the 5th of May. It is no longer a holiday just for the Mexican community. People from all ethnic groups join in the fun. Some communities have festivals and parades to help the celebration mood. In some big cities, the celebration has grown to large proportions. Los Angeles, New York and Port Huron, Michigan are sites of very large Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

For those who prefer to celebrate closer to home, it is easy to make their own preparations for the celebration. They may cook Cinco de Mayo food, put up decorations, and listen to traditional mariachi music. Private parties are almost as popular now as the public parties held in restaurants, bars, and communities around the country.

If you have ever been curious about some Mexican recipes, Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to try them. Make some excellent food for you and your family to enjoy and share some of the culture of Mexico. Invite some friends over and have them bring snacks.

For those who like to go out, check out the local Mexican restaurants for menu specials and parties they may be planning. You can always go out for a great meal, margaritas, and dancing to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. If you prefer a quieter celebration, enjoy some home cooked tacos and pop Zorro into the DVD player. You do not have to do what everyone else does to celebrate.

Whether you prefer chicken, steak, fish or vegetarian food, fajitas make a great dinner because they come in all these varieties and you can even make fajitas with different fillings easily enough if your family do not all like the same thing. Fajitas make a nicely filling snack or dinner.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Mexican Seafood

When Mexican food is brought up, most people think of beef, chicken, or pork, not seafood. If you think about it though, Mexico has six thousand miles of coastline. With all that oceanfront property, seafood has got to be a big part of their menu. Mexico is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. The Gulf of Mexico also provides a good fishing spot. The amount of seafood caught in Mexico every year is substantial.

Ceviche is a very popular seafood dish from Mexico. Made with small pieces of raw fish, squid, or shrimp, the recipe includes onion, peppers, salt, and cilantro. The fish is “cooked” with lemon or limejuice. The citric acid in the juice changes the proteins in the fish just like cooking. Even so, some ingredients will be cooked for safety purposes. You can enjoy ceviche on its own or used as filling for a taco. It is also wonderful on crackers or tostadas.

Seafood can also be simmered in the Veracruzana style. This is a sauce preparation made with tomatoes, chilies, olives, and capers. The resulting dish is both tangy and spicy. This sauce is often prepared with red snapper or shrimp. Veracruz and its surrounding region are well known for this and many other seafood dishes.

“A la Plancha” is a Spanish cooking method that is also popular in Mexico. In this method, a metal plate is set on top of an open flame for grilling. Fish does not stick to the plate like it does to a grill, yet it gets all of the grilled flavor.

Winter produces a huge assortment of seafood from the ocean in Mexico. Seafood is eaten especially on Fridays, when meat is forbidden in the Catholic religion. Lent is another time when seafood comes to the forefront. It plays a large part in the religious celebrations each family observes. Every cook has their own flair of seasoning that they use at this time, no matter if the seafood is something rich and sumptuous or something humble.

When you are looking for dishes to make at home, do not forget to look for those that contain seafood. You may be surprised just how versatile it really is. Chilies stuffed with shrimp, spicy clams and delicious snapper await your eager taste buds when you prepare them like they are served in Mexico.

Choosing a Mexican food recipe like one of those described here will increase your enjoyment of the cuisine. Make seafood stews, soups, and fillings. Put fish or shrimp in enchiladas, chimichangas and many more of your favorite recipes. Around Veracruz, one popular dish is known as seafood and rice. This delectable meal is made with crab, clams, octopus, shrimp, and fish. You could also try seafood frittatas. You will love it when you bite into these eggs full of crab, fish, clams, mussels, and octopus.

Do not skip Mexican recipes just because they are for seafood. Mexican cuisine really knows how to make seafood taste amazing. Explore Mexican culture through the use of seafood and see what you discover. It will give you a new perspective and respect for this diverse country. Seafood really provides the perfect foil for the many spices used in Mexican cuisine.

If you like to ensure your family are eating healthy, nutritionally balanced meals, you should check out some Mexican recipes If you thought Mexican food was high in fat or calories, you should look at some traditional Mexican recipes which comprise mainly tasty fresh produce and nutritious fish, meat or chicken.

Veganism - Way Towards Health

In the beginning when Elsie Shringley and Donald Watson used the word “vegan” for referring to the non-dairy veggies, this life-style was taken to be really uninteresting. Some of the unsympathetic vegetarians detached themselves from this movement. The very act of veganism became a real health crazed idea. The diet of the vegans became all the more popular and specially with countercultural communities like those of the hippies, but still enjoyed its quite own individuality. With huge developments in the society, many vegans now plan to erase that self righteous reputation and promote the act of veganism as a really interesting and healthy life style. This will further aid them drive the attention of more and more people, thus contributing largely to the practice of veganism and to a vegan world.

The vegan life style likewise tries to be changing from being associated to self sacrifice to being associated with fun. The persons looking forward to turn in to vegans are actually more attracted to the environmental, ethical and health advantages. This life style often requires going deep into apprehending the conception more clearly. The vegan diet is as a rule a bit hard to follow and requires aid from the professionals and experienced vegans.

The people who are planning to turn in to vegans not just lay emphasis on the health benefits associated with the cause. Their main aim is to enjoy and lead a life that is purely cruelty free. The vegans also believe in the fact that lower consumption or no consumption of animal goods will aid into more use of the plant foods by humans than the livestock, thereby helping to have a better world to live in. Where everyone has something to eat.

These vegans also restrict themselves from utilizing the products composed from animals like leather, wool and silk as well as cosmetics and dyes. Even trading performed in wool silk and leather products for the Payless kicks in addition to hemp worked as a sacrifice for these vegans. These days, the vegan experts offer the grand aesthetic which is made trendy and cruelty free. The fashion designer, popular Stella McCartney uses imitation leather as well as natural fibers to offer her line of clothing collection.

A great number of people often ask the reasons because of which one must lead a vegan way of living.

The first and foremost rationality is that they perceive the ethical benefits of the vegan style of living and believe that they can do good to the globe by serving as a vegan. Enjoying vegan life-style contributes a lot in lowering down the demand for various animal products such as meat, leather, dairy products, gelatin and eggs. Even the employees working in companies which create animal products most of the times feel guilty of what they are doing to the animal race and to the whole world.

Some cruel acts that are practiced by hundreds non vegan people include having dirty and quite exiguous cages for the animals. There are times also when loads of animals like cows and pigs are shut in a single cage and that too with filthy living conditions, resulting in various health issues suffered by these animals and ultimately leading to their untimely deaths.

Another reason why various vegans pick to have their own lifestyle is for health advantages that the vegan diet can transmit. The vegan lifestyle is superior for one’s body as compared to the non vegan one. Eating habits of various vegans are literally centered on consumption of the foods items that are calorie free and rich in nutrients and vitamins. The vegan way of living can actually support any person remain fit, well nourished and trim.

Even this vegan life style can aid a lot to keep a person all fit and maintained. Proteins which are found in meat and cheese can be right on included in the vegan diet through the intake of tofu and legumes, which are a source of rich proteins. Likewise the omega 3 fatty acids that are found in fishes may be utilized in vegan diet due to the point that they are present naturally in flax seed. The vegan diet as a rule involves more of nutritional value than a simple diet that focuses more on the consumption of meats and cheese.

All in all, veganism proves to be a great life-style that is made to literally respect all living things equally. Vegans attempt to respect the feelings of the animals just like those of the humans. They attempt not to utilize any kind of animal product, be it fur, flesh, cocoons, honey, fiber, wax, feather, eggs or milk. The best part about veganism is that it does not use the animals for the sake of their own requirements or preferences. Not even the animal organs are utilized for any kind of experimentation. Thus, it is good to be a vegan and contribute to the health and moral development of the globe.

To find out more on vegan life go to www.vegtalk.org forums where you can join a group of amiable vegans, discover how to prepare nutritious vegan food and learn how to be healthy on a vegan diet.

Vegan Diet Plan - Healthy Wealthy And Wise

Restaurants ” Indulge yourself to a night out. Ethnic venues, in particular Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Chinese, and Mexican, are more often than not a good choice, as they offer a huge range of vegetarian and vegan meals.

Fast food ” Grab a hasty bite on the move. As a rule these chains offer a vegetarian dish. Select from: Tacos, veggie burgers, baked potatoes, pasta, falafel, salads and more. Vegans can order pizza devoid of the cheese but loaded with vegetable toppings, like peppers, mushrooms, olives and artichokes.

Supermarket chains and natural health food shops ordinarily have available quick vegetarian food items. Select from: Savoury pies, seasoned tofu, veggie burgers, chili, a broad variety of soups, and more.

Veggie convenience foodstuffs Create a meal consisting of some of the following items. You can add your own veggies, rice, noodles, cooked grain, wraps, or breads.

Mock meats ” If you like the tough feel of meat, there are many items that can be added to your meals. Select from bite-sized chunks of “chicken” or “beef”, meat analogs that are crumbly such as ground beef, or significant offerings like vegetarian “turkey” substitutes. It is a fine concept to try a few various brands, as there is a broad variety of styles and quality. Mock meats, nondairy cheeses and milks, and other vegetarian foods are retailed in most key supermarkets these days, and health food stores offer even more.

Tofu ” a pre-cooked soy produce that is splendid for picking up flavours from the veggies and seasonings that you cook it with. The firm way is best marinated, baked, or stir-fried. Soft tofu can be mixed to make creamy dressings, puddings, dips, and smoothies.

Tempeh ” a cultured whole soy produce offered at natural food stores. Fry till golden and crispy, then add to a dish or serve on the side with Dijon mustard.

Seitan ” a chewy meat-like produce made from wheat gluten. To be had at natural food stores. Canned items ” chickpeas, lentils, white beans, refried beans, hearty soups, etc.

Adjust the meals you presently make.. Breakfast and lunch are uncomplicated. Try muffins with fruit spread, toast, or cereal for breakfasts. Get on to sandwiches with spreads like hummus, veggie pate, black bean dip, nut butters, or white beans with lemon and garlic. Pasta, rice or potato salads, and even dinner scraps make impressive lunches.

Combined with light excersises, These meals are a great fast track to healthy weight loss as well. Ahh, The Benefits.

Cooking Perfect Steak

Sirloin steak is a cut that comes from the lower part of beef ribs. It continues from the tenderloin (the place where the most prized steaks come from) and is a high quality cut with a lot of flavor, since these muscles still do a reasonable amount of work. Sirloin has more flavor than a number of other steaks, and is divided into several different subcategories.

Out of these types, the top sirloin is the most prized. You are unlikely to get it unless you specifically look for it, since most sirloin steak is actually bottom sirloin. Less tender and much larger, this is more common and less expensive. The bottom sirloin is connected to the part of the animal called the sirloin tip roast. This is a good roast, but is often somewhat tough, so do not try to eat it as a steak.

Tri-tip steak is a strongly flavored part of the bottom sirloin, and is very lean, causing it to overcook if not paid proper attention. Sirloin pin bone steak is one that is cut from the front part of the sirloin. There is an oval pin bone inside that gives it its name. Sirloin flat bone steaks have flat back and hipbone pieces inside, as well.

Sirloin round bone steaks contain less bone than most other sirloin steaks, and are rather less fatty. Sirloin wedge bone steaks come from the rear of the sirloin, and contain a small wedge shaped bone. All these different types of sirloin steaks should be available at your local market.

Sirloin cuts tend to be lean, not as buttery and tender as higher end steaks, but with a deep rich flavor and lower price. They work well when prepared using dry heat, meaning that pan frying, roasting, grilling, sauting, broiling and similar methods are a good choice for cooking sirloin steak. Different parts of the sirloin will require different treatment, and sirloin steak cooking methods will depend on which part of the sirloin you are going to be cooking.

Make sure you buy only sirloin that is red and clear in color - that is the color that normally purplish beef becomes when air hits it. Make sure your sirloin is cold and tightly packaged, with a firm feeling to the meet and a reasonable sell by date. Make sure it is in the coldest part of the refrigerator for storage, and keep it only a few days. Fat can be trimmed before or after cooking.

Your steak will be done to medium rare when the internal temperature is 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and well done at 165 degrees. Turn steak with tongs only, since forks can cause juices to escape, and allow steak to rest five to ten minutes before serving to preserve juices.

Steak should be broiled two to four inches from the heat source, and will take eight to ten minutes, while grilled; lightly oiled steak will take six to eight minutes. Pan-broiling takes a little longer - thirteen to fifteen minutes or so.

How To Use Dairy Produce: Part 4 - Eggs (cont).

Basic Preparation Of Foods: Dairy Produce.

Eggs: Part Two

Poaching: boil 1.5 inches (40mm) water in a shallow pan; add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of vinegar. Crack an egg into a cup, check and tip into boiling water. Reduce the heat. Gather the white around the unbroken yolk with a spoon and continue to simmer for another 3-4 mins. Lift out with a draining spoon and serve on warm buttered toast.

Scrambling: beat the eggs well; add salt, pepper to taste and a dash of milk. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a small pan. Cook the eggs slowly, stirring continuously. Cook in a basin floating on boiling water, if preferred. Serve when almost completely set, in about 5 minutes.

Fried Eggs: Melt enough butter to easily cover the bottom of (a|the frying pan. Tip the egg(s) in gently and fold the whites around the yolks. When the white has set, baste the yolk to taste and remove whole with a draining spoon.

Baking: lightly grease a fireproof dish and slide eggs into it. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and butter. Bake in a moderate oven and serve in the same pan after the whites have set.

Omelettes: buy a pan and keep it only for omelettes! The base should be smooth and clean. Allow two eggs per serving; whip lightly and add salt and pepper to taste. Melt enough butter to cover the bottom of a frying pan. When the butter is fairly hot, pour in the beaten eggs; as it sets, raise the handle and draw the set mixture up towards the handle, allowing the liquid egg to run down onto the hot pan. When all the liquid has set, tilt the pan back and roll the omelette up. Serve immediately on a hot plate. The omelette can be filled with almost anything, before being rolled over.

Pouring Custard: beat 2-3 eggs for every one pint of milk lightly. Heat the milk and pour gradually over the eggs; add sugar and flavouring to taste; cook in a double pan or jug and hot water until the required consistency has been achieved. If it is not to be served immediately, pour a thin layer of water onto it to prevent a skin forming.

Baked Custard: proceed as above and then transfer the custard into a greased dish; sprinkle lightly with nutmeg and place dish in water to halfway up its sides. Bake at 350 F for 35-45 mins; test its solidity by inserting a knife - it should be clean on removal.

Steamed Custard: as baked custard, but cook in a steamer or pan of boiling water. The cooking time is about the same too.

Custard Tarts: pour pouring custard into unbaked pastry cases and bake in the oven for 40-50 mins. A little jam can be placed in the bottom of the case first, if desired.

Should You Use Bread Machine Mixes In Bread Making Machines?

Do I think that bread machine mixes are useful? Yes, some of them are, but the snag with all bread machine mixes is that they place limitations on your choice and do not encourage your creative talents. That may sound odd, but think about it for a while. If you depend on bread machine mixes you can only make the bread for which you can buy a bread machine mix and you can only tip the bread machine mix into the bowl and switch on the bread making machine. You are definitely not likely to alter the bread machine mix for fear that it won’t work.

OK, what is the alternative? Well, the old-fashioned recipe book, of course! Not just any old recipe book, but a special bread making machine recipe book. Bread making is a very easy, but very tiresome process. The ingredients are ubiquitous, everyday, household items: water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar and oil. You most certainly have those items in your kitchen with the possible exception of yeast, which can be bought in any super store for very little money and it keeps for ages.

And you know what happens when you follow a recipe, don’t you? You’ve read the recipe through and you know you have everything in the kitchen, but when the recipe calls for, say, currants, you open the cupboard door and see that you don’t have any currants - they were sultanas! Oh, well you think, they’ll do. You make do. You experiment. You are developing your skills and creativity. Bread making mixes cannot do that for you.

A good bread making machine cookbook will have well over 100 recipes originating from several countries and you will get really enthusiastic about trying the different ones out. Have you eaten Welsh bread - Bara Brith? Or Amish bread? Cajun bread or onion bread? Banana bread is lovely too, but one of my favourites is Brazil Nut Bread - absolutely scrumptious.

The point is that you may not find recipes for all these breads in one place, but if you have a reference point, like a bread recipe cookbook, you can start off by using tried and tested gourmet bread recipes and gradually concoct your own - sometimes out of necessity.

I once made a fantastic loaf by adding all the left-over vegetables from my Sunday lunch. It was lovely, but I could never quite reproduce it, because I did not write down the weights and measures. I could only remember that it had green beans, potatoes and sweet corn in it!

Bread machine mixes will never in a million years give you that, will they? And bread machine mixes are fairly expensive compared to the cost of 10 pounds. I usually vary the ingredients too: honey instead of sugar, milk instead of water, olive oil or butter instead of just corn oil. Rock salt instead of sea salt or visa versa. You get the picture.

Bread machine mixes are not only limited but limiting too. Furthermore, a bread making machine is a great way to use up leftovers. I have added meat and fruit in my gourmet bread many times. My guiding principle is: if it’ll go in a sandwich it’ll go in the dough - like an Indian stuffed paratha or stuffed naan bread.

Save your money by not buying bread machine mixes and be creative with a bread machine recipes cookbook.

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