Can I Make The Old-Fashioned Sandwich Loaf In A Breadmaker?

Our answer

Nigella's Old-Fashioned Sandwich Loaf (from COOK, EAT, REPEAT) is a loaf with a soft, fine crumb. The texture comes from the ingredients used and the mixing method. The bread is not kneaded in the traditional way but is given three very short 10-second kneads, with a 10-minute rest in between each. The dough is then left to rise and is not "knocked back" in the usual way, but gently folded into shape before proving and baking.

Most breadmakers follow the traditional pattern of a long knead followed by a first rise, then a second short knead, followed by proving and baking. So we can't recommend using a breadmaker on a standard white loaf setting. You can certainly put the ingredients into the breadmaker and use the standard white loaf setting, but the texture of the finished loaf will be somewhat different. There are some breadmakers with custom programmes for kneading and rising, but most of these only allow for two periods of kneading in their cycle. This would mean having to do the last knead and first rise manually, and to us doesn't really offer any great benefit when compared with the manual preparation in the recipe method.