Dense bread: solution?

Discussion in 'Other Conversation' started by Actressdancer, Feb 25, 2013.

  1. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    I tried a new brand of flour and it's just not cutting it. I bought 3 bags on Friday because we make a loaf a day (at least). It's not rising like it normally does, no matter how long we leave it, so I'm wonder... more yeast? The recipe we use calls for 3 cups of flour to 2 1/4 tsp of yeast. It also calls for adding 1 tsp of gluten if you aren't using bread flour. So I guess it's two changes: new flour and the addition of gluten. Anyhow, how would you adjust?

    I'm not good at this bread thing. :(
     
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  3. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    Whet flour or white flour? How old is your yeast? Do you proof it first? Was your water (or other liquids) the right temperature?

    The gluten should enhance the rising, not slow it down. And the amount of yeast is good, too. It shouldn't matter not using bread flour.
     
  4. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    White flour (unbleached). Yes, it was proofed. The milk is temped using a thermometer. I'd have to look, but I think it's 75*. Yeast first two bad loaves used yeast I bought 2 weeks ago. The next few were from a band new jar (with a good date).

    (We do it on the dough setting in the bread machine. It comes out like a rock, only rising a little. Then we let it rise a second time in the bread pan. Same method as before. The only thing that's changed is the flour and addition of gluten.)
     
  5. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    75° is low for breaking bread. I would suggest the liquid to be between 100° and 120°. But if the yeast was proofed, it shouldn't have made a difference.

    OOH!!! You use a bread machine!!! Then I'm afraid I know nothing about that! I could never get a consistent loaf from a bread machine! But you would think that if you're just using it for the mixing, it wouldn't matter...?
     
  6. Brooke

    Brooke New Member

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    How much salt and sugar does it call for? If it is low sugar or high salt it can make it more dense/less rise.
     
  7. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    Ok, here's the whole recipe. But, again, keep in mind that the first dozenish times we made this bread, it was perfect. I mean, really perfect. The ONLY things that changed once it was no longer perfect was the flour (bread to regular) and the addition of gluten (called for if not using bread flour). I just need to know how to compensate for the lousy flour.

    1 cup of milk, warmed to 75*
    4 TBS butter, melted
    2 1/2 TBS sugar
    2 tsp. salt
    3 C bread flour or
    3 C all purpose flour + 3 tsp gluten
    2 1/4 tsp. dry active yeast
     
  8. Brooke

    Brooke New Member

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    I've never added gluten, so I have no idea how that affects rise. It seems like it has a salt/sugar combo that would not lend itself to much rise, though. More gluten would seem to me to make it stick together and therefore be more dense. Have you tried it with the cruddy flour and no added gluten yet? (sorry if I missed that)
     
  9. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    I haven't tried skipping the gluten. We'll do that in the AM. I've been using the dud loaves for baked french toast (since the eggs soak the bread all night, it works well). It's disappointing to the boys, since they're doing most of the work, but it's not going to waste.
     
  10. Blizzard

    Blizzard Member

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    Have you tried sifting the flour before measuring?
     
  11. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    Always.
     
  12. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    NEVER! Though if you remember Jeff Smith's cooking show on PBS a good number of years back, he said you should never make bread by a given number of cups, but by weight. He says humidity, etc. effects the weight of the flour, and it's the only way to get bread consistent. I've never done that, btw, and my Amish Country White Bread comes out consistently excellent every time!
     
  13. Actressdancer

    Actressdancer New Member

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    Ug. That sounds like my husband. Man takes ONE semester of baking at Culinary School and suddenly everything I've ever done is wrong. :roll:
     
  14. Blizzard

    Blizzard Member

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    I do know that weight is the better way to measure flour, I was just trying to come up with something different to try seeing as what she typically does isn't working with the new flour. Bread machines are so touchy! Seems like once you find something that works, you have to stay with it exactly.
     

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