- Pregnancy
- Baby & Toddler
- Parents
- Getting Pregnant
- Baby Names
- Product Reviews
-
Registry
- Community
-
More
Want a personalized experience?
Download the free app
Stay at Home Moms
Those who do Artisan bread... or bread bakers in general
Anyone make the light whole wheat sandwich bread (the one that is just water, yeast, salt, and 1 cup of ww flour replacing the white)? Do you find that the bread is really dense? Mine comes out very dense, and I'm wondering if I should use a different yeast or more yeast maybe? Or do I maybe need to use the mixer longer? For how long do you let the mixer go? I use a Kitchen Aid, and I just let it mix for maybe 2 or 3 minutes max.
For those unfamiliar with the recipe, it's 1.5 T or yeast and salt to 3 cups water to 6.5 c flour. I'd love to hear from bakers how you would adjust to get a more airy bread.
On the same topic, the book says you can store the master recipe (or the whole wheat for that matter) in the fridge for 2 weeks. I find this bread comes out flatter in the artisan shape or even more dense in a bread pan. Do you find the same?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Those who do Artisan bread... or bread bakers in general
I haven't made this particular bread recipe. But my suggestions would be to knead the bread before putting the whole 6.5 cups of flour in. Maybe do 5.5 cups, then knead it and add in a bit more at a time until you get a nice elastic dough. It may be too much flour.
How many times do you let it raise? I have never used a mixer for bread before, so I can't answer that. Do you proof the yeast first?
I don't like the sandwich bread recipes for my kids. They are way too "dense" and not soft at all like regular sandwich bread, so my kids won't eat it. I like it, but I don't need a loaf of bread that won't be eaten.
I find that the bread comes out BETTER the later you wait to use it. My last loaf is always my best.
I just let it raise once. What does it mean to proof the yeast?
This is the "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" - it's a "no knead" bread. You don't need to "proof" the yeast at all. It proofs in the fridge. It's a very wet mixture.......
Got ya. Like I said, I wasn't familiar with the recipe at all.
OP, proofing the yeast is just putting the yeast in a bowl with warm water and sugar for like 10 minutes or so. It makes it foamy before you add it to your bread mixture. I usually let my bread raise once, punch it down, form it in the bread pan and let it raise again before baking it. That is for regular bread though. I have never made this kind so I don't know if that will help.
Whole wheat bread is always really dense compared to white bread. I haven't done the 5 minutes a day thing either, and I don't know much about the no knead method. I usually knead my whole wheat bread until it can stretch thin enough I can see light through it before it breaks. White bread gets even more transparent. Rye bread gets less.
Anyway, I would experiment with adding different stuff to the mix. My kids are more likely to eat wheat bread if I put some cinnamon, walnuts, and raisins in it. It still makes good grilled cheese and PB&J bread that way. DH likes it when I put the remainder of his cereal box in it (no joke). I also agree with Harriet that it tastes better if you let it sit. It's not sourdough, but just a little sour if you mix the yeast, water, and half the flour the night before. Then add the salt and other half of the flour in the morning.
yes. It makes it less "sticky" when you finally work with it......
Add vital wheat gluten. I would start with 1-2 tbsp of vital wheat gluten and work your way up. You may never get the exact texture of sandwich bread with a no knead recipe. I have not been a big fan of no knead breads for whole wheat breads which is mostly what I make.