Bread making advice required

Paulgul_2

HTML MessageI'm a beginner at bread making and although the bread I make tastes good I feel the texture could be a bit lighter. The recipe and method I use came from a magazine and is
500g white strong flour, 300ml (approx) warm water, 2oz butter, teaspoon of salt and sugar and quick acting yeast, after mixing I knead for 10 mins, prove for 20 mins, knock back, knead for 5 mins, shape and prove for 30 mins. Cook for 30mins at gas 7. Both proving is done in a warmish kitchen at around 65 to 70 deg F
I would guess I need to prove longer, is it better to make the 1st or 2nd proving longer or both? I've heard its possible to over prove, what sort of time are we talking about to over prove at this sort of temperature.
Thanks, Paul

spend_thrift

I'm no expert, although your recipe looks very similar to mine. I found that my bread was lighter when I started using olive oil instead of butter.

Also 20 mins for that first prove is not long at all. It should be more like 45 mins to an hour. Has your dough doubled in size by the end of 20 mins?

How do you combine your ingredients? Do you add the yeast and sugar to the water and let it start to froth a bit before adding it to the dry ingredients?

If you put everything all in together at once you might find that you're just not giving the yeast long enough to leaven the bread properly.

I think over-proving is when the yeast have reached their peak and the dough starts to deflate as they produce less gas. You'd probably notice that your dough started to look a bit flaccid and possibly wrinkled? I'm getting out of my depth now so I'll stop there LOL :rotfl:

Paulgul_2

Thanks for your quick reply,
the butter is added to the flour to form a crumble, the yeast, salt and sugar are mixed in before adding the water. It sounds as though I need to extend the proving time as you suggest
Paul

wiseways

As far as I know ordinary flour makes for lighter bread. This is my recipe:

2lb flour
two serving spoons olive oil
two teaspoons dried yeast (mixed in warm water with 2teaspoons sugar)
20 fluid oz warm water

mix flour with oil, then add yeast mix then add water.
leave to rise for one hour covered with oiled clingfilm to stop drying out
knock back and put into two 1lb tins (cover again and rise for 20-30 mins)
bake in pre heated oven at gas mark 7 for 30 mins, then turn out of tins and bake for a further 10 mins to brown underneath and sides. Turn out of tins on wire rack to cool.

It always works for me and my friends say it makes the nicest toast.