Heavy bread

homerdog

marmitepotato wrote: »

I had a bread maker which I used on and off for a year. What I can't understand was why the recipe called for milk powder to keep the loaf fresh, because after one day the bread was like a brick and totally indelible. I now make my bread using my Kenwood, I don't used milk powder in the recipe and the resulting loaf lasts about three days...

Anyway, I digress! OP, are you kneading it for long enough? Are you proving it for long enough? I don't bloom my yeast as stated above, I just use dried yeast. Its all trial and error, it took me a few attempts to get it right and I also had to come on here and ask for advice. The advice I got was very good.

It's my husband that really likes to have a go at bread, I think maybe we aren't kneading it long enough, about 5 minutes on speed 2 of kitchen aid - would that be enough? We tend to leave it in a warm or sunny room until roughly doubled in size, anything from 1 - 2 hours, maybe more if not grown or room not quite warm enough. We will keep trying...thanks.

homerdog

Swan wrote: »

the OP's not given much information, we could speculate endlessly, but some basic questions first

if a bread machine's being used ...

it could be something as simple as the machine itself, some makes/models just don't make good bread & will always turn out 'housebricks' and/or 'cake' & nothing you can do will improve their performance

you must follow the instructions to the letter, weigh/measure ingredients exactly & put them into the machine in the order specified for your model


if handmaking ...

what recipe are you using?

is your dough moist enough? a stiff dough will be hard to knead properly & won't rise well

is it warm enough? are you letting the dough rise/prove enough before baking? it's possible to cold rise dough, but it needs extra time


& for both ...

what flour are you using?

is your yeast active? just test a little, once established, no need to test every time & if it is active store it well sealed in the fridge to keep it viable longer


come back & tell us more OP

Thanks...we have tried many different recipes, used various strong plain bread flour, used dried yeast (usually) and twice fresh yeast...we wont give up tho, think maybe it's the kneading and proving not long enough.

marmitepotato

homerdog wrote: »

It's my husband that really likes to have a go at bread, I think maybe we aren't kneading it long enough, about 5 minutes on speed 2 of kitchen aid - would that be enough? We tend to leave it in a warm or sunny room until roughly doubled in size, anything from 1 - 2 hours, maybe more if not grown or room not quite warm enough. We will keep trying...thanks.

I turn my Kenwood on to the slowest speed whilst I am adding the warm water, then turn it up to number 4 ( kenwood s speed is 1-6) so it's pretty quick. Anyway, no 4 for just over four mins, then I cover and leave it to double in size. Then, knock it back with your dough hook for one minute on the slowest speed, then put into the loaf tin and leave to rise again. I leave mine for an hour or two. Then into the oven on 200c for about 30 mins.


Keep at it, because you will eventually get it right, but it's trail and error. What recipe are you using?

homerdog

Thanks for your help, we've been practising and worked out we needed to mix for a little longer, then proove a little longer and lastly bake a little, fingers crossed we seem to have managed a decent loaf at last.