Soft Fluffy Bread

kah22

I've been baking my own bread for years now but the other day I was in M&S and on a whim bought a farmhouse bread which was reduced and I have to be honest and say I liked it. Brought back memories so to speak.

However, I do realise that a lot of commercial breads are stuffed with additives which don't have to appear on the package. Some sites I've looked up suggest adding eggs, others dried milk, I've even come across one suggesting adding a little baking soda.  What's a man got to do?

Have you made soft fluffy white bread like you'd buy in your local bakery?  I really would appreciate it, post it here or PM me.

Many . 🍞🥖🥐🥯🥨🫓🥪 thanks

Kevin

MattMattMattUK

I have found that softness in bread usually relates to fat content, so adding some butter or oil makes the bread softer, he point one adds it also makes a difference. If adding it at the start then it tends to somewhat impede gluten formation, the bread does not seem to fluff up as much, but I have actually tried mixing it in after the first kneading the bread for 10-15 minutes without butter, then kneading in the butter for another 5 minutes, followed by the normal rise, knock back and rise again. Do not use too much butter though or you will end up with a brioche. 

I found dried milk, or substituting some of the water for milk made the bread rise more, I presume because of a higher sugar content, and did change the texture. Eggs make it more of a cake and a very different texture, much more like a sponge that has not risen well. 

Baking soda makes it rise more, but you also need to make sure the bread rises well and does not collapse, combining yeast and baking soda together do not really work.

The other thing is a lot of commercial bread is not yeast risen, it is either risen by baking soda or steam, both of which impart different flavours and textures on the bread. 

Personally if I want soft bread I tend to buy it, I usually make my own for everything else, though I do buy a baguette sometimes as the Waitrose ones are really good and I have never quite got the right at home. 

DullGreyGuy

kah22 said:

I do realise that a lot of commercial breads are stuffed with additives which don't have to appear on the package. 

Rather big accusation that companies are breaching food labelling laws, there are very few things they can legally leave off the label, the most notable one is water. 

How are you making your bread? Oven or bread maker? Are you introducing steam to the oven at all?

For the absolute softest bread you cannot beat Japanese milk bread but it's a bit more of a faff to make than other options. Short of that milk (powder) is good and not adding any fats to start with, if you really want to include some fat then make it something that'll impart a desirable flavour (eg butter) and only right at the end. 

-taff

I've been making bazlama, a turkish kind of flatbread, with yoghurt in it, it's lovely but I would say use bread flour, not plain flour, it's much nicer. And they are very soft. I've had three goes so far, yoghurt works better than milk, bread flour is better, and don't knead again after it's risen, just flop it out and stretch into shape.

I think it was 2 cups flour, 2 tsp sugar, 2 tsps yeast, 125ml warm water, half cup of greek yoghurt [or plin I suppose], I had 5%, two tbsps olive oil [ or whatever oil] . Dissolve sugar into the water, add yeast, leave for ten minutes to start working, add flour, salt and room temp yoghurt, and olie oil, mix, it should be a bit sticky, add another tbsp olive oil once mixed and knead in the bowl a bit until smooth [ not vwry long] put some olive oil around bowl and on bread, leave for an hour, take out, roll into four or five balls, leave for ten minutes, flatten into whatever size you like depending on the thickness you want it, cook in a dry thick bottomed frying pan for a few minutes each side, it will puff up a bit..

I ended up leaving mine to prove for about three hours [ unaviodable circumstances] and then again for about half an hour as balls] But they did make very nice breads, we've had them two nights running as accompaniement to spiced chicken..

annieb64

I used the whey from straining my last batch of yogurt in bread and it was  lovely and soft.

kah22

DullGreyGuy said:

kah22 said:

I do realise that a lot of commercial breads are stuffed with additives which don't have to appear on the package. 

Rather big accusation that companies are breaching food labelling laws, there are very few things they can legally leave off the label, the most notable one is water. 
. 

I was wrong, carried away, by the rage of additives in the loaf. I accept that all ingredients have to be listed by weight

martindow

kah22 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

kah22 said:

I do realise that a lot of commercial breads are stuffed with additives which don't have to appear on the package. 

Rather big accusation that companies are breaching food labelling laws, there are very few things they can legally leave off the label, the most notable one is water. 
. 

I was wrong, carried away, by the rage of additives in the loaf. I accept that all ingredients have to be listed by weight

That is true of packaged bread, but not for bread and rolls sold loose is it?  

There are also certain things added during commercial bread making that do not need to be declared if they are classified as processing aids according to this

https://www.sourdough.co.uk/additives-including-preservatives-enzymes-emulsifiers-and-bread-improvers-that-are-approved-for-use-in-bread-the-uk/

Sarahspangles

kah22 said:

I've been baking my own bread for years now but the other day I was in M&S and on a whim bought a farmhouse bread which was reduced and I have to be honest and say I liked it. Brought back memories so to speak.

However, I do realise that a lot of commercial breads are stuffed with additives which don't have to appear on the package. Some sites I've looked up suggest adding eggs, others dried milk, I've even come across one suggesting adding a little baking soda.  What's a man got to do?

Have you made soft fluffy white bread like you'd buy in your local bakery?  I really would appreciate it, post it here or PM me.

Many . 🍞🥖🥐🥯🥨🫓🥪 thanks

Kevin

We make all our own bread too, I think that the fluffiness of that kind of ‘batch’ loaf starts from a slightly wet dough combined with steam in the oven.

Most of our loaves are seeded wholewheat or rye but I like the occasional milk loaf or brioche. Especially nice with buttermilk instead of water….

JIL

M & S bread is really good.
However we are competing with the impossible. The conditions to make their soft fluffy bread will be far superior to anything we have at home.

Like a previous poster says make your own but treat yourself to something exceptional every so often.

I suggest a focaccia bread for fluffy. 

Mnoee

I use yudane for a supersoft loaf - this site explains it well, and is also a great site generally for bready things. There's a YouTube channel too, if that's more your thing! https://www.chainbaker.com/tangzhong-yudane/

bouicca21

JIL said:

I suggest a focaccia bread for fluffy. 

My focaccia comes out fluffyish but that’s at least in part because it is a really slack dough.  I too would occasionally like a nice white bread, but so far haven’t been able to make one.  I’m intrigued by the idea of using buttermilk or yogurt instead of water, so think I will give that a go.