May 14, 2016 - 4:25pm
Reducing the recommended sugar quantity
I have just made the best looking and best tasting loaf on my Breville breadmaker to date. 50% wholemeal and 50% white flour. The only downside is that the bread is too sweet for my taste. The recipe stated to add one tbsp of caster sugar for a 750g loaf.
If I reduce the sugar quantity by 25% or 50% is it likely to affect any of the other ingredients and spoil the makeup of the loaf?
Thanks
Bonsai2
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Not at all.
Hi tgrayson
Thanks for the advice.
Bonsai2
Hi Bonsai2,
Great to hear that you are pleased with your progress with your bread machine. Well done.
The sugar in most recipes is designed to give the yeast a kick start, but instant dried yeast in good condition shouldn't need it, particulary if the water added to the bread pan is at the recommended temperature. Nor is sugar necessary if you are using flour improver.
I'm not sure how much of a taste difference 1 tbsp of sugar is going to make, but if you think the loaf is too sweet then there is more sugar than necessary. Omit it. If the loaf still tastes too sweet and your machine has ligh/medium/dark loaf settings consider using a darker setting, because I think that will have more effect on the final taste.
Hope that helps and happy baking!
Colin
Thanks Colin for the advice. I will also try the darker settings.
The recipe included two tbsp of sunflower oil which may also add to the sweetness. If I replaced the sunflower oil with 25 g of butter, might I need to increase the amount of water, currently 350ml?
Thanks
Bonsai2
You don't need to add water if you switch from oil to butter. Butter is a mixture of fat, milk solids and water. The amount is small, so I don't think adjustments are needed to substitute one for the other.
Thanks, KathyF
I will try loaf No: 4 tomorrow.
Bonsai2
You are welcome. How about switching the vegetable oil for a nice olive oil to the same volume? Might add a slightly more savoury flavour, depending on what you want to use the bread for.
Happy baking and do post about loaf #4. Colin.
I switched to butter from sunflower oil for loaf No: 4 and reduced the sugar to one teaspoonful resulting in a better less sweet loaf.
Will now try the Olive Oil without sugar for loaf No: 5.
Thanks again.
Bonsai2