August 12, 2016 - 4:11am
My bread is too much like a heavy cake!
Hi there people,
I wonder if anyone can help me. I have a bread-maker and I put all the correct ingredients in (I chose French style), switch the machine onto the correct settings and although my loaf comes out in the end looking really nice, it is very heavy and more like a cake than bread!If you were to look at a photo of my bread, it looks fine but it's actually too thick & heavy for what I want.
I want a french baguette style loaf of bread that is a lot softer inside but I don't know what ingredients I am to add more of or less of in order to achieve what I want.
So, any of you nice knowledgable people out there have any ideas to help me please? Thanks!
Lee.
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Have you got a list of those ingredients?
How about trying a different recipe that may contain milk and/or fat.
Sounds like you got a French style bread but wanted "Wonder Bread."
Might try repeating the recipe and dial to something else.
Hi Mini Oven!
Thanks for you reply! :) Well, I have been using a morphy richards fastbake breadmaker and in its instructions for making a 2lb (907g) loaf of French bread it states I need to use 300ml of water, 2 & a half tablespoons of skimmed milk powder, 1 and a quarter tablespoon of sugar, 1 and a quarter teaspoon of salt, 1 and a half tablespoon of sunflower oil, 4 cups (576g) of strong white bread flour, and finally 1 and a quarter teaspoon of fast action yeast.
I have religiously placed the exact quantities stated into my breadmaker and although the finished result looks good, it's way too heavy and 'thick' if you know what I mean? I originally made the basic white bread but that was too heavy and thick so I thought I would go for the French style bread in the hope that it would be lighter and more softer, but it turns out very much exactly the same!
Any ideas please? Thank you!
Two cents worth. first a baguette is not and easy thing to make and second, baguettes (at least in my and I think many enthusiasts share this opinion) are better when made with the traditional 4 ingredients - flour, water, salt and yeast (sourdough or bakers yeast).
Anothe point, following recipes to the letter is not always a good thing. You're better of understnding the goals of each step. That particular recipe sounds like it is a bit low on yeast. Generally about 0.8% is needed for french style bread which is about 5g in your case.which is closer to a teaspoon. If you added say half a teaspoon of active dry yeast you should see considerable rise within 1-2 hours. Actually rapid rise yeast in my experience results in really foamy bread (I don't like it 'foamy' but that's way better than dense bread).
Maybe check your recipe and find some queues as to what each step is aiming to acheive and take some liberties to make adjustments :)
Ah, I didn't see this comment at first!
Thanks for your 'two cents' worth. :)
I was not actually trying to make a baguette, my first loaf turned out very thick and heavy so I chose the French 'baguette style' bread in order to get a loaf that was more lighter inside but it didn't work. It still came out the same. I am very very new to making bread and I haven't a clue when it comes to what ingredients does what, which is why I found this forum and asked the knowledgable people on here for their advice.
Thanks for the advice. :)
The first is that you have tasted authentic French or Italian baguette shaped loaves, those have a crops/crunchy crust and somewhat light and chewy interior. They are "high hydration" recipes which means that they have a huge amount of water in them compared to regular recipes. Home bread machines cannot duplicate that style/recipe because they were designed purely for convenience.
The second possibility is that you enjoy the super lightweight supermarket breads (a.k.a. wonder bread). This is created by using industrial mixers that force a lot of air into the dough, they also add chemicals to make etch dough stretch out more. Those loves are very lightweight and soft because they are mostly air. You can't reproduce that lightness or texture with home appliances.
Gourmet breads are generally dense, somewhat chewy, with a crisp or crunchy crust. The lightest gourmet bread I had enjoyed are the French/Italian high hydration baguette shaped loaves. If you want to make those you will have to learn ho to make them by hand. Check out the "Lessons" page listed at the top of this page for clear instructions on how to do it. Its fun and enjoyable to make it with your own two hands.
Ah hello Bob!
Thanks also for your reply. It looks like you replied just as I was responding to my other reply. Yes, I guess it would be best if I could actually try doing some of my own bread making in the proper way rather than relying on a breadmaker and I may well try that in the near future, it's just a shame that I can't simply add (or take away) a certain amount of 'something' in order to make my bread in my breadmaker a bit less heavy because if I can't then it seems to be a waste of money as it doesn't make bread as I was expecting it to be. :(
2lb (907g) loaf of French bread
Hydration... Lets take a look at the flour... :)
576g / 4 = 144g ..a very heavy cup of flour check to see what your cup of flour weighs if not using the scales. (I often use 125g to 130g to convert so I come up with 4.6 cups of flour. 4 of my cups would yield a wetter dough.
300ml / 576g x 100 = 52% ...very dry for a bread flour should be at least 55% to 65%
If I wanted to up the hydration to say 60% to run a test loaf.... then up the water to 350g and see what kind of loaf it makes.
If it is still very heavy, try increasing the water in 25g increments (1Tbs.+ 2 tsp) or 375g (65%) or go for 400g (70% hydration)
Hi again Mini Oven!
Thank you for your suggestions which I have just read. I will try what you suggest and hopefully get back to you with positive results. :)
heavier crumb, you might also try sticking to the 52% hydration and using AP flour instead and then slowly up the hydration with each loaf to find the right one for the flour.
Bread flour is good for loaves that need longer working times with retardation and slow ferments to weaken the sturdy gluten matrix. AP, All Purpose flour is often underestimated.
Oh, and if you find that right inside texture but the outside crust is too soft, pop it into a hot oven to crisp before serving.
Thanks again for you suggestion Mini Oven.
I will get some all purpose flour next time I go shopping. (Shame I didn't know yesterday because I done my weekly shop!)
So, I will give the new flour a try then like you suggest if that doesn't work I will up the water slightly until I get the desired results. Thanks! :)