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Need bread advice

Hello...I asked this question in rec.food.cooking, and they told me about this group.

My wife and I are on a quest to make 100% whole wheat bread that isn't dense.

Okay, the first two times my wife made this, it came out perfect. It rose nice and big, and it turned out very light and fluffy.

Ever since then, using the exact same recipe and methods, it has been dense and flat. Can anyone help?

100% Whole Wheat Bread

4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast (or 2 packets)

3 cup warm water, divided 2 Tbs sugar 2 Tbs oil 4 tsp salt 3 Tbs vital wheat gluten (this is what makes it fluffy without the white flour) 5-6 cup whole wheat flour 1 Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water. Add a pinch of sugar, if desired. In a large bowl, combine remaining water, sugar, oil, salt, gluten, and 2 C whole wheat flour. Stir mixture until smooth. Stir in yeast mixture until smooth. Slowly add 3-4 C more whole wheat flour, 1/2 C at a time, mixing in each addition before adding the next. Knead on floured surface for 10-12 minutes (or knead with stand mixer on speed 2 for 10 minutes, which is what I do!).

2 Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with warm, damp towel and let rise for 1 hour. Punch down dough, divide in half, and form into loaves. Place each loaf of dough in an oiled loaf pan and cover with warm, damp towel to rise for 1 hour.

3 Bake bread at 400F for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temp to 350F and bake another 25-35 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
Reply to
Anonymous
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You don't say anything about how high it rose each time. I would suspect a yeast problem. Are you sure you yeast is fresh? Did you carefully note the size of the dough when you set it to rise and after it had risen? Your recipe doesn't say anything about how high the dough should be expected to rise (usually it should double or nearly double). "Let rise for 1hr" is far too vague; the recipe should specify a size. Also small temperature variations (in the room or the water added) can make a huge difference in the action of the yeast. The recipe calls for "warm" water. That's too vague -temperature can be critical. You should get a new book (unless you have lots of time on your hands -and money for wasted food). I'd recommend "The Bread Bible" or "The Bread Baker's Apprentice". Also Kneading for 10mins in a Stand mixer -especially when the dough batch is so large- may be too long. You should stop when the dough passes the "Window test" and is about 77-81degrees - a fixed time may not be good all the time. Also I'd advise you to get a digital scale and use a recipe that gives measurements by weight not by volume (as both books mentioned do). Let us know when you get it figured out.

Patrick

Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com wrote:

Reply to
pjc999

I would agree: if nothing in the recipe has changed, the first culprit I would look at is the yeast. Another thing that can go wrong is that your kitchen is too cold- you don't get the same rise as quickly in a cold kitchen. It sounds like a good recipe thoough. I'll try it this week and report.

Reply to
Cavebutter

Thanks! The book arrived yesterday, and today my wife made the best WW bread I've ever tasted.

Reply to
Anonymous

Thanks for updating us. Glad to hear the good news. That book is really a great investment...

Patrick

Mitch@this_is_not_a_real_address.com wrote:

Reply to
pjc999

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