Bread problems

Hi Nick,

It is very likely that you did not allow it to rise sufficiently.

It is important to remember that the temperature of the dough (and the surroundings) will have a profound effect on the time needed. Cooler dough takes (much) longer (and, by the way, will produce bread that tastes better.)

All the best,

Maybe you should reconsider your scones also if they are dense.

Hello, Guess what I just baked just the perfect bread I had been dreaming of. After learning all my mistakes I've come up with some really good pointers. So soft and light in texture, melting in mouth. The tips for good bread are in the order that I realized in my experiments till date:

1. When measuring the flour, spoon, measure and level. What it means is that, DO NOT measure it by scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour, this way there is a lot of compression and you get more flour than needed. So what you do is take a spoon or scoop and pour it into the measuring cup lightly. Do not try to tap the cup it might make the flour settle and make room for some more. And finally after you fill up the measuring cup, use a straight edge(like the wrong edge of a knife) to level it perfectly.
2. Measure the water/other liquids very precisely as if for a titration.
3. Level the salt, sugar, yeast and other ingredients precisely too.
4. Maintain a good warm temperature for the dough to rise.
5. Very very important: Always keep the dough airtight with minimum airflow, not to let the air flow which may dry up some of the liquid.
6. Shaping after the first rise should be done as gently as possible, as if it were a flower.
7. Never tear the dough for the portion sizes, always CUT it with a knife. and there you go. Let me know how your next batch comes up. Good Luck!

Well, you've come up with a method that works well for you and your recipe, but the truth of the matter is that you've missed the issue.

You found an issue that achieves correct hydration for you, it may result in very high hydration for someone else with another recipe.

The issue is that the amount of flour in 'one cup' varies greatly depending on the method, and people penning recipes rarely tell you what method they use.

For best, most reproducible results, measure flour by weight.

Some may disagree. I prefer room temperature water, but two additional factors in my kitchen are a 25 year old mixer that runs a little hot, and the fact that i prefer to slow-proof in the fridge.

Yes, oiled plastic wrap right on the surface of the dough works best.

Depends when you shape it.

When i make bread, it gets portioned and shaped right out of the mixer. The dough has a long, long time to relax in the fridge, so it doesn't seem to matter how rough i am with it.

When i make pizza crust, it rises once in the mixer and then gets beat down by the dough hook before portioning, gets rolled into a ball, and then most of those go into the fridge as well. This turns out a little sour, which is exactly what I'm going for.

Thank Sakhiya, those are very good pointers! I always bake my own bread, rolls etc. and I know what it feels like to come up with the perfect bread. :-) The best teacher is your own experience. Well done!!! Elly

Plus, the relative amounts of flour and liquid will vary depending on the weather on the day you're baking and on the humidity where the flour's been stored. I've found it's important to check out the feel of the dough as it's mixing to determine if I need a little more water or flour.

To me, baking is more about biology and art than it is about chemistry and drafting.

Priscilla

You forgot altitude.

I just do it for the chicks.

Indeed, according to what I'm reading.

LOL! I do it at home with the cats watching. No chicks. ;-)

Priscilla