Maureen in Florida

February 24, 2015 at 11:38am

Fabulous article. The pictures made all the difference. I've been baking, off & on for ten years & I've never baked a successful loaf of bread. I've tried, white, 100% wheat & a mix of both. My last endeavor, I used 100% whole wheat & again I failed. However, for the first time ever I did achieved a loaf that was more than 2" high. This time my loaf was 4" high but, dense, bland & too moist. Here's what I did. Perhaps you can see where I've gone wrong. I adjusted this receipe to address a previous failure & to accommodate my lack of ingredients. When you have failed as much as I have...you go through a lot of ingredients quickly. 3-1/2 c ...100% whole wheat 1 c ... Warm water (decreased by 1/8 c) 1/4 c ... Olive oil (substituted for veg. oil) 1/3 c ... Corn Syrup (substituted for honey) 2-1/2 tsp ... active dry yeast 1/4 c ... Apple sauce (in place of dry milk & my attempt to add flavor) 3/4 TBSP... Course Salt (increased from 1-1/4 tsp to add flavor) 1/3 c ... dry grated parmesan (another attempt to add flavor) First I proofed the yeast in 1 cup warm water, with all the corn syrup, for 5 minutes. Yeast rose above measuring cup. I mixed in the dry ingredients. Then I added the wet ingredients & mixed until a ragged dough was formed. I smooshed down the dough & covered it. I let it rest for 2 hrs to try to soften the grains. The dough doubled & I kneaded it on a lightly wheat floured surface, adding wheat flour sparingly. In about 10 min's the dough became soft & elastic. I placed it in an oiled bowl, covered it & let it rise for 2 more hrs. The dough doubled again. I placed it on an oiled surface. Then I kneaded it for a few seconds before using my hands to flattened the dough & roll it into a log, pinching the seam & ends. I placed it, seam side down into a well oiled, 9.5 x 4.5 straight sided, aluminum foil pan. I covered it & let it rise until the center crowned 1" above the pan rim (it took 1 hr). In a preheated, 350 degree oven, I baked it for 10 min's uncovered. Then I baked it for an additional 20 min's, tented with foil. Finally, I baked it an additional 5 min's to brown the crust. I immediately removed it from the pan & placed it on a cooling rack. I tapped the bottom & it sounded hollow. I noticed it kept it's height but, only half of the crust browned. Also, the brown half of the crust peeled off. The crumb was very dense. It tasted no better than my previous wheat bread attempt & was too moist, almost doughy in the center. I know I've given you a lot of info but, can you help me make a successful loaf of bread? Thank you!
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