Help With Perfecting my Recipe for Slicing Bread ....
I've been experiementing with many bread recipes since May, 2011. My breads are coming out tasty, and very nutritious (!!!), but when slicing, falls apart.
I could using some advice on how to adjust my recipes so my bread will slice better without falling apart. I like to have lots of fruit (and sometimes Yams or Nuts). What should I change to get a bread mix that will hold together better for slicing ... ???
Here are the last two recipes I baked up (five bread pans each):
*** First Batch with no Bananas
1) 1 cup Corn Meal
2) 1 cup Corn Grits
3) 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4) 4 cups Oatmeal
5) 12 Eggs
6) 5 cups Milk
7) 1 pound Butter
8) 3 Green Apples
9) 3 Mangoes
10) 3 Peaches
11) 1 quart Yams/Sweet Potatoes
12) 3 tsp Salt
13) 5 tsp Vanilla
14) 8 tsp Cinnamon
15) 1 tsp All Spice
16) 1 tsp Ginger (ground)
17) 5 tsp Baking Soda
18) 8 tsp Baking Powder
19) 1 pound Walnuts
*** Second Batch with Bananas and dried Cranberries (no Nuts):
1) 1 cup Corn Meal
2) 1 cup Corn Grits
3) 4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4) 4 cups Oatmeal
5) 12 Eggs
6) 2 cups Milk
7) 1 pound Butter
8) 1 Green Apple
9) 1 Mango
10) 1 Peach
11) 14 Bananas
12) 1 quart Yams/Sweet Potatoes
13) 3 tsp Salt
14) 4 tsp Cinnamon
15) 5 tsp Baking Soda
16) 8 tsp Baking Powder
17) 4 cups dried Cranberries
How are you mixing it all?
You may want to do an extended knead on the dough (flour, eggs, milk, grits) before adding the fruit, to try to build some gluten. Gluten will add strength and sliceability. Without gluten, it will be crumbly like cake.
Your recipe seems less bread than fruitcake :)
I first mix together the dry ingredients in a large 8-quart metal mixing bowl, all by hand. The wet ingredients are mixed together in a spearate bowl, then I slowly add to the dry ingredients.
and maybe it should be cut more like a cake than bread.
How about reducing the butter?
Wish I knew more about how the ingredients are combined...
Got this in metric? I thought they used grams in California. :)
Why reduce the butter? Four cubes isn't that much for five large loaves.
I don't use metric. In fact, nobody I know uses metric.
It may sound really simplistic but it made a difference with some of our more "fruity" breads. A serrated blade was able to cut through grapes and hazelnuts without tearing the bread to pieces.
Thanks! I'lll give that a try ....
I'm surprised it holds together at all. The amount of wheat flour, therefore gluten, is very small in relationship to everything else.
Sure sounds tasty, though.
Paul
I've been mulling over a few ideas. The only glue in the dough is the combination of whole wheat with milk (I would add a minimum 6 hour soaking time) and the second combination of grits, corn & butter and then eggs yolks one at a time (should have at least a 30 minute soaking time before combining with anything else.) I would be tempted to soak any nuts and raisins (dried fruit) with the cut up fresh fruits and extracts for about an hour and then dust the fruit in AP flour (not sure of the amount) and spices leaving out the oats. Beat remaining egg whites stiff and set aside. Sift the baking powder and soda over the bowl while combining everything together with mashed bananas. Fold in stiff egg whites last. Use the rolled oats to dust the buttered pans.
Anything strike your fancy?
Thanks for your tips! I'll give that a shot next time I make my fruit bread .... My bread actually does hold together, but it's very delicate. I was thinking of getting some Gluten Flour and adding that to my bread mix. I've never used Gluten Flour so I have no idea if that would really help or not ....
What about using Scottish Oats instead of Old Fashioned Oats? Would that make a difference (as far as the bread holding together a little better) ... ???
Maybe if you cooked and cooled them a little first you might be able to take advantage of the starch gel to hold things together.
I've never heard of starch gel. What exactly is that?
Certainly you've heard of using starches to thicken sauces and soups, also called a roux. Making a water roux using some of the oats might just be what helps your recipe. Have you ever noticed what cold cooked cereal looks like and how it clings together? If you look up water roux in the site search box you can find more info.
Basically you are gelatinizing the starch and utilizing it throughout the batter before it would normally form just around the oats getting "more mile to the money" by not concentrating the gel where the oats happen to be located. Oats don't contain much gluten if any at all, but by cooking a small amount in water/milk, you can completely change the crumb.
Don't go overboard I would guess about 1/4 to 1/2 cup oats used into the liquids would help. You just want to thicken the liquids to a soft gel and not end up with stiff pudding. After cooking (stop when it starts to boil) you may have to add more liquids for those that have escaped during the process. Ice cubes would be one way to cool it fast. I would weigh before and after cooking to be exact. The gel will hold liquids within the starch molecules that will be released during the bake steaming the crumb. The gel mixes with the small amount of flour gluten in the batter and then bond together when they both gel during baking. This might give you the crumb you desire.
Thanks for the scientific explanation. I'll give that a try ......