The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

not all bread has to be dry!

velvetyjoe's picture
velvetyjoe

not all bread has to be dry!

Hello from the West Midlands! I have been baking bread on and off for a few years, with mixed success. My grandfather was a master-baker, but sadly died when I was too young to have much of an interest in it. I've been bumbling along with my Dad's rrecipe, which I've never been hugely pleased with as it's dry and dense. I thought that was how home baked bread had to be, my dad would know, surely? However, recently I've really caught the bug, and realised that said recipe is only 50% hydrated. I tried wetter doughs, and failed, but as my kneading skills have improved, and I've picked up a few tips here and there, the bread has improved ten fold. Very excited to keep baking and learnjng, there really is nothing like cutting into a beautifully risen and baked loaf!

msbreadbaker's picture
msbreadbaker

Hi Velvetyjoe, can you share the recipe of your dad's that you thought was too dry? I'll bet some of the folks on this site will be able to tell you what the problem was and you will be able to keep the recipe making some adjustments. Personally, I've never had that as an issue, and cannot advise what may work for you, but it may be of interest to see what caused the "dryness".

To your ongoing success, Jean P.

Patf's picture
Patf

Do you put any oil into your bread? I use quite a lot of sunflower oil in mine and it's never dry.

velvetyjoe's picture
velvetyjoe

The recipe was 1lb 8oz (about 700g) flour to 375ml water, 7g instant yeast, splash of oil/lard, 1/4oz salt. It does make a silky dough, but not as soft and stretchy as the wetter 60% doughs, and the resulting bread seems to stale and dry very quickly.