The Fresh Loaf

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Troubleshooting Crumb

rtgreen8972's picture
rtgreen8972

Troubleshooting Crumb

Hi everybody! I'm new here, so please redirect me if I need to post in a different place :)

I've been cooking and baking for many years, but I've always had trouble getting a good crumb in very basic flour, water, yeast bread rolls. I am trying to get a more feathery crumb, but much of the time I get a rubbery texture. It's not horrible, but not very good either.

Here is an example of a roll I baked yesterday. 

and here is the crumb:

the texture is a lot like a kitchen sponge as opposed to good bread - very rubbery.

I honestly have no idea what I'm doing wrong. It's been something that has frustrated me for years, so I am very much looking forward to getting any suggestions.

Thanks!!

 

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

Different flours will produce different textures.  What kind of flour did you use?  Also, a full recipe might help too so that others can chime in on particulars.

Edo Bread's picture
Edo Bread

Are you using an mixer?

rtgreen8972's picture
rtgreen8972

Yes, I use a kitchen aid mixer.

semolina_man's picture
semolina_man

What is your recipe and method?  Agree with the comment about different flours producing different results (texture, aroma, flavor, color).

 

I use the recipe from this site - Tom Cat's Semolina Filone.  I replace all of the flour with my own preference of the day, which is generally a combination of whole rye, whole spelt, all purpose and whole wheat.   This recipe is flour, water, salt, yeast only.  Very good results.   Reduce water in the dough by about 10%.  The water quantity in the original recipe is quite wet in my experience. 

 

 

rtgreen8972's picture
rtgreen8972

I generally use just store brand AP flour. I will have to try some different brands. Is there any that you recommend that works well for this type of bread? Also, much of the time I generally don't follow a recipe, just making a 70% hydration dough, but this time a used the recipe for the European Hard Rolls from King Arthur Flour

www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/crusty-european-style-hard-rolls-recipe

I tried to follow the recipe weight and timings as closely as possible, but I still got a similar result to what I normally get.

What I really want to duplicate are the type of hard rolls I've gotten on cruise ships. They are very light in texture.