Pillowsoft crumb-technique?
I guess pillow soft is a good description of what I want to achieve. When you squeeze-test a package of these buns, they feel like a pillow you would sleep on.Depresses easily but has bounceback. I'm not talking "store-bought" guar gum,air injected buns,stick-like-wallpaper paste-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth kind of buns. I have seen soft sandwich buns at a local organic, flour,water,yeast,salt,starter kind of bakery.It is easy to get a bite without all the filling squishing out. Of course, they don't want to talk about technique-then I wouldn't buy their buns. My bread crumb turns out chewier-it's good but I want to be able to achieve the soft bun.
I have sifted this site numberous times and I'm missing something because I'm not able to achieve this. I have tried adding:potatoes, milk,eggs and oil after various posters suggested that. Delicious experiments but still not there. I have to believe it is a technique or hydration issue rather than an ingredient issue. I have always used either Better for Bread (Gold MedalBrand) flour or AP flour for these endeavors. I also use a KitchenAid stand mixer and favor using sourdough with a little additional yeast due to time constraints (I bake on weekends).
So, how does one achieve a pillowy crumb and a crust that is thin and easy to bite off without being tough?
Try Norm's Semi-Flat Onion Buns. You don't have to put the onions on the top. That bun was very soft on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
--Pamela
Lots of yeast with a highly hydrated dough will give you what you want. If you don't like the taste of lots of yeast, then do a sponge the evening before. I usually do my sponge with 1/3 of the final flour and an equal part of water by weight (so I know how much to add the next day). To this sponge add a teeny amount of yeast (1/16 or 1/32 OF A tsp). You then get a lot of "natural" yeast development. When you put the dough together the next day, add another teaspoon of yeast (for a couple of pounds of dough).
I only recently began experimenting with the affect Whole Wheat flour has on my bread. Yesterday I used a 1/3 whole wheat 60% hydration starter (actually a 50/50 mix of my old starter and whole wheat flour/water that fermented in the fridge for about four days) and 2/3 AP flour, with about 1 1/2% active dry yeast and 1% salt. The final hydration was somewhere between 67 and 70% and I used a stretch and fold kneading technique (the method that includes slamming the dough on the counter to stretch it out and kneading it a dozen or more times after each folding action) and ended up with a somewhat sticky dough that would not hold its shape without longitudinal support. Baked on stone at 425 to internal temp. of 210 degrees. Oven spring was enormous and I was surprised to find the pillowy texture inside the firm crisp crust. Inasmuch as I've used this combination of ingredients and technique, sans whole wheat flour, in the past, I have to conclude that the whole wheat flour was the source of the ultimate texture I enjoyed.
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And have you done this with sourdough?
I avoid the recipes with large amounts of yeast-I really don't like the flavor but the thought of a sponge to develop bread flavor is something I haven't done in eons. I can handle the night before baking prep-it's the 3 day type of recipe I also avoid-not enough time.
Flournwater, I hope the internal temp was a little higher than 110F (say 190) and I'm glad your loaf turned out so nicely. I usually make 70% whole wheat sandwich bread but my hydration is not that high. I should try and increase the hydration just to see if the solution was right under my nose.
Oooops .... thanks for the heads up, clazar123. I hate those typos that I miss when I proof read. I've either got to learn to type with fewer errors or proof read more accurately. That's the second time in two days.
Make the Potato Hazelnut loaf by Salome posted by David Snider:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/12819/potatonut-bread-south-tyrol-thanks-salome
You will not be disappointed! This bread has the most luscious texture imaginable.
Patricia