what ingredient can i use to keep my wheat bread moist and soft when it is finish baking.

I made my bread dough for a wheat bread using my bread machine. After the kneed cycle I kneaded the dough just enough to shape it and put into a bread pan. It rose very nicely! I spread a little bit of butter on top then into the oven to bake at 350. The bread then flattened out unevenly, even!  What happened?  Suggestions appreciated.

Thanks,

Breadless in Seattle

Hello all,

This is my first post on The Fresh Loaf. I've been a regular (unregistered) visitor to the site for a couple of months and I've learned a lot about bread from these forums, so a quick thank you to all you helpful people out there.

Anyway, here's my problem: no matter what I do, my bread always comes out slightly raw at the bottom and the lower halves of the sides.

I've been baking bread for a couple of months now. I bake whole-wheat bread because it's healthier. I've baked only six loaves up until now so I'm still very much a novice at this. I would appreciate any help you folk could give me. I've searched the forums for answers to my questions but none of the information seems to apply (exactly) to me.

I will now attempt to provide details usually asked of people on these forums in order that they can be helped better. Sorry if it makes the post too long. Please feel free to skip any section if you so wish. I will describe first, the recipe, second, the equipment I use (including my oven) and thirdly, my baking results and problems. I've included photos where (I thought they were) necessary.

I. Recipe:

A. Ingredients -

I use a simple (not enriched or anything) bread recipe since I'm only starting out. I usually bake a single 500g loaf at a time. These are the ingredients I use:

1. 500g whole wheat flour (not very rich in gluten, I know. But it's healthy, so I prefer it).
2. 300g (or ml, if you prefer) water (approx. 60% by weight of flour).
3. 1tsp active dry yeast (please see below in point 2 of the "Methods" section some notes on the yeast I use).
4. 2tbsp vegetable oil for shortening
5. 1tsp salt
6. 1tbsp sugar (I add sugar only if I feel like it).

In terms of volume, I use 2 cups of water to just over 6 cups of wheat. However, I always measure the ingredients by weight just to make sure.

B. Methods -

1. Proofing the yeast: I warm the water till it's slightly uncomfortable to touch, then add the yeast and the sugar (or honey if I have it). Then I leave this mixture for about 10 minutes.
Note on the yeast I use: The yeast that we get here does NOT foam or bubble on being proofed. I've tried two different brands of active dry yeast that the shops stock over here and I've used yeast from different packets so I'm sure it's not a problem with a bad batch of yeast or anything. The yeast we get here simply doesn't foam like the pictures I've seen on the Internet. Instead, I see only a few small bubbles on the surface at the end of the proofing period. I'm sure that the yeast dissolves into the water properly because it does make it cloudy.
In an attempt to get the yeast to bubble, I've tried proofing for 10 mins, 15 mins and once even for 45 mins but no dice (I didn't use the 45 mins one because I read that proofing the yeast too long kills it). I've also tried adding extra food for the yeast like honey and sugar but I still can't see lots of bubbles. Nevertheless, dough made with this yeast always rises so I guess it's okay. I'm just putting this down here in case this may be contributing to my problem.

2. Making the sponge: Once the yeast has proofed, I make a sponge. I add an equal amount of flour to the yeast and water mixture and stir it till it forms a gooey paste. So, if I'm using 300 ml of water (2 cups), I put in 300g whole wheat flour (just under 4 cups) and stir it (I add the remaining flour in the kneading step). Then I leave this mixture to double. Since I usually add only 1tsp of yeast (half of what most recipes online call for), it takes a long time (max. 6-8 hours) for the sponge to double. I don't place it in a warm place, just an area of the kitchen that's draft-free. If you're wondering why I don't add more yeast, it's just because the dough smells too strong for me if I do (I've got a very sensitive nose).

3. Kneading: once the sponge has doubled, I slowly add in the remaining flour (about 200g or 2.5 cups) while kneading the dough. I do all my kneading by hand because I don't have a bread-maker (and it's more fun getting your hands dirty! :) ) I knead for about 20 mins till the dough is smooth and somewhat shiny. I also use the windowpane test and the finger-poke test to tell that the kneading is done.

4. Second rise: once the dough is ready, I make a ball, stretch it and pinch the sides down under the bottom, coat the entire surface lightly with oil to prevent it from drying out. Then I leave it to double in size. This usually takes about 4-5 hours to happen (probably because of the small amount of yeast I'm using). Again, no special heated environment, just a draft-free corner of the house.

5. Shaping: once the dough has doubled, I knead it again for about 10 minutes. I've read conflicting advice on kneading at this stage. Some people say kneading at this point will de-gas the dough and prevent it from rising but I knead it all the same. Sometimes, I add raisins to the dough at this stage. After shaping the dough (again stretching to maintain surface tension and pinching at the bottom), I put it in my baking pan. Then I leave it for the final doubling. This takes another 2-3 hours.

6. Third rise and baking: After the bread has doubled and is peeking an inch or so over the top of the pan, I put it in the oven. I bake the bread at 150 celsius. I've tried 200, 160, 130 and 140 degrees celsius but I get the best results at 150. Before putting the bread in the oven, I preheat it to 150 degrees. The bread usually takes about 45 minutes to bake. I start getting that wonderful bread-baking aroma after 25 minutes of baking. Some notes on this time duration in point 2 of the "Results and Problems" section below.
I have a convection oven. Some important notes on my oven in point 2 of the "Equipment" section below.

II. Equipment:

1. A pair of hands :) like I said, I do all my kneading by hand.
2. Oven: I have a CONVECTION oven. It's actually a microwave oven with a convection mode (in which the microwave part is not used). The oven is quite small and has ONLY ONE heating element on the top. There are fans on the sides that circulate the air around the chamber. I usually place the bread pan on a grill so that the hot air flows under the pan as well. Here are two pictures so you get an idea of the size of the oven (I bake the bread in a pan. I've put it directly on the grill only to give you an idea of the relative size of the oven):

Now, a close-up:

3. Bread Pan: I use an aluminum bread pan to do my baking in. I've also tried baking on a flat surface but the bread pan maintains the shape of the bread (during the final rise) so I prefer to use it. Here's a picture:

III. Results and problems:

1. Sides and bottom not fully cooked (slightly moist): this is the major problem I have. Here's a picture of the bread so you can see (sorry for the mess on the table):

The sides look (and taste) slightly uncooked no matter how long I bake the bread. I usually go as long as 45 mins to 1 hour but the only thing that happens is that the crust becomes too hard. It's as if the dough at the bottom doesn't rise at all. I can't tell if it's because:

1. of the pan I'm using. I've also tried baking on a flat, open surface but the bottom and lower half of the sides still turn out the same way.
2. of my oven. There's only a single heating element on the top so maybe the bottom of the pan doesn't get hot enough? To alleviate this problem, I tried placing my pans on a grill so the hot air can flow under the pan as well. But I still get the same results.

2. Crust too hard: Because it always takes so long for the sides and bottom to cook, the crust is usually hard (and a little burnt) by the time the baking is done (and even then, as I said above, the bottom and sides aren't fully cooked. :( ). Here's a picture. The crust is extra dark because I glazed it with milk while baking and the black thing is a raisin:

I've also tried glazing the top of the bread with milk and water while the bread is baking (I just open the oven door, coat the water/milk on and close the door) in an effort to keep the crust soft. However, with all the time the bread takes to bake, the crust is always hard by the time I'm done. I've read that hard crusts usually indicate a problem with the oven heating, and maybe the fact that the heating coil on the top of the oven is only about six inches from the top of the bread is a problem... Anyway, I've tried so many temperatures while baking and nothing has helped. My gut feeling is that if the sides and bottom didn't take so long to cook, the crust would be just fine.

3. Dense: Here's a close-up of the bread so you can see its texture (the black thing in the center-right of the bread is a raisin):

It's closer to cake than to bread LOL. I've read that high density is usually a result of adding too much flour but I stay strictly within the limit prescribed in recipes (water is 50-60% of whole wheat flour by weight). In fact, the bran in the whole wheat flour is usually good at absorbing excess water, so I don't feel the need to add extra water. My bread is still dense though. Can't quite explain it. Is it because I'm using too little yeast?

Well, thanks for your patience and for reading this far. If you have any advice or suggestions, I'd be most happy to hear it.

The 100% Whole Wheat Bread from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice has been one of my favorite breads for years. I love it for it's delicious honey-wheat flavor. However, it often comes out with a dense, cake-like crumb. In April, I tried making this bread using a more intensive mix, as demonstrated by txfarmer. (See Light and fluffy 100% Whole Wheat Bread) I did, indeed, achieve a less dense, more open crumb. But I felt there was some loss of flavor due to oxidation of carotenoids. 

It is difficult to make a 100% whole wheat bread with a light, airy crumb. The pieces of bran in the flour act like little knives, cutting the gluten strands that give bread crumb its “structure.” I had heard of flour mills that grind the bran to a finer consistency after it has been separated during the normal milling process and then add the fine-ground bran back in, along with the other wheat components that re-constitute “whole wheat” flour. The smaller bran particles do less damage to the developing gluten during mixing.

Central Milling makes such a flour, and brother Glenn recently got some for me at CM's Petaluma warehouse. Today, I used CM's “Organic Hi-Protein Fine” whole wheat flour to make the Whole Wheat Bread from BBA. I followed the formula and procedures in my April 2, 2011 blog entry with one exception: I only mixed the dough for 12 minutes at Speed 2.

The first difference in the bread was the wonderfulness of its aroma. I can't say it was different in quality, but it just filled the house as never before. When the bread was cool and sliced, the crumb structure was even more open than I got with intensive mixing. The bread is chewy like a good white loaf and not at all cakey or crumbly. The flavor is delicious. I can't really say it is better than the flavor I've gotten with either home-milled flour or KAF Organic Whole Wheat flour, but the combination of crumb structure, texture and flavor was remarkable.

I am now eager to try using this flour with other breads, for example the Tartine "Basic Country Bread." Stay tuned.

David

Submitted to YeastSpotting

I really hope you all will be able to help me troubleshoot my problem.  Please bear with me as I explain this.  I have been baking bread using sprouted wheat.  I sprout the wheat myself until it is just minimally sprouted, it doesn't have a tail at all just a bud starting to show.  Then I put the wheat in the dehydrator.  When it is dry I store it, when it is baking day I mill it and bake my bread as I usually do.  Now I have done this a number of times with a locally grown purple wheat that I have access to.  The results have been beyond fantastic.  Something about the starch in the wheat being converted into a simple sugar during the sprouting process makes the yeast behave like it is on steroids and the resulting bread is so soft and tender.  The flavor of the wheat really comes through along with a nice subtle sweetness, it is really remarkable.  The best part is that friends and family with wheat sensitivities and even allergies are able to eat this bread with no problems.  Okay so that works.  So I did the exact same thing but this time I used regular spring wheat.  I sprouted it the same, I dehydrated it the same and used the same recipe.  But this time the loaves wouldn't really rise, they did swell a bit but they just tore open, leaving big holes in the loaves.  I saved it by turning the whole mess into buns.  They also tore but it wasn't as noticeable.  I baked the second time using the same sprouted wheat.  I was very careful to do every thing right and I had the same result.  What is going on here?  Am I missing something?  That spring wheat I am using is a good quality wheat, I have baked bread with it without sprouting it and it works just fine.  I really would like to figure this out.  I am going thank you all right now for all your help.  There is such a great bunch here and I really value your opinions.

100% Whole Wheat Bread from BBA

I've been admiring the whole wheat pan loaves txfarmer has shown us in recent weeks. Her use of intensive mixing to achieve a higher rise and airier crumb has particularly intrigued me. (See SD 100% WW sandwich loaf with bulgur (cracked wheat) - discovered a new favorite ingredient). When I read her blog, I decided to make the same bread. However, on further reflection, I changed my plan. I have a favorite 100% whole wheat bread – that in BBA – and I really don't like the combination of sourdough tang and whole wheat flavors. So, I decided to fiddle with Peter Reinhart's formula for 100% whole wheat bread using some of txfarmer's techniques to see if I could get a lighter-crumbed version of a bread I already know well and love. The crumb texture I have gotten with this bread is moist but rather dense and crumbly, following Reinhart's suggestions for mixing time. This is not at all unpleasant to eat, but is very different from the airier crumb txfarmer and khalid have shown.

Reinhart's formula calls for a soaker with a coarsely-ground grain and a whole wheat poolish. As usual, I used bulgur for the soaker, and I used fresh-milled whole wheat flour for the poolish. The flour in the final dough was KAF Organic Whole Wheat. The procedures described are those I used. They deviate from both Peter Reinhart's and txfarmer's in significant ways.

The day before baking, measure the bulgur into a 3 cup bowl. Pour the water over it and cover tightly. Leave at room temperature until used.

The day before baking, mix the poolish ingredients. Cover the bowl tightly. Allow to ferment until bubbles start to form (2-4 hours), then refrigerate.

Procedure

1. Mix the soaker and poolish, as instructed above, the night before mixing the final dough.

2. One hour before mixing, take the poolish out of the refrigerator to warm to room temperature.

3. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.

4. Using the paddle, mix at Speed 1until a ball forms on the paddle and the ingredients are well-mixed (1-2 minutes). Note that the dough should be quite tacky – neither dry nor sticky. Adjustments can be made by adding either water or flour during this step or during the next mixing step. (I added about 15-20 g additional water.)

5. Let the dough rest, covered in the mixer bowl, for 20-40 minutes.

6. Switch to the dough hook and mix at Speed 2 until a medium window pane can be made. (20-25 minutes) Note: Reinhart's instruction is to knead for 10-15 minutes, “less” if machine kneading.

7. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl.

8. Ferment for two hours or until the dough has doubled in volume, with a stretch and fold on the board at 60 minutes.

9. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form them into pan loaves.

10. Place the dough into lightly oiled medium loaf pans and place the pans in food-grade plastic bags or cover well with a towel or plasti-crap.

11. Proof until the loaves have almost doubled and are peaking above the rims of the pans. (About 90 minutes)

12. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF with a rack in the middle.

13. Optionally, spray the loaves lightly with water and sprinkle on seeds or rolled oats.

14. Optionally, score the loaves.

15. Bake for 45-60 minutes. At 30 minutes, rotate the pans 180º, if necessary for even browning. The interior temperature should be at least 195ºF, and the crust should be firm on the top and on the sides of the loaves. If necessary, return the loaves to the oven and bake longer. (My loaves were done in 45 minutes.)

16. Immediately transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.

17. Cool thoroughly before slicing.

I noticed two significant differences in this dough, compared to my previous bakes of this bread. First, the dough was less sticky than usual. Second, the loaves achieved significantly greater volume during proofing. I attribute this to the more intensive mixing, but also the S&F which serves to further strengthen the dough but also equalized the dough temperature and redistribute the products of fermentation.

Once baked, the loaves felt much lighter than usual. When sliced, the reason was quite obvious. Rather than the cakey, somewhat crumbly crumb this bread has always had in the past, the crumb was airy and, in txfarmer's words, “shreddable.”

Crumb from a previous bake of the BBA 100% Whole Wheat Bread, made following Reinhart's mixing time instructions

Crumb of the 100% Whole Wheat Bread from BBA mixed as described above

"Shreddable"

The flavor of the bread is basically unchanged, but the mouth feel is entirely different - light and mildly chewy. I was amazed.

I'm looking forward to having toast for breakfast.

Thanks, txfarmer, for your inspiring and informative postings!

David

Submitted to YeastSpotting

I am continuing my exploration of fresh-ground flour this week with another bake of Peter Reinhart's “100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread” from Whole Grain Baking. I baked this bread three weeks ago and found the flavor marvelous, but the crumb was somewhat dense and cakey. I had ground the flour from hard red Winter wheat at the second from the finest setting. I did like the chewiness from the coarser ground grains. So, looking for a lighter loaf overall but maintaining the chewiness, I modified the formula and procedures somewhat.

Reinhart's formula calls for half the flour in a soaker of flour, milk product and salt. For the liquid, I used ¾ non-fat Greek-style yoghurt and ¼ water. The rest of the flour is in a biga made with flour, water and instant yeast. The biga is mixed, kneaded and refrigerated overnight.

I ground the wheat for the biga at the finest setting of my KitchenAid Grain Mill. This resulted in flour that was still a bit coarser than KAF WW flour, for example. I ground the wheat for the soaker at a medium-coarse setting.

I thought that I could get a lighter crumb and higher rising loaf if I developed the gluten in the biga portion before adding the soaker to the mix. So, I added all the other ingredients (salt, yeast, honey and canola oil) to the biga in the mixer bowl. I mixed for a couple minutes with the paddle at Speed 1, then with the dough hook for 11 minutes at Speed 2. The dough was rather sticky, but it cleaned the sides of the bowl, almost cleaned the bottom and had window paning. I then added in the soaker, which was quite crumbly, and mixed with the dough hook until it was incorporated into the dough.

After a 5 minute rest, I briefly kneaded the dough on the board, incorporating another couple tablespoons of fine ground whole wheat in the process, then transferred the dough to an oiled batter pitcher for bulk fermentation. Fermentation, proofing and baking were according to Reinhart's instructions. Note that, three weeks ago, I baked this bread in a Le Creuset oval Dutch oven. Today, I baked on a baking stone and steamed the oven using the SFBI method I've described in earlier postings.

The crust was crunchy, especially from the coarser pieces of wheat. The crumb reminds me of a 100% rye with rye chops. It's not what I was aiming for, but it is interesting. The crumb has two distinct textures from the different grinds of grain - tender and chewy-crunchy. The flavor is delicious.

I'd count this a worthwhile learning experience, but it's still not my ideal crumb for this bread. 

The other bread that I baked today was my San Joaquin Sourdough. I fed the levain with a 50/50 mix of KAF Sir Galahad and fresh-ground whole wheat. The final dough had 5% fresh-ground rye.

San Joaquin Sourdough breads with Julia Drayton Camelias

San Joaquin Sourdough Crumb

David

The following picture is of 100% whole wheat bread that I made tonight!!  I have been wanting to make 100% Whole Wheat Bread for a long time, and just haven't found the right recipe.  This is a recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.  I grind my own wheat, and used a combination of Soft Spring Wheat, Hard Red Winter Wheat, and Vital Wheat Gluten!  It turned out beautifully, althought a little bit soft for our liking.  If you are needing a transitional bread from white to whole wheat, this bread is for you!!

Adapted from KA Flour's Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread.  I 4x's their recipe so the following recipe will make about 6.5 lbs of dough.

4 C Warm Water

1/2 C Honey

1/2 C Vegetable Oil

2 1/2 T Yeast

1 T Salt

3/4 C Vital Wheat Gluten

7 C Soft Spring Wheat

3 C Hard Red Winter Wheat

I use a Universal Bosch Mixer so the following instructions are using a Bosch.

Add warm water, yeast, honey and oil to mixer bowl, and let sit till it starts to foam.  Add the rest of the ingredients to the mixer except the 3 cups of Winter Wheat.  Start mixing and add the remaining 3 cups as needed to make a nice dough.  If you need more than the 3 cups, then add more, but you are looking for a soft pliable dough.  Mix on 1st speed for about 5 min and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface.  Divide dough into loaf sizes, and shape.  Score top of loaves and put into oiled bread pans.  Let rise till nicely above pans and put into a 350 degree oven till browned and hollow sounding.  (20-30 minutes).

Hope this works out if you decide to try it, and let me know if you have any questions!!

Well I decided to do something good for our health. Something I did 25 years ago and before when my young family was growing. I used to grind my own wheat and make my own bread from whole wheat grain. Everything we ate was fresh and full of nutrition and fiber. Then I married the Italian (half Irish too) and he wanted white bread or Irish soda bread etc. Not gonna touch the brown stuff. So I sold all my equipment to buy a stove! Big mistake. But seemed the thing to do at the time. Make the hubby happy! I wanted a new stove too! So now 25 years later I made a new investment in our health and bought a new model Bosch Universal Plus mixer with 800 watts of power and the ability to knead 4 loaves of bread in 10 minutes. Then I was on the search for the recipe from 30 years ago! Happy I found the website The Fresh Loaf and Old Wooden Spoon gave me the recipe I used back then ( that gave away our age right away!) My first day in the kitchen was like  the I Love Lucy show. Now I don't like to be on camera but this would have won me enough money to pay for my equipment for sure! Did I say it was an investment, not just a purchase.   Here is what I purchased after much research and past experience.       Now the first day was quite interesting, all seemed easy enough so I skimmed the directions on the equipment. I set up the Nutrimill to grind my wheat. Obviously I didn't have it quite locked in right as flour started shooting out the side, but one quick stop and we got that under control. Not too much mess to clean up. Then on to proofing the yeast. A little honey, warm water and yeast. It starts to bubble so I know it's working. Yay! Next is to start filling the mixer with water, flour, salt and honey, then I turn to find the yeast. It is starting to bubble forth like champagne out of the cup ! So I add that and proceed to add more flour until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. (that's how you tell it's ready)    Now my first mixer had 2 speeds, this has 4. I think I must have put it on speed 3. Somewhere someone said I should remove the outer rim of the bowl at this stage.     Now I never did that with the old one. But I figured why not, so removed it.    Then turned my back on the machine and went to the sink. I turned around and dough was breaking off and flying around my kitchen, I kid you not! Splat in the dining room, splat on the counter, splat on the kitchen floor. I put that rim on as fast as I could blink an eye. All went well after that and we got some beautiful tasty bread. Next baking day went smoothly with great results, (cinnamon bread) everyone wants to buy it. Not happening, that executive decision was made the first day. I'm not 25 anymore! I used to make 15 loaves a day, babysit and deliver the bread. $1.50 a loaf in the 80's. Now today was my 3rd day baking. I had to grind 20 lbs of wheat into flour that I sold for $4.00 for each 5 lbs. That took a while. Then I had some left over and decided to start a second batch of four loaves of bread. Needed to grind more flour.    Rule # 2 , don't overfill the hopper or turn your back on it. I'm always trying to multi-task. I turned around and the stove side of my kitchen looked like the first snow of winter!    I'm having to learn lots of patience with this new process, but the rewards are warm soft whole wheat loaves of bread. Guess what the Italian is eating willingly now? At lunch he waited for me to slice bread to make his sandwich. The little white rolls nearby were crying! The pictures tell the rest! I hear there really is an episode of I love Lucy baking bread! Gotta get that one from Netflix. Linda McErlean http://picasaweb.google.com/curvesarein/BreadBaking?authkey=Gv1sRgCMK-v5atusP07gE&feat=directlink   "Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened."