No Smell or Weird Smell - No Bread Smell
I am trying to get back into making bread after a twenty year hiatus, and one thing has me really puzzled. I've done the NYTimes no-knead a couple of times, some white bread a couple of times, and an oatmeal & honey loaf. Some came out--some didn't, but that's not the puzzling thing....
Where has the smell gone? I remember the smell of baking bread spreading all through the house. It was lovely and rich and just flat out wonderful. Now there's not hardly any smell whatsoever. (OK, the smell from the way over-proofed oatmeal/honey loaf was strong--horrid yet strong)
Has something changed in the formulation of powdered yeast in the last few years that makes it not smell? (I used Fleishmann's Dry Active and some other brand of instant for the NYTimes). This has me so very puzzled. I even used the old recipes, but there was no great smell.)
My nose seems to be in working order--I even called in a disinterested third party to help sniff. Nothing...or at least nothing like before. I swear, back in the day, you could smell the smell of fresh bread cooking from outside and down the drive.
Am I doing something wrong? Has something changed? Or, am I well and truly losing my mind :)
Pamela Van Nest