May 24, 2010 - 9:57am
Help With Gluten Formation
Hi,
I've tried many times to make a simple loaf using just flour yeast and water. After trying many different methods and recipes without any success, I think the problem lies in a lack of gluten formation. No matter how long I knead the dough by hand (I've tried up to 20-25 min), the dough just does not become elasticy. If I try to stretch the dough, it just tears. It also does not become "smooth like a baby's bottom". I think my kneading technique is half-decent and I allow for the dough to auto-lyse, so the only reason I can thnk of is that the flour just doesnt have enough gluten. I'm using Robin Hood Bread Flour bought in Toronto. Maybe I just got a bad batch of flour?
Does anyone have any other ideas?