September 28, 2010 - 9:26am
Colleague has "dry, crumbly" bread question
I'm hoping someone with experience in using bread machines for kneading/fermenting dough before shaping & baking in oven might be able to help here.
This, from a colleague: "The last few loaves I've made have been quite crumbly. Any thoughts on how to change that (more/less water, more/less salt, etc.).
- 1 1/4 c water
- 2 Tbsp milk powder
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/4 c whole wheat flour (although sometimes I use 1 c. white and 2 1/4 wh.wheat)
- 1 1/4 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp flax seed
I put it all in the bread maker to mix and knead, then do one more knead myself and shape it, let it rise in the bread pan for 1 hr, then put it in the oven at 385 degrees for 26 minutes. I use to have no problem with this recipe and now it seems to be a bit dry and crumbly."
First off-the-top-of-my-head observations would be:
- Has the stove changed heat (hotter = drier loaf)?
- Since milk powder and butter are already softening things up, would more water help?
Any advice gratefully appreciated.