Troubleshooting Struan Bread
Hi all.
I like to consider myself a pretty advanced home bread baker. I've made successful multi-grain breads with ease before, which is why the problems I'm having with the Struan bread are just killing me. I've made it twice this week - the first time I let it rise too much on the first rise and it kind of flopped on the second rise. The second time, I adjusted the first rise time to only 30 minutes (it was an hour for the first batch) and it still had trouble fully rising to the top of the loaf pans, and then somehow managed to over-rise at the same time - when I took it out of the oven I had flat, delicious bricks. I'm using regular yeast vs. instant, but it's very active and proofed in a little water before being added to the bread. I added a few more of the grains, and omitted the buttermilk - maybe the buttermilk is key to a good rise?
Any suggestions? I'm thinking maybe less yeast (a tablespoon seems like a LOT), or ....?
Thanks in advance!
ETA: I use a Kitchenaid mixer for the mixing and intial kneading, and then I finish the kneading by hand. Another possibility is that the ratio of water to flour may be a little low - I find that the Kitchenaid tends to require more flour than 100% hand-kneading. And I'm using two 8 1/2 inch bread pans - possibly not enough dough for two?