Adding honey to a recipe
Hello all!
I’m fairly new to making bread but have been able to make a couple loaves a week. Currently I’m working with Ken Forkish’s book, and the ingredients only call for flour, water, salt, and yeast. I’ve tried add-ins multiple times before and they worked wonderful but I cannot find any information for adding honey!
I’m looking to make a loaf with maybe honey, cinnamon, and raisins. The recipe is an overnight white bread. My problem, however, is honey. I know as sugar it feeds the yeast, and also adds moisture, helps preserve the bread, and gives it a good browned crust, and that too much (over 8% in comparison to flour) will inhibit the yeast. What I can’t figure out if it’s ok to add to the original recipe alone. In all the recipes I’ve looked at and referenced, they all add milk and/or butter, which I know adds moisture for a softer crumb and, again, preserves the bread. So are those ingredients necessary in order to add honey/sugar to bread? Or can I just add honey? I was thinking maybe 1-2 Tablespoons (I’ll have to weigh it out and compare to bakers percentage) per loaf, and adding it during mixing.
Another thing I heard is that the addition of sugar needs fewer/shorter rises, as to not overferment or add a beery flavor. Has anyone heard anything about that? Does it ring true?
I might just add the honey to a whole wheat loaf, and then make the cinnamon raisin in another white loaf. But the same question with the honey still stands.
Thanks!!! I appreciate any feedback :)