August 14, 2011 - 8:24pm
How do you get the texture of commercial white bread, which is light and kind of sponge including the flavor of them?
Don't throw rolling pins at me for asking how to, of all things get the light, airy, spongy texture and the flavor of the standard loaf of commercial white bread, like Wonder bread?! I grew up only eating that kind of bread, which has been many years ago and I know it sounds crazy, but I really like the flavor and the texture. (Of course, the Italian bakeries around town were and are amazing, but we were not close enough to them and it was only a treat once in a while.)
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The product that you describe is the result of mechanization and chemical additives, reproducing that at home might be doable but very very difficult. There are recipes that will get you sort of close to that but it will not be the same.
Jeff
In Rosy Levy Beranbaum's (hope I have her name right) The Bread Bible, she has a chapter on sandwich loaves. Her white bread is utterly soft and pillowy, as a result of:
- creating a sponge
- multiple, slow risings
- a lot of butter and dry milk powder, which act as tenderisers.
Feel free to inbox me and I can send the recipe if you don't have the book, but it's an amazing book. Couple of pointers, though - this bread takes me 2-3 days to make, as there are so many stages. Also, I double or triple the recipe - I don't think it's worth going to all that effort for one loaf, that can disappear pretty instantly as it's so delicious. It does freeze well though. The taste is sweet, light and buttery.
When I was making Pugliese at work one day I royally screwed it up. In an effort to fix it, It almost turned out exactly like Wonderbread! Kicking myself that I didn't record what I did, haha. Our recipe has no preservatives in it either. Just flour, water, yeast, salt, EVOO, buttermilk and has similar crumb to wonderbread normally
I'm not throwing a roll-pin at you, but just this. ;)
Additives to make commercial bread
Intensive Mixing is Key in obtaining soft Airy crumb, that and fat emulsifying agents (Eggs contain natural emulsifiers).
There have been many threads on this. But here is a list of a few things to try.
Use a lower gluten flour as part of your flour mix but develop the gluten that is there well(perhaps a mix of 3/4 AP and 1/4 pastry). You want a lesser amount of well developed gluten so it holds the air but not so much it becomes chewy. (interpet this as knead well!)
Use a water roux method (my favorite for a sandwich slice that bends and doesn't crack)
Use highly refined (white-AP) flour.
Use milk,egg,oil,butter,potatoes/potato water in the recipe.
Use a sponge method so the flour is well hydrated
Handle gently so as not to deflate the bubbles.
Use the search box!
Have delicious fun!
See this thread.
cheers,
gary
The additives and processes referred to above are collectively known as the Chorleywood Bread Process, and are primarily used to scale production (thousands of loaves a day) and lower cost.
An identical texture (and much better flavour!) is easily doable at home.
Try Reinhart's White Bread Variation 1 in The Bread Baker's Apprentice (p. 266) and you'll be very pleased.
For 4 loaves, you'll need:
I don't have time to type the procedure, but I suspect you probably own his book already; if not, buy it. It's worth it's price x 10.