Bread tastes great, buuuuuut...
So, I have a black and decker b6000c deluxe 3 lb bread machine and I've got a recipe that I've been tinkering with. Changing the salt and yeast have helped a bit but I ran into a point at which it stops helping.
The bread tastes awesome and has a wonderful texture in the top half. The bottom 1/3 is super dense. Also, it rises unevenly and one end of the loaf will be significantly taller than the other. I am not against using a different recipe, I just love the taste of this one.
1 1/3 cups water
2 tbsp powdered milk
2 tbsp butter
2 1/4 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup five grain cereal
1 1/4 tsp yeast
I add about a tablespoon of extra grains and about a teaspoon of seeds near the end for the crust.
Appreciate any suggestions!
Is the tall part of the bread always on the same side of the breadmaker? And is the dough even after it rises, just before the actual bake begins?
And does the same thing happen with other recipes or just this one?
...because there are no weights in your formula, but that seems like a lot of honey to me. Honey can be useful in bread-making but too much of it is detrimental. Apart from anything else with a pH of around 4.5-3.5 it's extremely acidic. I'd use around 30g in about two kilos of dough.
But as your bread machine has two paddles, according to the images on-line, I'd suspect that one of them isn't doing its job properly. If at all. Do you immerse the pan in water? Check the bearings.
Is it really a 3-pound machine? Gosh, that's a big loaf size. You've only got about 1 3/4 pounds of dough in your recipe by the looks of it. Not enough dough could be why you're getting uneven results.
Arjon: tall part is usually on the same side, but a different recipe (white bread) didn't do this. Before the baking, I don't know if the dough is really even. Haven't really had the opportunity to look.
Jon: it's supposed to be a 3 pound loaf, so not quite 2kg. Closer to 1.4kg. But both paddles are working. Seem to be at the same speed.
Debra: yeah, 3 lb machine.
it's supposed to be a 3 pound loaf, so not quite 2kg. Closer to 1.4kg.
The recipe you posted above is, at most, 2 pounds of dough, depending on how heavy you measure your flour. That may be within the manufacturers stated range, but bread machines often have a sweet spot in the middle, and don't do as well out toward the limits. You may get better results if you scale it up a bit. Or take the dough out and shape the loaf manually.
looked up another recipe for a 3 lb loaf and it does call for a lot more of pretty much everything so you are probably right. This machine has 3 settings for loaf size. Could that make a difference?
If there's a setting for 1 1/2 to 2 pounds, try that first and see if it fixes your issues.
One tablespoon is plenty.
The amount of honey is fine for the enriched whole grain bread he is making. It's not enough to hurt anything.
You can easily use too much honey.
I'll try the lower setting first. I don't like to change more than one thing at a time because then youre unsure which thing caused the change.
Worth noting that the original recipe only called for one tablespoon but adding a little more improved the loaf consistenc and prevented cratering.
so I used the 2 pound setting and it rose evenly and seems less compacted. I'll try the 1.5lb setting next time.
I'm sure that as a general rule it's possible to use too much honey but with this recipe, less honey (early attempt) didn't work so well.
Now if I could just get the timing right for seeds and grains on the crust... Lol
More honey (later attempt) didn't seem to work so well either.
You did say that the original recipe called for one tablespoon. Maybe there's a reason for that and perhaps it would be worth trying the recipe again, as is, now that you've got your hardware problem sorted out.
That was a typo. The original recipe called for 2, and the loaf cratered like you wouldn't believe. 2 1/4, and it didn't crater at all, just rose unevenly. Now it's rising evenly. I'll try the other setting before I undo something that had a positive impact. Quit hatin on mah honey! Lol
When you're sizing up bread machine recipes without weights, in general, each cup of flour will translate into about 1/2 pound of dough. So your recipe is roughly 1 1/2 pounds of dough plus the weight of the add-in grains and seeds (with the water they absorb). You may be right in the middle of 1.5 and 2 pounds, so it's good to try both settings. That will give you a much better feel for your machine.
Your honey (about 50 g) is in line with this type of bread, and 1/4 tsp isn't really a big jump. I use a similar recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread, increasing the honey 50% beyond that when I want to turn it into sweet dough for cinnamon rolls. Experiment. Fine tune. Adjust yeast or machine settings if need be. Enjoy.
I agree, honey can add a nice flavor. Try turning the paddles toward the outside of the pan before you add the ingredients; it does make a difference. OR, after the last punch-down, remove the dough, remove the paddles, spray a little Pam on each paddle post and place the dough (that you have shaped by hand) back into the machine... should make a nicely shaped loaf no matter what size setting is used.
This is the recipe that I tweaked for my 3 lb bread machine. It is very similar to yours and there is lots of honey in it. ;)I bake it on the wholewheat and two lb loaf setting. You might be able to substitute your seeds for the oats.
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter, softened
1 2/3 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons powdered milk
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 teaspoon yeast
My tinkering was getting that first recipe close to right but yours came out much much better! Thanks! Saved me weeks of experimenting.
Now, if only I could get seeds to stick to the crust! Can't seem to get the timing right for that.
I haven't tried to get seeds to stick to the crust and it would be tricky with timing. You would have to wait till the loaf is either fully proofed or almost there, spritz with water and gently sprinkle your seeds. And hope they stick.
I think the issue I've had is that if the dough is tacky enough for them to stick, the machine kneads once more before the bake cycle. But spritzing honestly hadn't occurred to me. Lol