Does too much dairy or fat cause tearing?
So I've noticed that when I make bread with half and half (a half cream coffee creamer) the bread is very tender, but the dough tends to tear. After reading a thread on here about using kefir milk to make a starter, it was concluded in that thread that the kefir was causing the gluten to degrade quicker because of the ph. Does regular milk behave this way? Does too much fat in general do this too? If so, then I wonder if I should just bake with whole milk instead of half and half.
Back story: I was subbing creamer for water so I wouldn't have to add that extra tablespoon or two of oil. It works find in cinnamon buns, but not so much with sandwich bread. My sandwich bread makes lots of crumbs when I slice it (serrated bread knife) but I don't know if that's just how it is even with a soft, enriched bread.
Fat inhibits gluten formation, that's why often it's recommended to first do at least some gluten development, and only then add fat. Usually it's not a problem even with direct addition of fat, but I guess you need to do more kneading in that case.
Thanks, I wondered why it was harder to work with the dough when I added the creamer in place of water. Maybe I'll just do less milk and more water then.
WebMD:
Maybe due the thicken additives, carrageenan and gums
For making gluen-free bake goods, non-dairy creamer may be helpful, just guessing.