An interesting failure
I decided to try a new recipe and settled on the honey whole wheat recipe featured here. I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat and Harvest King Bread Flour. When I got to the step where you add evaporated milk, I discovered that I didn't have any. I didn't have any regular milk either. So I improvised wildly and used sweetened condensed milk, which I diluted slightly with water.
The bread just didn't FEEL right. I added more water and then, when it got too sticky, I added
more flour. Still didn't feel right. I let it rise and it did so slowly and hesitantly. Strange -- in my warm and humid Honolulu kitchen, bread usually rises quickly. The strangest thing was ... it was making noise as it rose. I could hear a tiny crackling sound. That sounded like strands of gluten snapping rather than stretching.
It was late and I was getting sleepy, so I baked my laggard bread. It came out with a fine dense crumb. It tastes great, but it's just not right.
I will have to try this bread again, with the recommended ingredients.
Still, it was an interesting failure. Until now, I've never heard bread rise, or try to rise.