I have been making a wheat flour bread and my husband says it is "too dense"...anyone have any ideas or another recipe for me to try?
I am hoping he isn't wanting it White Bread Fluffy...cuz that isn't going to happen.
Or some technique to make it a bit "more light and fluffy"?
Thanks,
Kirsten

I noticed that on my wheat breads it seems more dence than my white bread. I started cutting back a little on the whole wheat flower and replacing it with the white flour and it has helped. But you are right, home made bread will never taste or look like the fluffy stuff you buy in the store. I have a recipe for Milk and Honey White bread that is not to bad.

You could try and use a little flour with the wheat flour.
jazs2

Sounds strange,but crush a vitamin c pill and add to the dough. Works great.Nice lite texture.

I use about half and half wheat and white flour. Although now I may have to revise that. An article I read the other day stated that to make the wheat into white flour they emit a gas into it causing it to turn white. The side affect of that is another chain reaction that is not good for your digestion.

I have been using this recipe since my children were very young. The youngest is now 45 years old.

Bread


12 cups flour
2 envelopes rapid-rise yeast
4 cups water (110 to 130º)
4 TBSP sugar
4 TBSP vegetable oil
4 tsp salt


In large bowl mix 4 cups flour, 2 envelopes rapid-rise yeast, 4 TBSP
sugar, 4 tsp salt and stir with spoon or wire whisk to mix well.

Add 4 TBSP oil to 4 cups hot water and add to dry ingredients. Stir with
spoon or whisk to thoroughly mix (about a minute).

Add remaining 8 cups of flour a little at a time, stirring with spoon as
long as possible and then mixing with hands.

When flour has been added, knead bread for 8 to 10 minutes, flouring
hands as necessary. I mix bread dough in bowl. If bowl is not large
enough, turn out onto lightly floured table.

When dough is smooth and silky, requiring no more kneading, put into
warm, greased bowl, and cover with a towel for 10 minutes. *If using
regular yeast, let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1¼ hours.

Grease pans. Grease hands. Punch dough down and form into rolls or
bread. Makes 4 dozen rolls or 4 loaves of bread, or 2 dozen rolls and 2
loaves of bread, or any combination thereof.

Bake at 400º for 20 minutes. Bread is done when it sounds hollow. Turn
out of pans onto cooling racks and brush with melted butter.

This is the best sweetest wheat bread. I make it in round loaves.

COMMUNION WHEAT BREAD 350ºF for 40 minutes

3 cups water
7-8 cups flour (4 white, 4 wheat)
3 pkg yeast
1/3 cup oil
¾ cup honey
1 TBSP salt

In a large bowl, combine 3 cups warm water, honey and yeast.
Let stand 5 minutes.
Stir and add 5 cups flour, oil and salt.
Beat by hand or mixer 5 minutes.
Then add remaining flour, enough to m ake a stiff dough.
Kead on floured surface 10 minutes.
Place in oiled bowl to rise for 1 hour.
Punch down.
Let rise again until double.
Punch down and sahpe into loaves; let rise until double.
Bake at 350º Ffor 40 minutes for 1 pound loaves and 25 minutes for small loaves.
Makes 3 (1-pound) loaves or 6 small loaves.

As you can see I don't use a bread machine. I can make four loaves of bread in the amount of time it takes a machine to make one. The kneading is therapeutic.

Try adding 1-2 Tbls of some wheat gluten to the recipe. It helps make the bread rise more so it isn't as dense. It also adds more vitamins to the bread.

You can find it in some grocery stores in the bulk food bins, or in pkgs/jars in the baking section of the store by the yeast or flour :D:D:D

A lot of bread machine recipes call for this for lighter breads :wink:

thanks for the bread recipes

Amma...thankyou for that tip.
I will be making bread today or tomorrow depending on time. I haven't bought any "store bread" in ages and I do not use a bread machine either.
I will try one of the recipes posted.
Thanks again.
Kirsten

I only use a bread machine to mix and knead :wink: but I use my own recipes and the wheat gluten makes the dough lighter and airier... :D:D:D

I pre-heat the pan. I started using a flat ceramic dish that I got at an import store. It looks like it's glazed terra cotta. I got over the fear of moving the bread by hand onto the hot dish. I don't have a peel.

I like Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book a lot. I was making the oatmeal bread all winter. The bread is more dense than white but it has more flavor.

I tried the Vital Wheat Gluten in my last batch.
It seemed to help.
Will be making bread again in a few days.
Kirsten

Maybe increase the yeast and gluten in the next batch...see if it helps a little more :wink: I play with these two ingredients to get the density I like :D:D:D

Thanks Amma,
I picked up the book; The Bread Makers Apprentice.
Very good read. I am looking forward to going on this cooking "journey"
K

My sister and I have been grinding pinto beans (we have a very old wheat grinder); and it grinds into a very fine flour like wheat. But it works really well when you mix with either white or wheat flour.

We started experimenting to try and make our wheat flour last a little longer. (We make a lot of bread and wheat is so expensive right now) And mixing the bean flour with white/wheat seems to work really well-- I've made a couple things with the beans/white/wheat mix and they turned out well, and even last week, she made some cinnamon rolls that they were reallllllly fluffy.

Though I do have to warn you, if you do want to try it, the flour will smell a little like beans (when I first used it for a pizza crust, I was like "am I making a horrible mistake here??"), but when it cooks, you can't really taste it. It adds a little nut-flavor, but I don't think you can really taste that it's beans.

She roasted them in the oven last time, but I think that was to make it easier to grind. But if have a grinder, you might want to try it.

when I make wheat bread I use half white flour and half wheat.

Thanks for that little tip.

Thanks

Thanks