What's the secret to making it soft & fluffy?
 

I have a bread maker that I use for my whole wheat bread & I have a recipe that I really like. When I cut it warm, just out of the bread maker it is pretty soft. The only problem is the day after I bake my bread I put it in the fridge it is no longer soft & seems to be a lot heavier. Even warming it in the microwave doesn't really help soften it up much.

Does anyone have a good (easy) recipe for a bread maker for whole wheat bread that is soft & fluffy & will stay that way? My recipe calls for part wheat flour & part white flour.
Here are the ingredients I use in my bread:
1 1/4 cups water
3 T. honey
1 1/2 T. vegetable oil
1 2/3 cups white flour
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 t. salt
2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (or fast rising)

Any help would be appreciated!

This is one of the reasons why I don't make wheat bread often. But I'm going to suggest trying white flour labeled as "soft winter wheat".

Us Northerners can't buy soft flour in our stores, and this is why our biscuits turn out like hockey pucks. But I discovered I can buy soft winter wheat flour from Amazon, and when I use it my biscuits turn out soft and fluffy. Give it a try and report back, please. Can't wait to hear what your results are! 😁

I have found that my bread isn't as good if I refrigerate it. Might try not. It may not work either.

I refrigerate it because it doesn't have any preservatives in it & will go bad before I can eat it up.
I think I'll contact King Arthur Baking Company & see what they say about this.

Bread should not be refrigerated. It causes it to dry out. It should last for days at room temperature. Have you tried freezing some of it? Maybe leave half the loaf at room temperature and then when your done unfreeze the other half?

The problem isn’t your recipe it is your storage.

I agree with Quilting Raven. That is why every kitchen used to have a 'bread box' on the counter. Our parents' and grandparents' home made bread didn't have preservatives either. I make a batch of buns every couple of weeks--leave out enough for two days and freeze the rest, thawing as needed.

Someone told me to sift the whole wheat four and white flour several times before using to make whole wheat bread fluffy. I don't bake with whole wheat so I never tried it. I don't know if it stays soft and light. I'm sure if any one knows it will be the crew at King Arthur.

[QUOTE=Peckish;
Us Northerners can't buy soft flour in our stores, and this is why our biscuits turn out like hockey pucks. But I discovered I can buy soft winter wheat flour from Amazon, and when I use it my biscuits turn out soft and fluffy. Give it a try and report back, please. Can't wait to hear what your results are! 😁[/QUOTE]

Can you share the brand? I looked and there were several.

Yep, don't refrigerate bread. It actually is better to freeze it. I just slice it before freezing and just take out the slices a bit before I use it. Can toast it or even just let it sit for a bit covered with wax paper or something to keep it from drying out while thawing.

It didn't matter as long as it was soft winter wheat. I tried 3 different brands and all of them turned out well.

Do not refrigerate bread freeze it instead.
 

[QUOTEnoT=sewingpup;8561871]Yep, don't refrigerate bread. It actually is better to freeze it. I just slice it before freezing and just take out the slices a bit before I use it. Can toast it or even just let it sit for a bit covered with wax paper or something to keep it from drying out while thawing.[/QUOTE]

Please know this freezing only stops the aging of whatever it is you are freezing. Lots of people do not realize this. I buy/ make fresh bread and immediately put it in the freezer when cool. Slice or potion it before freezing. It will defrost very quickly. Wet a paper towel and wring it out well and wrap the defrosting bread in it. It will taste and feel as fresh as the day you froze it!
Home Economist, "Kitchenaid Lady" on QVC

Great tips for me on the bread. I'm going to try slicing it & then freezing it & see if that helps. I never thought of freezing it (even though I freeze my store bought bread all the time....duh!) Thanks for the help.

I got a great reply back from King Arthur & I do believe it is the way I am storing my bread. They gave me lots of interesting information:
Quote from King Arthur Baking Company:

Thanks for contacting us here at King Arthur Baking Company.

There are a couple of things to talk about here. One of the most common reasons for dense/dry bread is measuring flour in cups instead of by weight. Everyone measures a cup of flour differently depending on how compact the flour is and every cup a single baker measures will have some variations as well. This means that weighing flour is always the most exact way to measure. If you do not have a scale, we've posted a great video on our website that shows our preferred method for measuring flour for our recipes: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/vide...-measure-flour

Another consideration is how you store your bread. Keeping bread in the refrigerator is our least favorite way to store it because the temperatures in the fridge cause the starches to stale very quickly. We have a great guide on storing bread here: The best way to store yeast bread

If those considerations don't solve the problem fully, consider using the tangzhong method to keep your bread fresh and soft. This is a technique that involves cooking a small portion of the flour and liquid in your bread recipe to make a starch paste before mixing in the rest of the ingredients. By pre-gelatinizing some of the starches, we manage to bake up a loaf that stays soft and pliable much longer. You can learn more about this here:
Japanese Milk Bread
Introduction to tangzhong
A closer look at tangzhong
How to convert a bread recipe to tangzhong

Please let us know if we can answer any additional questions or assist you further.

Kind regards,


Clara
Baker's Support Specialist II
(800) 827-6836
[email protected]

Interesting! Thank you for sharing the links. I love my whole wheat bread recipe but this is very intriguing. I just might have to try this method. If you do, please share your results. Again, thanks for the info from King Arthur.

A cup of flour tightly packed is how I measure flour for bread. I have checked it too many times using a scale to know it is almost exact weight by packing it tight. If for a cake or light pastry then I sift the packed flour measurement.

That is a great response you received from King Arthur, but still wanted to send you the ingredient that really helped my bread machine results. It took me a while to find the little cook book my friend gave me back in the day when bread machines were a new thing. Try adding vital gluten. It only takes a small amount. This was found in the same area in the store as flour and yeast. I haven't made bread in a long time, so don't really know if it still available. If you are interested, I can send you the name of the book or a recipe.

Thanks! I used to put Vital Gluten in my bread many years ago but don't use it anymore. Not sure why I stopped putting it in but I don't remember it making a big difference when I stopped using it.

Osewme- that's funny! I don't remember what it did, either. I just remember I liked how my bread turned out better after I started using it. Best wishes for your bread making. Sounds like you have gotten some good suggestions here.

When I want really soft rolls (for hamburgers, etc.) I add a tablespoon or two of instant mashed potato flakes, doesn't alter the flavor at all but makes (and keeps) them very soft. I'm in Texas also so I understand keeping many things in the fridge most folks normally wouldn't.

Thank you for sharing your email with King Arthur. I have never heard of the tangzhong method. Vital Wheat Gluten is still available and I use it all the time in my bread. It won't make it light and fluffy, but it adds strength to the dough. It's great for using in a wet dough, like San Francisco Sourdough, when you want those big, holes and chewy texture.

That's a good idea. I'm always looking for ways to make my burger buns soft and billowy.