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diannenet badge: Community Member

Light and fluffy bread like store bought bread

I am trying to find a bread machine recipe (I own the latest and greatest West Bend Hi Riser and LOVE it!) that makes good sandwich bread. I've made two loaves and the crust on the bottom and sides is hard as a rock and thick. The top is fine. The bread is dense and my husband likes store bought bread. I'd like to switch him to my bread machine bread but can't seem to find a decent recipe for sandwich bread that is light and fluffy like store bought bread. Anyone got a good recipe or suggestions on how to do it in the bread machine?

Thanks!

Dianne

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sandra Alicante

I don't know what recipe you are using but if your other half likes soft store bread I have some suggestions.

Firstly - PLEASE use SCALES to measure your ingredients. It is unlikely that using cups, you measure precisely every time. That's not so bad for experienced bakers who can look at a dough and make adjustments but terrible for beginners. There can be a couple of ounces difference in a cup measure if you are not very careful. This leads to the next idea, because of how you may be measuring your flour.

It sounds as if your dough is a bit too dry (too much flour) or baking too long. If you think your dough was wet enough you could try using a different setting, if you look in the instruction manual, some of them give cycle baking times, go for a shorter one.

If you try a recipe for a loaf that has milk/butter and some sugar in it, you may well get a softer loaf.

If you think your flour is suspect, that you can't buy good quality flour, try adding a tsp of vinegar to your liquid. A SMALL amount helps gluten development. You will not taste it.

Good luck!

sandrascookbook.com

ZenSojourner

Try this recipe for a white sandwich bread

I tweaked it to more or less work in a Zo. The hard dry crust you describe is a common feature of some breadmakers. This recipe as written for the Zo got me a lot closer than previous attempts. Try it and see how it works in your bread machine. The next tweak I was planning to make to the Zo was to reduce the baking time. I don't know if you can program your machine but if not at least set it for light crust if that's possible.

But honestly I eventually gave up trying to bake in the Zo and now I let it knead and rise, then turn the dough out before the final rise, shape, put in a loaf pan, and bake in the oven.