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kirkj badge: Community Member

wife thinks my bread is too heavy

  • Posted by kirkj on February 18, 2012 at 3:48 pm
  • in Q & A.

My wife likes the lighter bread found in the grocery store, she likes the flavor of my breads but say's they are too heavy as in weight.
I have been making rye, white loaf, kaiser rolls and onion buns

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BakerIrene
  • Reply by BakerIrene on February 18, 2012 at 4:27 pm
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You need to do several things to make your wife happy:

1. Buy some Vital Wheat Gluten powder and add 1 tablespoon per cup of rye flour. Add 1 teaspoon per cup of ALL wheat flour you use in your bread dough.

2. Cut the salt in half because it stops the yeast from rising.
Trust me.

3. Use all liquids at 90F. Add only enough flour to make a not-quite-sticky dough. This will be significantly less flour than most recipes.

4. Knead your dough long enough. Knead your next batches by hand and keep kneading until the springy dough feels silky. It's OK to use a little flour but you have to knead long enough.

5. After the first rise, lay the dough out on the counter and roll it with a rolling pin until there are no more gas bubbles. This helps to make the final rise higher. If you make a batch for more than one loaf, roll each loaf's worth separately and shape it right after rolling.

and remember: "happy wife=happy life"

kirkj
  • Reply by kirkj on February 18, 2012 at 4:39 pm
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I thank you and my wife thanks you......Kirk

GinaG
  • Reply by GinaG on February 18, 2012 at 4:41 pm
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I have the same "issue" with my senior father whose taste in bread has drastically changed from preferring rustic loaves to the typical supermarket fare.

In addition to the adjustments BakerIrene offers, there is a recipe on KAF website for Supermarket Italian bread. Not my kind of bread, but my father who prefers that cottony, light and tight crumb loves it.

Yes, there is a way to have a happy, "inter-bread" relationship. Don't give up.
GinaG.

Mike Nolan
  • Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 5:02 pm
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A recipe that produces a very light loaf is the Clonmel Kitchen Double Crusty Bread:

http://community.kingarthurflour.com/node/4809

I use butter instead of oil and shape them like Vienna breads, but that's just because we like that particular shape.

This dough should be slightly sticky before the first rise, but fairly easy to handle after it rises.

kirkj
  • Reply by kirkj on February 18, 2012 at 5:20 pm
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Thanks Mike , I'll try this out