Thursday, October 23, 2008

Gluten or Dough Enhancer...

This post was prompted by a question from my friend Candee:

"Okay, so I have been trying to master whole wheat bread and I am so inconsistent. Do you add gluten to your dough or dough enhancer? My recipe is almost the same, minus the gluten, and I always seem to make BRICKS!!! So please, fill me in on the intricacies of whole wheat bread."

So my mom and I have been researching this topic for the last couple of days to help you to overcome your bread brick issue and help you with your bread inconsistencies. This is what my mom has found; wheat bread is naturally a heavier bread and sometimes some recipes can turn out like "bricks." The recipe listed below in the Pull Aparts Post is strictly a food storage recipe. The bread made from this recipe will be heavy. However after many years of researching and practice, my mom has found a recipe that calls for a dough enhancer and she thinks you can purchase dough enhancer in your area, maybe google it. (My mom uses Kitchen Kneads recipe and dough enhancer: http://www.kitchenkneads.com ). Gluten is suppose to aid the yeast but with such a heavier flour the dough enhancer working in conjunction with the gluten and yeast aids to make a lighter fluffier bread.

Here are some helpful hints my mom also thought of:
  • If your baking in colder weather typically your house will be cooler, double you rise time if that is the case. House temperature can very from time to time and that can cause inconsistencies.
  • Do not add too much flour. Bread dough should be sticky and by adding too much flour you can make a very stiff dough. If you are having trouble handling the sticky bread be sure to keep the your favorite non-stick spray or oil close by. I prefer oil, my mom prefers Pam Spray.

Let me know if you need more info! Good luck with making "lighter loaves!"

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