Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?

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Kleftiwallah

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Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« on: November 28, 2014, 13:56 »

Although it is very tasty and I'm proud of my bread, it breaks rather than tears as does commercial/bought bread. Why? ???

Cheers,   Tony.
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tosca100

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2014, 14:41 »
Do you use a bread maker? It can be difficult to adjust anything with those.

I have been making all our bread for over a year now and hope we have it right. But I use a Kenwood Chef to knead and use more water than I used to. I miix it until it is quite shiny and smoothe (kneading on a counter would be more difficult and less likely to be shiny due to added flour) and it is sticky and elastic, then prove till well grown, depends on how warm the kitchen is. Knock out the air, shape and prove until nearly doubled again before baking at 220c. When it looks done turn the heat down and do it some more. Nice crust and soft inside.

I only use yeast 7g to 500g flour, a round teaspoon of salt and the water. How much depends on the flour. Add any flavouings after the first prove....cheese. onion, nuts, herbs, garlic or seeds, whatever takes your fancy.

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Kleftiwallah

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2014, 17:23 »
No answer there then!  Hand made from start to finish, all I do I add a smidge of olive oil to a mix of 'usually' 3/4 white and 1/4 wholemeal and follow the directions.  Cheers,   Tony.

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tosca100

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2014, 17:44 »
A little oil won't make a difference I wouldn't think. You could try making it a bit wetter. When you finish kneading and the dough is smoothe, one way of testing if the gluten is developed is to gently press your finger in and it should spring back. I am presuming you are using strong flour, but different flours milled at different times can take less or more water and wholemeal certainly will. A wetter dough is harder to knead initially when it's sticky but gets easier when nearly ready.

I admire anyone who can knead for ten minutes by hand, with my arthritis I am hard pushed to make pasta without my trusty Chef

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grendel

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2014, 21:15 »
I experimented and find that I can go up to 5 table spoons of oil (produces softer bread) if you use too much yeast and it over rises it can become a bit crumbly, try a bit more water - or a bit more oil (with 2 tablespoons as my normal amount which I found a bit dry).
Grendel
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Kleftiwallah

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2014, 14:27 »

I've tried to vary the water content and it seems to make very little difference.  I normally use Azda strong flour (white and wholemeal) and also their free yeast.  I've also varied the amount of olive oil I mix in.  I s'pose I can live with it,  great for dunking in soup-even if it breaks off!

Cheers and thanks  Tony.


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Scribbler

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #6 on: December 30, 2014, 14:14 »
Suggest that either the flour you use hasn't got enough gluten, or you need to knead it longer.

This from 'Bread' which is the River Cottage Handbook No. 3, which is their book about breadmaking. Recommend this.

Growing salad leaves isn't rocket science.

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RJR_38

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2015, 18:53 »
I've just bought the James Morton book - brilliant bread (reduced on amazon at the moment). I had read some good reviews and I can honestly say it is the best bread book I have ever bought and I haven't even made anything yet!

He explains the importance of all the different stages in a scientific way that is easy to understand so you can diagnose any problems yourself. Far, far better than the river cottage or Paul Hollywood books I have got. I have learnt so much already and I've only had the book 2 days.

I like cooking where I can understand the principles and then tweak as I become more confident - and this is exactly what this book allows you to do. For example, I didn't know the importance of shaping the bread - I just assumed this was so it looked good and it is always so quickly 'glossed over' in other books - but Morton explains that it is crucial to how a loaf rises and cooks in the oven and so the texture and that it is actually more important than the kneading!

Honestly, I csnt recommend a book more highly

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Kleftiwallah

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2015, 17:49 »

Thanks for that reply RJR_38,  do you have an I.S.B.N. for it?  it should be on the back cover of the book on top of the bar code.  Cheers,   Tony. :)

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RJR_38

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2015, 17:52 »
Yep, it is 978-0-09-195560-1

I have got sour dough on its second prove at the moment from his book. It truly has revolutionised the way I see bread!

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Scribbler

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Re: Bought bread tears, my bread crumbles, why?
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2015, 19:53 »
While you're buying books, strongly recommend Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley.



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