Bread baking

[picote]

Costco recently stopped carrying our favorite Jewish rye, so I’ve been experimenting with recipes in the bread maker. I’ve finally got something where the taste and crumb seems right, but it’s almost impossible to cut a thin slice for a sandwich, which is kind of the point.


Any ideas on what’s going wrong, or is this just a trait of homemade bread? I make a 1.5lb loaf in a horizontal loaf pan. Would I be better off making a 1lb loaf? The bread kind of collapses on itself when I try to slice it. It’s also much more moist than a super market bread, which I don’t think is helping. I’ve been wrapping the bread in Saran Wrap after it finishes—maybe it needs to dry out a bit?


Any suggestions, or is this just how homemade bread is?


(And for my wlc people, I am absolutely sure this experimentation has *nothing* to do with the extra pounds! Did I mention the flavor is very good?)

[witchypoo]

are you using a good bread knife?

[picote]

are you using a good bread knife?

Probably not. It’s a serrated bread knife, but smaller than a normal one. But the bread just mushes down on itself.

[Kumbaya]

Is it gummy? Have you cooked it long enough, even though it may appear done?

[Kumbaya]

Also have you let it cool completely or are you cutting while it's hot out of the oven?
If the dough is too moist you may want to let it cool completely out in the open air rather than in Saran Wrap.

[Kumbaya]

I'm an expert now that I've watched 7 seasons of GBBO.

[DocBuzzkill]

I'm an expert now that I've watched 7 seasons of GBBO.

My mother cut warm, even hot from the oven, bread with an electric knife (serrated, reciprocating blades), and that sliced the bread without mashing it.  Worked well with dense loaves and could cut thin slices.  I don't bake bread all that often, but I'm considering buying an electric knife dedicated to slicing bread. 

[picote]

The first loaf was definitely a little gummy. I don’t usually try to cut it until it’s cooled, other than maybe a taster slice, but I have been putting it in Saran Wrap pretty quickly. I think I’ll try again and use the dark setting and let it sit out overnight and see if that makes a difference.

It never occurred to me to use an electric knife-I bet I can pick one up at goodwill and give it a try!

[caribougrrl]

My mother cut warm, even hot from the oven, bread with an electric knife (serrated, reciprocating blades), and that sliced the bread without mashing it.  Worked well with dense loaves and could cut thin slices.  I don't bake bread all that often, but I'm considering buying an electric knife dedicated to slicing bread. 

I was going to suggest an electric knife might be the answer.

[BonitaApplebum]

My BFF's son has started working as a professional baker -- the other night he sent over three loaves: sourdough, challah, and cranberry sourdough. So good! The cranberry one I've been eating toasted with PB on it and it's really out of this world.

[picote]

My BFF's son has started working as a professional baker -- the other night he sent over three loaves: sourdough, challah, and cranberry sourdough. So good! The cranberry one I've been eating toasted with PB on it and it's really out of this world.

This would be deadly for my wlc!

I tried a 1lb loaf on the dark setting and used an electric knife. The electric knife is definitely a game changer in terms of getting even slices. Unfortunately the actual taste of the bread wasn’t as good this time. I forgot the caraway seeds and I think something must have been off in the measurements when I cut the loaf size down. I don’t think the dark setting did it any favors.

The bread is still very soft inside though, so I think it would be too mushy for a sandwich. I sliced several pieces and put them back together and wrapped the loaf in a cloth napkin. Not sure if that will help it firm up a bit or it will just go stale?

[witchypoo]

can you post your recipe?  we might be able to help you pinpoint the mush factor.

[picote]

It’s a variant of the NYT Jewish rye recipe
https://pudgefactor.com/jewish-rye-bread-bread-machine/

The one thing I noticed is that there is a huge difference in amount of bread flour when I weigh vs measure. The weighed one turned out awful, so I’ve been measuring instead. Not sure if my scale is off…

It has the consistency of a softer while wheat bread, but I’m looking for a stiffer rye sandwich bread, if that makes sense. Maybe just not how a bread machine cooks?

[witchypoo]

I have never used a bread machine, so I can't comment on how they work.  but the ratio of flour to liquid seems off, esp. considering how much salt there might be in the dough w/the pickle juice (and so it's just holding onto moisture).  does it taste particularly salty? 

[picote]

I have never used a bread machine, so I can't comment on how they work.  but the ratio of flour to liquid seems off, esp. considering how much salt there might be in the dough w/the pickle juice (and so it's just holding onto moisture).  does it taste particularly salty? 

Lol. I am not the person to answer that question. It doesn’t taste especially salty to me though. You can definitely taste the pickle juice, but in a good way. Does it need more flour? When I weighed I added a lot more flour than when I measured and the bread was definitely not good, but I can’t remember why.

I do wonder if it’s just the machine itself. It seems like soft bread is a thing. I cut it and let it sit wrapped in a towel overnight and that definitely helped.

[witchypoo]

I might add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup more flour and see what happens.

[radial]

I gave my bread machine away because I could never get it to produce anything but overly moist bread.  Maybe it was just that particular machine or the recipes I tried, but my homemade bread always came out far better when I baked it in the oven.  CheryG knows a lot about making bread, may she'll chime in. 

[picote]

I gave my bread machine away because I could never get it to produce anything but overly moist bread.  Maybe it was just that particular machine or the recipes I tried, but my homemade bread always came out far better when I baked it in the oven.  CheryG knows a lot about making bread, may she'll chime in. 

I’m starting to wonder if it’s just how the bread machine works. Maybe I would be better off baking it in the oven.

[Natasha]

I’m starting to wonder if it’s just how the bread machine works. Maybe I would be better off baking it in the oven.

I found the bread machine great for mixing, kneading and rising, but would take the dough out and bake it in the oven.

[ihop]

I found the bread machine great for mixing, kneading and rising, but would take the dough out and bake it in the oven.

And that takes all the fun out of making bread...says the person who had a bread disaster this weekend.  The second rise failed.

[BonitaApplebum]

We were hardcore bread machine users for years. It was super easy, we'd premix batches of dry ingredients and then when it came time to make bread it would take just a minute or two to add everything to the machine and hit start.

I would say that the loaves were totally fine (nobody can really argue with hot, fresh bread) but not amaaaaaaaaaazing like the kind of loaf you could get in the oven.

Then one day the bread machine died and we didn't replace it. Now we hardly ever bake bread at all.

[Kumbaya]

We were hardcore bread machine users for years. It was super easy, we'd premix batches of dry ingredients and then when it came time to make bread it would take just a minute or two to add everything to the machine and hit start.

I would say that the loaves were totally fine (nobody can really argue with hot, fresh bread) but not amaaaaaaaaaazing like the kind of loaf you could get in the oven.

Then one day the bread machine died and we didn't replace it. Now we hardly ever bake bread at all.

We had a bread machine years ago that kneaded itself off the counter and onto the floor and broke.
We never replaced it either.

[CheryG]

I'm just now seeing this topic, I hope you have remedied your bread?

I've never baked with a bread machine, so I don't know what could be going on with that.

The one comment I'd make is that whole grains take longer to absorb water, so when using the eyeball method to determine if the liquid to flour ratio is correct it's best to let the dough sit for a short while first.  Today I made a whole wheat/oatmeal bread.  I cook the oats in milk, then add white whole wheat and let it sit while the oats cool to a temperature I can use them.

Another thought- make sure your rye is as finely ground as is possible. I make a vollkornbrot that works well with a more coarsely ground rye, but I wouldn't use that rye flour for a typical bread.

[redkitty]

Not an expert baker at all. But I was looking into how to make a crusty bread and came across this blog from King Arthur. It might not be exactly what you need, but I think it kind of goes towards the moisture issue. (and FTR, I am going to try their no knead crusty white bread recipe sometime soon.) 

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/08/09/make-crusty-bread