If your preference is the fluffy balloon bread typical of the mega market this is not the recipe for you. I've tried this recipe twice, both times different, and the resulting bread was tender, moist, chewy with a good closed crumb but not heavy or overly dense. With my first attempt I followed the recipe exactly as written and the bread was delicious. The second time I made a few personal changes. I used only whole wheat flour to which I added vital wheat gluten, 1 Tbl per cup of flour, and 1/4 cup of dry milk. I let the sponge sit for about an hour and reduced the honey to about 1/3 cup total. I used my kitchen aide mixer and after the initial mixing I let the dough knead for 7-8 minutes on 2. All-in-all both ways produced an excellent bread which stands up to sandwiches and toasting very well. A few suggestions; bread has three main ingredients, first is flour-so a good quality flour is imperative, second is water-if you do not drink the water from your tap do not put it in your bread, third is yeast-it must be fresh. Also, yeast can be inactivated by heat and salt so I always test the temperature of my water and temper my sponge with flour before adding salt. Never force the dough to rise as a low slow rise imparts flavor. Lastly, always measure/weigh all ingredients. These are a few tips given to me by a dear friends mother who was a professional baker, in her Chicago bakery, for over 50 years.
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