Why is my home baked bread so heavy/ dense?!
Answers: I remember my mother's bread was so light and crusty. I use dried yeast, strong flour. Knead well, prove it twice etc.
Do you leave it long enough to rise before putting in the oven, it should bounce back quickly when pressed lightly on top.
Are you using enough yeast? about 30 g per k flour.
Are you using too much salt? you only need enough for flavour, and to help release the gluten, too much will kill the yeast.
Make sure the dough is smooth and elastic before shaping and placing in tins.
Fan ovens can dry the bread out making it heavy - sprinkle some water on the top of the loaf before putting in the oven.
Don't over cook, that can cause drying too.
Bake in a very hot oven, (200C elec fan).
Don't give up.
I have the same problem ( even using a bread maker ) so will watch answeres with interest. Good luck.
Do you use milk in the recipe? This can make bread heavy. If you do, try 50/50 milk and water.
what do you mean by strong flour?
It is very difficult to get a light bread without some white flour.
You might need to experiment with mixtures of white and whole wheat and or Rye.
That's why I gave away my bread making machine.
If I had dropped the bread I would of broke my foot !
To me they are cr@p.
So I buy fresh bread every day from a traditional baker.
I too will watch this question as my bread comes out soo hard n heavy you can stoat it (bounce it ) off the wall ! lol My bread comes out like Irish soda bread.
Sorry helloyou it's not an answer :(
Keep in mind that yeast has an expiration date. If the yeast is old, the bread won't rise and will end up heavy and dense.
Other things that can cause bread to be dense include not letting it double in size each time you let it rise (don't just let it rise for a specified period of time--make sure it doubles), adding too much flour when you're kneading the dough, and not kneading the dough enough. It sounds like you've tried avoiding those things, so maybe it's just time to try a new recipe with yeast that has not expired.
I use a bread-maker regularly and it does produce a denser texture than sliced bread.
Here are a few tips
1. different flours will produce different textures. always use strong flour as it contains more gluten.
2. measure out very carefully. you have to be extremely accurate with liquids and solids
3.Don't put in too much salt as it inhibits rising
4.try different yeasts, some makes are better than others
5. use the right oven temperature
It could be a number of things. Yeast could be old. You may not have the right temp for the yeast. You may be using the wrong kind of flour. You could be over kneading or even under kneading. You could be adding too much flour while kneading. Your oven temp could be off. The weather outside, like high humidity can affect bread. There really isn't a way to know for sure what is going on in your kitchen. I'm sorry that I can't give you a more definitive answer, but it isn't possible for anyone to actually answer and know for sure. All I can do is to tell you to check all your ingredients for freshness, buy a bread flour, and be very careful in following instructions as even a slight variation can affect the outcome. Good Luck.
Only once did I ever get mine light and crusty. For the life of me I cant remember what I did