Why is my bread too dense?!
Answers: I made a basic flour, yeast, water and salt bread. I kneaded it by hand for about 8 minutes (i let it mature from a sticky dough into a smooth one without adding more flour), and let it cold rise in the fridge for about 12 hours. I then shaped it into tiny loaves (sub roll size) and let rise at room temp for about 45 minutes. I put them in a 375 degree for about 20-25 minutes. They looked great and tasted amazing but I am trying to get them lighter and airier for subs. Any suggestions?
First, make sure you're kneading enough. Dough is kneaded enough when it will make a 'window'. Take little piece about the size of a marble and flatten it out. Keep stretching it in the middle until it's as thin as you can get it. Properly kneaded dough will stretch out into a membrane that you can see light through. That's a 'window'.
Also when you 'punch down' after first rising, you don't need to flatten the dough. The purpose of punching down is to redistribute the yeast. Try to maintain the volume.
Finally, 'spring' is very important. When you first put dough in the oven it rises quickly because the heat makes the gas bubbles in the dough expand. This is called spring. But this only goes on for the first five or ten minutes because the formation of crust stops the dough from expanding. In bakeries where they make french bread they have steam injectors to prevent the crust from hardening too quickly so you get a better spring.
For the best springy ou want to get the oven just as hot as it will go. A pizza stone helps because it holds that heat and transfers it to the dough so it heats up faster and you get more spring.
Finally, while you don't really need anything more than flour, water, yeast and a little salt to make bread, a little bit of fat will make the bread softer. Add a tablespoon of oil, for instance, and see the difference it makes!
yes dont work the dough so much the more u work it the more u develope the gl;uten stains and in returns make it dense or try using a mixing bowl with a dough hook and aslo are u using bread flour or all purpose all porpuse wilkl me be more dense
because you probably overmixed the ingredients and didn't need it enough before you let it rise or after you let it rise.
i'm with that guy. i also suggest not letting the bread rise in the fridge. you might just wanna keep it in a cool dry place like the kitchen counter. i can't imagine the moisture in the fridge is helping anything