Rolling in the Dough

Bread is one of those interesting chemistry experiments you can eat. Making bread helps keep the house warm on cold winter days. It is also significantly cheaper than buying agglutinated crumb material. So, in the interest of science, and the betterment of my belly, I began experimenting with bread recipes.

The first attempts were with standard recipes from the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I also played with my darling wife's bread recipe. Somehow, I was not altogether pleased -- I like a soft bread, that is chewy and not too crusty. Something that is springy, and doesn't break up into crumbs that easily ...

So I began with the Sweet Roll Dough recipe from Betty & Co. :

2 tbsp dry yeast
1 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup shortening
6 cups flour

Except that I ended up using about 8 cups of flour. All of the above thoroughly mixed, raised twice, and baked for 30 minutes at 375. The result was edible. Four loaves that were very heavy and cakey. It took almost a week and a half to eat them, with a loaf of store-bought bread thrown into the test period (not everybody is fond of my experimentation).

Next attempt -- 21 February 2008. The first batch was not the best bread in town. Too heavy. Tended toward crumbling. I theorized that the grease and egg were the main culprits. Try number 2 :

2 tbsp dry yeast
2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
6-1/2 cups flour

The amount of flour was what was left in the bucket, and I was too lazy to go upstairs and get more. Baked 30 minutes at 375. I figured on kick-starting the yeast with the extra sugar. No eggs, no grease. Rubbed some shortening around the inside of the metal salad bowl I used to raise the dough in, though. The result :Very nice!! Two BIG loaves. (Maybe too big??) Crust is just a bit dark, but the bread is chewy, tender, somewhat sweet, and toasts very well and is not at all crumbly. I like!!

But, those who know me know I am hard to satisfy. Therefore I plan to tweak the recipe just a bit more :

2 tbsp dry yeast
2-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
8 cups flour

Above to be baked 35 minutes at 350. Probably a four loaf batch. I figure this recipe will need to be tried tomorrow, because the current batch may not be long for this world.