Saging Bread Loaf

[kokopuffs]

Hi to all. Taaa Daaa. I think that I achieved something closer to perfection in breadmaking. Since I began breadmaking 2 months ago I've kneaded my dough for about 10 minutes. The final loaf appeared saging, low profile. Yesterday I kneaded the dough for 15 minutes total, in addition to two 4 minute rest periods. The final loaf rose higher than ever before, with a pronounced dome-shape profile. It held its upright shape more prominently.

My previous experience with doughmaking shows that the shorter kneading time left the gluten underdeveloped. It yielded a "weaker" structure hence a flatter loaf. Comments, anyone?

[Pooh]

Congragulations on your progress. You must feel wonderful!

You are absolutely right. You were "underkneading" your dough. Go by "look and feel" not by "time".

I also thought the following excerpt from The Pleasures of Whole Grain Breads, by Beth Hensperger, © October 1999 may help.

You will find the whole excerpt on www.amazon.com. She also wrote THE BREAD BIBLE, BREAD FOR BREAKFAST and THE BREADLOVERS BREAD MACHINE COOKBOOK.

When kneading dough, beginning bakers often add too much flour. Adding too much flour results in a dough that is slack, cold, and tough. Too little flour and the dough has sticky spots.

Knead dough only until it retains a moist, tacky quality, yet feels smooth when you run your hand over the surface. It should hold its shape and be springy to the touch. Leave whole-wheat dough sticky; it will firm up as it rises. If it is still too moist, add a few tablespoons of flour after the rise. Doughs with flaked grains, such as rolled oats or barley, wheat, or quinoa flakes, have a nubby feel. The addition of cornmeal, barley grits, and small raw grains, such as millet, quinoa, and teff, make a dough that is gritty or pebbly to the touch. Using cooked grains makes a slightly lumpy dough.

The longer that dough slowly rises at room temperature, the more developed the flavor will be
and lighter the texture. Never desert a very slow dough; whole-grain doughs take from one hour to four hours to rise. Dough generally rises to no more than double in bulk; occasional exceptions are noted in specific recipes. Never overrise these doughs.

Many expert bakers refrigerate dough overnight as a standard procedure, as dough that rises
slowly develops the best flavor and texture. Yeast dough may be refrigerated at any time during the rising process: after kneading, after the first rise, or even after being shaped. Place the dough ball in a well-greased deep container and cover with two layers of plastic wrap. Water-based doughs keep up to four days and milk-based doughs up to two to three days in the refrigerator with frequent punching down during the first six hours, let the chilled dough stand at room temperature for thirty minutes before proceeding.

[ April 03, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]