this bread is as short as cottage cheese

[tmk]

In the never-ending quest to bake a decent loaf of bread, I questioned my 92-year-old father about his mother's bread-baking. She was a farm wife in western Kansas who baked bread twice a week for over fifty years of married life. She learned baking from her mother who as an German immigrant homesteader baked in Dodge City during the cattle drive days. (She even saw a couple af rough-necks shot down in the streets of Dodge.) Dad didn't remember much about Grandma's baking but told a story about a neighbor who was helping with wheat harvest. By way of praising my grandmother's bread, he complained of his own wife's bread saying (in German, of course), "Her bread is as short as cottage cheese." meaning that it was crumbly, had no stretch.

So, my questions:
1) How do you get bread that stretches like that? Grandma's bread would s-t-r-e-t-c-h before tearing. It was chewy in nature.
2) How do you get bread that is evenly light? My bread tends to be heavier on the bottom and only seems well-raised on the top. I don't have a baking stone. Could that help?
3) I know Gandma made sourdough bread and just kept a piece of dough rather than keeping a liquid starter. Could that be part of the reason for her excellent results?

Thanks,
Tom

[GhettoRacingKid]

im not much of a baker here but i got some bread expereince.

the answer to #1 is Kneading. knead and knead away. This buils the gluten which gives it the streaching quality. that will help for a lighter bread since the steam will stay trapped.

thats all i can help with

[siduri]

Because your grandmother saved some bread dough for the next batch's starter, she probably let it rise for a very long time. Try overnight and even if you don't use a starter, use a VERY small amount of yeast, like half a teaspoon. Take a look at the recipes for "no knead bread" which are on this site and everywhere else. Even WITHOUT kneading, it comes with a whole lot of stretch and a whole lot of flavor.

[KyleW]

Wetter is better. The more liquid in your dough the lighter it will be. If your dough is easily handled, and doesn't want to stick to the board, it's not wet enough. It should be just shy of sticking to you hands and the board. Dry dough = short loaves. You don;t mention whether or not you are using white or whole wheat flour. Whole wheat is tricky business when it comes to light and fluffy loaves. The bran cuts the gluten strands and the loaves can be shorter. Also, if you are using bread flour, you should be using a mixer to knead the dough. It is difficult to develop the gluten in bread flour by hand. Random thoughts from a cluttered mind.

[tmk]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I have been using white flour, specifically a "short patent" bread flour. I knead with a Kitchenaid mixer. My techniques have evolved toward a wetter dough and longer knead time. I will continue further in that direction and also try less yeast and longer rise time.

Thanks again,
Tom

[KyleW]

I wonder what the protien level of you flour is. The higher the protien the harder it is to develop the gluten. If I were you I would try your recipe with all purpose flour and see what happens.