What makes bread soft and spongy?

What makes bread soft and spongy?

Bakers use two simple facts of life to create soft, spongy, moist bread: The flour-and-water mixture in bread becomes stretchy like a balloon because of a protein in wheat known as gluten. Gluten gives bread dough the ability to capture the carbon dioxide produced by yeast in tiny flour balloons.

What makes bread light and fluffy?

How light the bread is is a function of how much gas is in the dough. It's the carbon dioxide that creates all the little bubbles that makes bread airy. Gas is created with the growth of the yeast. The more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough.

Is it cheaper to make your own bread?

Here's the answer: yes it's cheaper to make your own bread than having to buy it. In a recent comparison conducted by saveonenergy.com, the ingredients required for a loaf of homemade sandwich bread cost around $2. Combined with the costs of having it in the oven it's only around $2.20 to bake your own bread.

Why is my homemade bread dry?

Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly, creating a dry texture. A range of flour is always given in yeast bread recipes because flours vary in moisture content, reacting in different ways depending on the time of year, weather conditions, etc.

Why is my homemade bread so dense?

Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough long enough. Mixing the salt and yeast together or Losing patience in the middle of molding your bread and there is not enough tension in your finished loaf before baking.

What makes bread hard after baking?

Too much flour and not enough water can cause crumbly bread – people often do this if the dough is too sticky and they add more flour rather than kneading through it. Other culprits can be overproving or not kneading enough – the things you need to do to get a good structure.

Can you over knead bread?

If you think you've over-kneaded the dough, try letting it rise a little longer before shaping it. You can't really undo the damage of over-worked gluten, but the longer rise can get the dough to relax a little. Loaves made with over-kneaded dough often end up with a rock-hard crust and a dense, dry interior.

How do you get good crust on bread?

The preferred trick to getting the perfect crust at home is to bake your bread in a Dutch oven. A closed Dutch oven will trap the water that evaporates from the dough and convert it to steam under the lid. The steam clings to the surface of the dough and keeps the entire loaf moist.

Does kneading dough make it softer?

Slowly adding flour to the dough as it is kneaded prevents sticking—but don't add too much. An excess of flour can create a stiff, dry dough. A perfectly kneaded dough springs back when poked with your finger and will feel soft and silky in texture.