I'm a yeast flunkie. I really am. In my life, any attempt at baking a yeast-based dough has been a flop. I'll buy all fresh ingredients, and follow the instructions, yet even my old bread machine fails to supply me with bread that has risen.
But I'm determined to turn this weakness into a strength. Last year my friend Jackie taught a bread-making class, which got me excited and gave me a desire to do it, but as I didn't have any fancy mixer like she'd used, I never actually tried it on my own.
But I was very excited about the addition of a KitchenAid to my baking tool kit last week, and resolved that TODAY was the day! I would conquer my poor track record, face my yeasty fears, and produce honey whole wheat bread from scratch.
Naturally it was the first really hot day we've had all year. But when we turned on the AC, nothing came out. So here I am, heating up the place with the oven, while our air conditioner is on vacation. Strike one.
I decided to cut the recipe in half, to make sure it would all fit in the stand mixer. I got to the add yeast part and realized the packet of yeast I had wasn't quite as much as Jackie's Foolproof Bread recipe called for. Strike two!
The packet I had didn't have an expiration date on it, so I just hoped it wasn't dead. I found an unopened jar of yeast in my fridge, way in the back where it's been all nice and cold for the past 4 years. It HAD expired back in 2007 (strike 3), but I was banking on it still being potent due to it's unopened, frigid status. I threw some of that yeast in for good measure.
Then Glory Hallelujah they started rising in the pans! When they were more than double their original size, and had peeked a bit above the rim, I turned the oven on to bake them. Now our oven has a temperature setting, but I also have an oven thermometer inside the oven. Unfortunately there is almost a hundred degree difference in what they tell me, and I don't know which one is closer to the truth, so I always just try to watch things when I bake. Unfortunately they didn't rise any further once they were in the oven. (Strike 4)
I don't know what happened with that batch...if the oven killed them or what. They tasted fine, if a bit dense.
Something I should have noticed before I made my illustrious plans was that I don't really have bread pans. I have one very large glass pan, and a few of those disposable mini-loaf sized pans. So, my friend Shelah to the rescue...she loaned me her pans, and while I was there she also threw in a few packs of yeast for good measure.
I came home and decided to whip up aNOTHer batch using the fresh yeast packs, and I followed the recipe to the letter, but the same thing happened as the first two loaves.
So clearly I'm still having yeast issues even after all these years. But I will figure this out. And I WILL have success sooner than later. I'm bound and determined.
Grateful for:
1) The chance to learn new things. Even if my end results weren't worthy of giving away today (Drat! Because I had a few intendeds who don't even know that they missed out.).
2) Summer! I love Summer!
3) Unexpectedly, Doc is NOT going to be out of town this week. First week of summer, and we're all together! Need to make a plan for this precious time.
♥
3 comments:
Yahoo!!! I am so glad you tried!! And I am so glad you got a mixer! You will get things all figured out and you will be the best bread maker around these here parts. Way to go woman!
I don't make much except pizza dough in the bread-maker, but I find the yeast is very sensitive to the temperature of the milk. 80 degrees, so it should feel slightly warmer than room temperature liquid and definitely cooler than body temperature (baby bath water).
The age of the yeast packets makes a difference, even before the expiration date -- and I just found out I'm supposed to be keeping them in the fridge.
Also, bread flour is essential, because it has more gluten, which gives it elasticity to rise.
A few more suggestions from my manual:
Cinnamon and garlic are not good friends of yeast, which is why you put it outside or rolled up.
Salt is necessary to temper the yeast; too little and it will rise too fast then fall.
Too much sugar will also make the yeast rise too fast then fall.
Any eggs should be at room temperature.
You may know all this, but I didn't. It definitely helped once I read the cookbook that came with my breadmaker. My dough is much more consistent now.
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SAM-I-am
yeast challenged! i know the condition oh-so-well! i was so sure that there was some sort of chemical in my body that deactivated the yeast as soon as it contacted my hands. i tried and tried and tried to get my bread to rise but it just wouldn't. then i had a master bread maker come over and show me how to do it right...it was a revelation! she was so loose and unstructured - you go more by feel than by measurements. once i relaxed into the process of bread making my dough started rising! i have a new theory - bread senses anxiety and will not perform under pressure. have a well seasoned bread guru come over and show you the ropes and how to sense that the dough is ready for action and you'll have lofty loaves in no time!
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