Bread Recipes - Yeast, French, White & More | Taste of Home (2024)

FAQs

Does adding more yeast make bread fluffier? ›

Because gas is created as a result of yeast growth, the more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough and the more light and airy your bread loaf will be.

Longer fermentation gives bread stronger flavors. “A yeasty aroma and acidic flavors start to develop, adding more flavor to the finished bread,” Blakeslee said. Some bakers choose to do the extra step of making a sponge in order to add a slight sour and tangy flavor to the bread.

If you're looking to ramp up the taste of your favorite bread recipe, we recommend adding a bit of fat. A fat like butter, olive oil or coconut oil in small quantities will help your bread achieve a higher rise and it will also boost its flavor by tenfold.

Sweet yeast doughs will take longer to rise. Too much flour makes dough too stiff to rise properly.

Add Milk

To make your bread soft and fluffy, another trick used by commercial bakers is replacing water with milk. Milk has fats which make bread softer.

Well it's simple, bread flour has an increased amount of protein or more gluten which results in a lighter, fluffier dough which produces a less dense finished product. All-purpose flour can be used for bread but bread flour is always better if your goal is a “fluffier” bread.

Problem: Your bread has a fermented, alcoholic smell or taste to it. Causes: Too much yeast. Over-proofed.

If you add baking soda to a quick bread, the gas bubbles it releases into the batter lifts your bread. When the combination of baking soda and acid combines with heat, proteins in the batter (like eggs) turn rigid. The rigid structure traps the gas and results in a light, fluffy texture.

In order to use less yeast you're going to add time and/or warmth to the dough preparation process. Enriched doughs (those with lots of butter, eggs, milk, and/or sugar) can develop off flavors in a warmer environment, or in the time it takes for reduced amounts of yeast to grow and work at cool room temperature.

Salt adds flavor to bread. If none or too little is used in a recipe, the bread will lack the right flavor and taste "bland." If you reduce the amount of salt, try adding some dried herbs to increase the flavor. Too much yeast in bread will give bread an off-taste.

What is the secret to making good bread? ›

Your bland bread could be the result of rushing the process. Try a slow overnight rise in the refrigerator. Plan ahead to proof your loaf overnight. This hands-off time in the icebox will slow the fermentation process in your dough and result in a complex-flavored loaf.

If a large amount of salt (or sugar, which is also hygroscopic) were to be combined with a small amount of yeast and left for a long time it could, in theory, eventually rob the yeast of water to the degree that the yeast cells would begin to die off.

Because yeast does not divide much in bread dough (only 20-30% increase in cell numbers in 4 hours), what you start with is what you end up with in terms of yeast numbers. This can affect the bread by adding a "yeasty" taste if you put too much into the dough.

The color indicates the day of the week the bread was baked. Typically, commercial bread is baked and delivered to grocery stores five days a week. This gives bakeries two days off–Wednesdays and Sundays. The color system helps the store staff as they rotate in the freshest bread and remove the older loaves.

Because yeast does not divide much in bread dough (only 20-30% increase in cell numbers in 4 hours), what you start with is what you end up with in terms of yeast numbers. This can affect the bread by adding a "yeasty" taste if you put too much into the dough.

The more yeast in a recipe initially, the quicker it produces CO2, alcohol, and organic acids. Alcohol, being acidic, weakens the gluten in the dough, and eventually the dough becomes “porous,” and won't rise; or won't rise very well.

Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf.

It carries out the process of fermentation which converts sugar and starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol. So, when yeast is added to the dough, it rises because it turns the dough into carbon dioxide and alcohol and the alcohol which is formed is evaporated during the baking process.