I've been using the following recipe:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/22823/italian-bread-using-a-bread-machine/
It probably isn't the best recipe, but it's the first one that I tried and it has decent reviews + it doesn't seem radically different from any other basic/beginner bread, and the few other recipes that I tried didn't fare much better, so I decided I would stick with this one until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Maybe that's a mistake, so if you see anything that is particularly off about this recipe, I'm all ears.
Anyway, the recipe says to cook the bread for 30-35 minutes at 375 degrees. I tried that, I tried 35 minutes at 400 degrees, 45 minutes at 400 degrees, and even 60 minutes at 400 degrees, at which point the crust became very dark, thick and too tough to chew, but the inside remained very dense, and wet, and gummy.
I've also tried proofing for various amounts of time, different shaped loaves, tapping on the bottom, adding more or less water, using bread flour instead of all purpose flour and yes, using a thermometer. I found that the bread will hit 212 degrees and then stay there, and that no matter how long I continue to bake it, it is never done on the inside---even after letting it cool on a wire rack for several hours.
Is it possible that the bread machine is just not kneading the dough properly?
It does sound like the gluten is not developed and/or the bread is not proofed (risen) properly when you bake it. Have you tested the yeast? Take a new packet and put a bit of it into slightly warm water to see if it gets foamy after 10 or 15 minutes. Does the dough seem to rise before it bakes?
By the way, the inside of bread is never going to get much hotter than the boiling point of water (212F), so don't try to get it above that. The bread is not 'uncooked', it's just not properly developed dough.
You might try a different recipe too, like this one at King Arthur Flour.
The bread does rise after shaping and then again in the oven, though I'm not sure if it's rising as much as it is supposed to (or maybe even too much?). I've been trying to use the finger poke test to figure out when it is ready, but the dough seems to stay indented at every stage which, now that I think about it, might also indicate that it is a kneading / gluten problem. I might just have to suck it up and try mixing by hand.
Otherwise, I'll try the recipe that you shared, thanks.
Have you tried setting the machine for the "white bread" cycle and run the whole thing in the machine? 4 cups of flour is on the upper end of loaf sizes, but most of the modern bread machines should be able to handle it.
The environment inside the machine is designed to provide the optimal chance for a dough to become bread, so if it doesn't work the recipe might need to be tweaked. At first glance it should work just fine - it's a 60% hydration white dough, enriched by a small amount of oil and sugar, which should be a slam-dunk for a bread machine.
I agree with LazyLoafer that the rest comes down to gluten development and dough handling. There is tons of information on this site about those topics, and a lot of people to ask questions of. So, keep trying, take good notes, and ask lots of questions -- you're on your way to making awesome bread!
--Mike
I actually haven't tried running it through the bread machine's full cycle, but it's probably a good idea, thanks. I haven't had a chance to bake anything since I made this post but I think this will be the first thing I try, and If I end up with the same crumb then I can rule out any handling / shaping issues.
The recipe calls for water at 110F; that's much too hot. My guess is that this + the heat generated from the mixing inside the machine is creating enough heat to kill the yeast. Try using colder water. Say about 70-75F. That might do it.
- Giancarlo
Noted, thanks. Gonna try all these suggestions and will update if / when I figure out what works, in case anybody stumbles upon this thread while searching for help on Google.
I finally got around to testing things and it appears to have been a rising issue. I used less yeast than indicated by the recipe and I allowed the shaped loaf to proof for a longer period of time and the texture was much improved. I still have to work out exactly how to tell when the dough is proofed enough since it didn't really look any different to me when I threw it in the oven, but I'm confident that the slower rise made a significant difference.
Also, I know that I initially said that I tried proofing for various amount of times, but the important thing is that I cut the amount of yeast that I was using, which allowed it to rise slower.