My whole wheat sandwich bread is lacking in yeasty flavor, which I find aromatic. But how will adding more of it affect my bread in terms of proofing and others?
Right now, my bread has good oven spring and it shows in the splits on both sides of the loaf. I have extended the final proofing time, but the bread still split while the dome makes a little overhang on one end.
Pictures would be really helpful here.
What do you mean by yeasty flavor? Normally, bread shouldn't have a specifically yeasty flavor if it's made correctly. What recipe are you using? Are you scoring the tops of the loaves?
I have not taken any pictures yet, unfortunately. But the splits are on both top corners running the length of the rectangular loaf.
I am using Peter Reinhart's duplex method with the difference being the 1) addition of bread improver, 2) addition of potato flakes and 3) using deconstructed whole wheat flour in the form of all-purpose flour, gluten, bran and germ.
I do not want to score since I shape the bread in the form of a pullman.
If you want the loaf to taste like yeast, add a boatload and stand back. You will have bread in an hour that tastes like yeast and flour.
If you want the bread to taste deliciously fermented, add LESS yeast and wait for the development of great flavor-like fine wine or good beer.
If you want chewy bread, add gluten to AP flour.
If you want dry bread, add bran and wheat germ without some form of a soak or autolyze. However, doesn't Reinhart do a soaker? Do you add the bran and wheat germ to the soaker?
If you want soft bread add potatoe flakes.
If you want a soft,square sandwich loaf, I would not add the gluten, add the potato flakes, soak the bran and germ for about 30-60 minutes before adding to the AP dough and I would knead the AP flour dough to windowpane. It is easier to achieve windowpane before adding the bran and germ but not impossible. Most brand name (Gold Medal,Pillsbury,Ceresota,etc) UNBLEACHED AP flours have plenty of gluten to make a great loaf of bread. Gluten makes it faster but chewier.
If you are not putting the top on the Pullman pan to bake it, then you are making a loaf that will dome and needs a slash on the top so it doesn't burst where you don't want it to burst.
If you don't want "shoulders" on the loaf (I think they are annoying), then put the dough in a deeper pan. I have found various corning casseroles work for this as well as steam table pans. I usually find these at thrift stores.
If you want whole wheat, why don't you use whole wheat flour? Isn't t available where you are?
Also responding to estherc.
I am trying to duplicate the qualities of store-bought whole wheat sandwich bread, but with less sugar. The texture and airiness of my result are near there, so I am quite happy. Maybe because I bake in a 5" wide tin rather than 4" as is commonly used, I may need to lower the temperature the next time.
Whole wheat flour is available where I live. The reasons I use separate components are that it is more economical and unprocessed bran is healthier for the gut. My fiber content is 8.2 grams per 100 grams of bread, higher than store-bought, which is about 7 grams.
While Rose's bread looks wonderful, the recipe uses only half of whole-wheat. One day after I have gotten my recipe down pat, I shall post a picture.
Before I started using sourdough I had excellent results with flavor using Rose Levy Beranbaum's method. She mixes some of the yeast with some of the flour and all of the water to make a sponge. Then mixes the remainder of the yeast and flour together and pours it on top of the sponge. Then you put it all the fridge overnight or 4 hours at room temp. The sponge will bubble up through the flour on top. After you've fermented it you mix it. Here's an example of her technique: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/50-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-351231