Enriched breads

Toast
Baker Frank on 26 Nov 2016 at 11:33

I make an enriched bread for the holidays that calls for 3 eggs. The outcome is a delicious bread that I feels can be improved upon significantly if it was less dense. Do you think 2 eggs instead of 3 would make for a lighter more open crumb? FYI: I thing the quantity of yeast is correct and I retard the dough overnight in the refrig.

Thank you for sharing your opinion!

Frank

  If you replace the egg weight with water, you'll be reducing protein in the bread, i.e. gluten. 

 

The quality of gluten in dough is very important:

  • If gluten is too weak it can’t stretch in thin films around the air bubbles produced during fermentation. The gas bubbles would then swell and burst, causing the loaf to lack volume.
  • If gluten is too strong then it won’t stretch so the gas bubbles can’t expand causing a very dense loaf.

Cite

  I don't know what your whole recipe is, but it sounds like you may already know what you need (knead?) to do.  Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

Post your formula and method and we can help you.  challah usually contains much more eggs and is typically a very light bread so I doubt the eggs or reduction in eggs will make a difference.  Type of flour, hydration level and mixing methods will all effect the final outcome.

My family loves this bread but I find it too dense and my quest, to make it lighter with a more open crumb. I did some further reading and it maybe that my assumption that the 3 eggs are making the bread denser may have been wrong. In fact, eggs make bread lighter since they have a leavening affect on bread.

Nutella Star Bread

Ingredients:

  • 464g AP Flour (total)
    • 410g AP for initial mix
    • 54g AP or extra to work with as needed
  • 70g Sugar
  • 1 Teaspoons of Instant Yeast
  • ¼ tsp. of Salt
  • 40g of melted Unsalted Butter
  • 212g. of slightly warmed Milk
  • 3 Egg Yolks room temperature (keep the whites to glaze the bread)
  • 1½ cup of Nutella
  • Marmalade or other fruit spread
  • Kosher salt to sprinkle on top after the egg wash
  • Turbanado sugar to sprinkle on top after the egg wash

 Directions:

  • First 3 steps can be done in a stand mixer or by hand
  • Mix together: flour, sugar, yeast, and salt
  • Add in unsalted butter, milk, and egg yolks and stir lightly.
  • Kneed for 7– 9 minutes until smooth and silky.
  • Divide into 4 equal pieces
  • Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
  • Flour a work surface and roll out one of the dough pieces into a 10” circle
  • Place the rolled out dough onto parchment paper
  • Slight warm the Nutella so that it is more spreadable.
  • Spread the Nutella on the dough.
  • Move the parchment paper onto a flat pan and move it away from the work surface
  • On the second rolled out dough spread the marmalade
  • On the third rolled out dough spread the Nutella.
  • Take the worked dough off the baking sheet, place the plate on top of the layered dough, press down with the plate, and cut a circle with a sharp knife. Remove excess dough.
  • Place a glass sized circle in the middle and using a knife cut 16 slices in the dough up to the glass.
  • Twist each slice twice around alternating the direction.
  • Pinch together the ends of each pair
  • Place the parchment paper back onto the baking sheet.
  • Cover the dough with a damp tea cloth for 20 minutes so the dough can rise.
  • Heat the oven to 350°
  • Wash the prepared dough with the reserved egg whites
  • Sprinkle salt and sugar
  • Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

... just FWIW, my regular enriched dough has 2 eggs for 500g flour (plus milk - varying amounts depending on the dough's final use, but I weigh the eggs and milk together - typically 300-350g of egg+milk). then 80g sugar and 80g unsalted butter. (7g dried yeast + 7g salt) I use that to make a variety of buns, rolls, pain viennois etc.

This sort of thing:

I've never made an actual loaf out of it (other than pain viennois) though.

-Gordon

 

Thanks Gordon, looks great and I will give it a try!

Frank

One thing I notice is that there is almost no rising time for the recipe. You mix it and immediately place it into the refrigerator. Depending on how warm the dough was and how cold the refrigerator is, it might not rise much. Plus, you've already divided the dough, so it will cool off faster.

I would suggest letting the entire mass of dough ferment for a while after you mix it, perhaps letting it double, then punching it down and refrigerating undivided.

Also, scalding the milk before using it will improve the crumb a bit.

 

tgrayyson, it really helps to have someone else review a recipe that is not working as desired. Great advice.

Much appreciated,

Frank

If you want a lighter, fluffier bread, you are going to have to spend a little bit more time on kneading. The butter and the egg yolks, although not representing huge quantities in the recipe, are going to work against the rising of the bread, as fats tend to weigh down on gluten development (though they bring a necessary moisture and creaminess to the crumb party). When we make brioche in a traditional bakery, the kneading is done in two steps : first, without the butter, then with it. Total kneading time is upwards of 30 minutes (in a big, powerful machine). If you are mixing by hand, 7-9 minutes will not suffice to get you the airiness you're after. Granted, you're not putting in as much butter as a brioche, but 7-9 minutes for something super light and airy seems insufficient, especially with the formula and process you have there (yes, natural sourdoughs can be light and airy with much less kneading, but enriched breads are a different animal).

If you are mixing by hand, cancel all of your appointments after you begin kneading : you're gonna be at it a while (I exaggerate, but seriously). And I would recommend employing a kneading method that actively incorporates air into the dough. Turning, folding and pushing doesn't seem to incorporate a ton of air, while a slap and fold method will bring a decent amount into the dough. I would spend a good 20 - 25 minutes beating up the dough before calling sending it off to ferment on its own. That should give you very solid gluten development to trap all that gas, giving you a light and airy crust. If you are using a machine, let that baby run for 15-20 minutes before letting it ferment.

Also, before sticking it in the fridge, its a good idea to let it bulk ferment a little while at room temperature (20-30 minutes, at least), just to make sure things are on their way.

 

Lepain, I am grateful for your suggestions and I look forward to using them!

Sometimes I feel guilty not going it alone in developing and testing various possibilities for improving a recipe I make but am not satisfied with. I rarely make this bread so the evolution process is too infrequent. It is beautiful bread to look at and people love Nutella in and on anything so I will be making this recipe in the future.

The suggestions I have received TFL have been generous and spot on.

Frank