Easy homemade bread | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

What makes homemade bread soft and fluffy? ›

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.

Using milk instead of water in your yeasted bread is an easy way to add a touch of sweetness, making it ideal for challah, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and hot dog buns. Milk sugars not only add a hint of sweetness but also result in a softer, more uniform crumb and ensure a nicely browned crust.

Do Not Over-Knead Your Dough. The over-kneading dough is a common bread making mistake, which makes gluten too tight for bread to rise, resulting in chewy bread instead of fluffy. Kneading correctly is most important to strengthen the gluten and give your bread a perfect texture.

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.

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

The spongy texture and moist flavor that oil creates can be a boon to certain recipes. Not to mention oil is cheaper and easier to work with. Butter will always provide superior flavor and that melt-in-your-mouth texture. In many recipes, combining the two gives the best of both worlds.

Most common is of course cow's milk. There is also buffalo milk which is richer and fattier. Goat's milk can also be used, but it has an unusual flavour so it may not be for everyone.

When you combine baking powder or baking soda with yeast, the sodium bicarbonate will fizzle out while the yeast is just getting started. It is possible to mix them, however. In my savory sourdough discard quick bread recipe, I use a combination of baking powder and sourdough starter (which has a lot of wild yeast).

There's something magical about the bread you get at your local bakeries - they're always sooo soft and fluffy. Many of these breads, especially packaged ones, are made with a ton of chemical additives such as calcium propionate, amylase, and chlorine dioxide which help keep them soft, light, and fluffy for days.

What makes homemade bread more airy? ›

Perfect Your Yeast Levels

Carbon dioxide is responsible for all the bubbles that make holes in bread, making it lighter and 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.

Keep kneading until it has a smooth texture and can be stretched without tearing – this typically takes 10 minutes. Make it relaxing by turning on the radio and setting a timer. It's possible to over-knead dough if you're using a tabletop mixer.

Sweeteners such as malt and honey are used to add flavor to bread dough. Malt, which is available in powder and liquid form, can be added to almost any bread. It's important to use a nondiastatic version, though, as diastatic malt has active enzymes, which, in excess, will make dough extremely sticky.

Butter, technically a dough enrichment, tenderizes bread dough and limits gluten development, yielding a softer, more tender crumb and a richer flavor. The butter in this sourdough babka dough makes the interior tender—and delicious. Photo by Maurizio Leo.

Final answer: Carbon dioxide gas given off during fermentation of sugar makes bread soft and fluffy.

When you add milk to your dough, the lactose (milk sugar) will add a subtle sweetness to your bread, and the milk proteins will increase its nutritional value. Better still, the milk fats help retain carbon dioxide gases during baking, so your loaf comes out softer.

If you want to make stale bread soft again, wrap the bread in foil. If the crust of the bread is very hard, sprinkle a little water on the outside before you close the foil. Place the bread in a 300°F oven for 5-15 minutes or until the bread feels soft. If you added water, heat the bread until it no longer feels soggy.

Reddi-Sponge is a reducing agent made with dairy whey and L-cysteine and I bet that 6% level really gave you a soft and extensible dough. The best suited product for your application is an additive co*cktail made with SSL (sodium stearoyl lactalate) and distilled mono-diglyceride.