Stoopid bread question...

[TreasonousBastard]

Finding low-carb bread without a long list of ingredients I can't pronounce is getting harder at any price, so I'm back to baking my own, with things like cauliflower in it to bulk it up without adding carbs. If I get back into it, there's things like diet cinnamon buns to experiment with...

So, found neat bread machine on sale (I know, I know, but tiny kitchen, little free time and aversion to mess...) and the first loaf stunk. Really, it smelled like something fermented in there.

Why? All fresh ingredients and nothing really weird. Just straight whole wheat bread by the book.

I suspect it was because I mistakenly used rapid rise yeast in the whole wheat cycle and there really was fermentation during the second rise and long rest. Does that make sense?

[kentauros]

1. A second rise is really just a continuation of the first rise after punch-down.

The yeast is still active and rising the bread until it's either spent or baked.

If you think things were fermenting, then how did it taste?

I remember trying a no-yeast recipe from the Tassajara Bread Book years ago where you mixed wheat flour with water and a little salt, and then let it rise overnight. The yeasts in the flour and air made it overflow the pan and it had a distinctive pungent flavor. I didn't like it much, mostly because there was no gluten development.

You may need to cook your vegetable ingredients next time, maybe even blend them with the water so they distribute evenly throughout the dough. Perhaps the fermentation of the vegetables will be lessened that way, or at least not as pungent.

I'm not familiar with making low-carb bread, so while I have some time this morning, I'll see what I can find

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Tasted terrible. It was a first test loaf so didn't use...

anything extra except some strawberry syrup that later seemed suspect. That may have been the problem.

I'll try again tonite-- plain white bread with the rapid rise yeast on rapid rise program. Then one with regular yeast. If they are OK, I'll start playing around.

[Major Nikon]

2. If it smelled bad it probably means you fermented something other than yeast

The bacteria which causes spoilage will ferment under the same conditions as yeast, so you have to make sure everything is very clean including the inside of your bread machine.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. First use of the machine, and cleaned it before using it, so...

equipment is probably not the problem. I'm thinking if not the yeast, maybe the strawberry syrup I threw in as an afterthought.

[Major Nikon]

6. I suggest you start simple and then go for the more exotic

There's only 4 ingredients required for making bread which are flour, water, salt, and yeast. In fact, French culinary laws specify that certain types of bread such as baguettes can ONLY contain those 4 ingredients.

Measure your flour by weight, not volume as volumetric measurements are very tricky to maintain consistency and even small differences can have a dramatic effect on dough hydration. King Arthur specifies 4.25 oz = 1 cup. If you just scoop the flour out of the bag with a cup and level it off, you'll probably wind up with over 5oz of flour. I measure all my ingredients with my kitchen scale. If you are careful with your measurements and you get good results, you should be able to easily repeat those results. Anything else is hit and miss.

As far as yeast goes, rapid rise should work, but is probably not the best for bread machines. Instant yeast is essentially the same as rapid rise. You'll probably get the best results from yeast that is specifically intended for bread machines. It has to do with the size of the yeast granules as the yeast itself is all the same strain. If you can't find bread machine yeast, use active dry yeast. I store my yeast in the freezer. You can use it directly right out of the freezer with no worries. Periodically I test my yeast by sprinkling a small amount over warm (not hot) water. In about 5 minutes you should see small bubbles on the surface. If no bubbles, your yeast is dead and should be discarded.

[spinbaby]

5. Google "cloud bread"

Basically constructed of cream cheese and egg whites--very low carb and no bread machine involved.