I made a brown brick

[mom]

Got my chia seed and coconut oil; followed the recipie and put it in the bread machine. Man it had a wonderful flavor and it was moist but it was a brick. I don't trust the bread machine anymore. BTW - the chickens loved the bread. Today I am trying again, by hand - have faith that before I die I will make bread that is fit for human consumption. But I guess I could use the bread bricks to make raised beds. ;D

[Lynnkay]

Please don't feel too bad--you're not the only 'brick maker' out there, as I've made quite a few of 'em myself. ;D
We have chickens, too, but since my husband likes the flavor of the bread so much, he goes ahead to eat it anyway.
I'm still learning, and a young friend even came once to 'show me how'. The bread that I made with her was great, but the bread that I made after she went home wasn't so great. ???

I refuse to give up. This week, I'm going to try again, and maybe this time I'll use whey from my kefir to see if soaking the flour in that overnight will help it to rise better. A website that is helpful is: www.urbanhomemaker.com I use the recipe that I found there, plus took some ideas from Karen's excellent posts. So, I've had good teachers, but I'm just 'bread-maker challenged' obviously, and it will take a little longer for me to get the hang of it.

[mom]

I wonder if there is a market for bread bricks - I could retire from my job and make a living making brown bricks

[Shamrock1121]

mom -

What recipe did you use? Did you adjust the dough for the correct hydration during the kneading?

My worst "brick" story. I was using a recipe out of "Bread Machine Baking - PERFECT EVERY TIME" by Lora Brody and Millie Apter.

75 FOOLPROOF Recipes for Every Bread Machine on the Market - Including Yours.

Yeah, right.... >:(

I made the recipe for Sourdough Cornmeal Bread, not once, but TWICE, and both times it was a big old brick.

I don't think I ever made a recipe out of that book ever again.

-Karen

[Lynnkay]

What recipe did you use? Did you adjust the dough for the correct hydration during the kneading?
-Karen

Karen, this idea of checking the hydration is one of the best tips that I have received by reading your posts. It takes a few bread-making attempts to learn the correct 'feel' of the dough, and I'm not there yet, but learning. ;)

[Shamrock1121]

Lynnkay -

You have to be careful how much whey you use in a yeast bread recipe - or dairy products of any kind for that matter.

Years ago I was trying to improve the protein level of bread, and reduce the high-glycemic impact from the wheat flour, and experimented with adding a lot of whey in the form of whey-based milk substitute and whey protein powder - for failure after failure - loaf after loaf.

Then I read where adding too much dairy in the form of milk, cottage cheese, yogurt or dried milk powder can adversely effect the volume, symmetry, cellular structure, and texture of bread. You can overcome some the effects by scalding milk.

I have a favorite loaf for Dill Bread that uses a LOT of cottage cheese, and the crust always looked more like the surface of the moon than a nice smooth crust, but the taste was wonderful. I now know it's because of all the cottage cheese.

There is a protein found in the whey (which is in all those dairy products, even dried powdered milk) that is responsible for the reduced volume and poor texture.

I use kefir in most of my bread recipes. If there is a nice layer of whey on the surface of the kefir, I'll usually pour it off and use it in something else besides bread, like our morning smoothie.

It comes down to amount.

-Karen

[Lake_Lady]

I'm sorry your bread didn't turn out but your thread title sure did make me laugh. Good luck today and keep us posted.

Karen, When adding the 'chia goop' do we make any adjustments with the liquid?

[mom]

I am convinced it wasn't the dough itself but rather the bread maker - it only rose about half as much as it should and then started baking it. Yesterday I tried again and didn't use the bread maker. Hubby preferes rolls/buns so I made those and it was great. Thanks for all the tips

[Shamrock1121]

Karen, *When adding the 'chia goop' do we make any adjustments with the liquid?

Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. ::) When I do, it's not much - reduce the water a tablespoon or two. This is done if I don't alter any other ingredients or use add-ins (flaxmeal or multi-grain cereal blends).

When I don't reduce the water, I'll add other ingredients that compensate for the extra hydration from the chia goop - like flaxmeal, multi-grain cereal, or even just additional flour to get the "feel" the dough needs.

I almost always add 2-3 T. of flaxmeal - and that helps offset the chia goop, or I'll add 1/3-1/2 c. multi-grain cereal when the add-in beep sounds. If I add multi-grain cereal, then the dough ball in the Zo is usually a little loose when I make the addition. The chopped grain will absorb some hydration during fermentation (the rise).

Note: It's better to err on the side of a wet dough than a hard dry dough when you are baking the dough outside the bread machine.

-Karen