Cannot make soft bread

[Missie Leigh]

@foodlover please let me know how your next attempt works out. The last and only one I tried was like lead. That might be an exaggeration but it was horrible in my opinion but looked good in a picture. Since then the whole bread making thing has been on pause and I still feel inadequate when it comes to trying again.

I have found that the longer I knead it the better the texture is. I have a favorite recipe that I use:
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. Yeast (I use instant)
Mix this all together.***
Add:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups warm water
*** If you use regular yeast you will need to proof it with 1 cup of the warm water and the sugar until it foams. Then add this to the dry ingredients and mix.
I use my KitchenAid mixer so kneading for about 4 minutes once it's all mixed is plenty of time to get a good texture. If you are hand mixing it will take a considerably longer time.
I let the dough rise in the mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap or a damp dish towel until it is about doubled. Then I punch it down and form it into 2 loaves. I let it rise again, then bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. I've found that this recipe lasts for about a week without molding.

 

[buckytom]

Wow, nice Missie.

I am a sucker for soft white bread.

Ok, well, breads of all kinds, but from my childhood, I'd love to make a loaf like Wonder bread.

 

[Morning Glory]

Wow, nice Missie.

I am a sucker for soft white bread.

Ok, well, breads of all kinds, but from my childhood, I'd love to make a loaf like Wonder bread.

I don't think that its possible to make Wonder Bread at home - there are things added I believe to achieve that really soft texture. We don't have Wonder Bread here but there are plenty of brands of ready sliced white soft bread. I like it too although there is a bread snobbery amongst some in the UK who distain it.

 

[Elawin]

These days I very rarely make white bread. I use a mixture of white and wholemeal flour (either 1/3 white, 2/3 wholemeal, or half and half) - all wholemeal is usually too stodgy. I also use 1/3 whey to 2/3 other liquid and add an egg (the total liquid including egg must not exceed the total liquid stated in the recipe). I use just slightly more than 1 teaspoon of easy bake dried yeast with 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 2 teaspoons of light brown sugar. As I said before, I use a bread maker to mix and prove the dough, finally leaving the dough to stand for about ten minutes before gently knocking it back and leaving to rise for a further 1/2 hour. I never bake it in a bread tin. Before putting it in the oven, I sprinkle a little flour over the top of the loaf and slash it 3 or 5 times depending on the size of the loaf. When the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow, I take it out of the oven and wrap it in a tea towel. Once it's cool, I put it in one of those plastic boxes of the type that sweets come in at Christmas. I usually make more than one loaf at a time so, if I'm not going to use it straightaway, I put the extra loaf in the freezer. I always have a bread mix or two in the cupboard for emergencies (or for types of flavoured bread I don't usually make) as well as a pack of seed bread mix.

 

[winterybella]

Have you tried with fresh yeast?

I let it rise initially, then I deflate the dough and let it rise again, deflate it again and then I put it into the proving basket to rise again.

All I have tried is staying far from the whole exercise. Yet I have to confess not a week goes by that I do not think of giving it a go....Then I tell myself no. There was a time some months ago when I was giving it serious thought and had yeast brought in, but when I tested the yeast it was not responding. Now I am speaking of it in human terms as though I am performing some sort of operation. Truthfully, that is how bread baking probably is for me. It's like putting a novice in the operating room and asking them to perform surgery.

 

[Cinisajoy]

All I have tried is staying far from the whole exercise. Yet I have to confess not a week goes by that I do not think of giving it a go....Then I tell myself no. There was a time some months ago when I was giving it serious thought and had yeast brought in, but when I tested the yeast it was not responding. Now I am speaking of it in human terms as though I am performing some sort of operation. Truthfully, that is how bread baking probably is for me. It's like putting a novice in the operating room and asking them to perform surgery.

Go buy new yeast. Find a simple recipe. Follow instructions. It is easy.