Hi Herbies! Andrea again :] I think I've mentioned before, I'm much more of a baker than a cook. For awhile I stuck with cookies and cupcakes, but when I wanted a challenge..I turned to working with yeast. Yeast was intimidating. The first few times I baked yeast bread that actually rose I would do a little dance in my kitchen.
Baking bread is inexpensive and healthy, and there is nothing better than bread right out of your warm oven. This week, I made a no-oil olive rosemary bread. I don't usually bake without oil, but I've been adapting my recipes and I was so happy with how this turned out, just as soft as "full fat" olive bread!
Let's talk about yeast first. Yeast is a leavener, it's what will make your bread soft and fluffy. It feeds off of sugar and releases gases that makes it grow and rise. There's many kinds of yeast but to keep this simple we'll cover the two types of yeast you'll find in a normal-non-fancy grocery store;
There's dry, activated, yeast packets. These come in three packets (sometimes a jar!) and are usually in the baking aisle. This yeast should be kept in a room temperature environment. This is the type of yeast I use, it requires proofing but is definitely worth the wait. Proofing is the rest period where fermentation happens. If you've ever read a bread recipe, this is the part of the process where you just wait out your starter or your dough so it will rise.
There is also instant or fast acting yeast. This is self explanatory, the rising time is faster and doesn't require any sort of waiting. I've never used this type of yeast because I've always sort of felt like baking is worth the patience. I like the whole process of baking bread, it's fun for me, but you might not share that sentiment. A quick Google search will tell you have to replace dry yeast with instant yeast. (Via Google: To substitute instant or bread machine yeast for active dry yeast, use 25% less instant yeast than active dry.)
Now, let's get to the fun part! The recipe!
Whole Wheat Rosemary Olive Bread
Yields:2 Loaves
STARTER
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons fresh yeast (1 packet if you're using them!)
1 cup whole wheat flour
DOUGH
2/3 cup warm water
3 tablespoons agave
4 teaspoons fresh yeast (2 packets)
1/3 cup apple sauce
4 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon salt
Starter
1 3/4 cups black olives, pitted
4 tablespoons rosemary
For the starter: You want your water to be warm, but not so hot that you can't touch it without screeching. Water that is too hot will 'kill' the yeast and the fermenting process won't begin. I don't get technical enough to use a thermometer, but if you wanted to, the water would be between 95-105 degrees. Combine the water and fresh yeast in a bowl and stir until combined. Slowly add whole wheat flour to the mixture until combined. Cover your bowl with a towel and set aside for thirty minutes. Go do a dance while you wait and your yeast ferments :D
When you come back, your mixture should have just about doubled. Now you can make your dough!
For the dough: You can use a standmixer here if you have one, I don't and it's still just as possible to bake! Combine your water, agave and fresh yeast, stirring until combined. Add the apple sauce, salt, olives, starter, black olives and rosemary. Slowly add your flour to the wet mixture (one cup at a time). You want to be careful to not overmix or play with the dough too much, handling it too much disrupts the gluten. Once your dough has formed, divide into two sections. You can form the dough into two balls. Set your dough on a baking sheet and cover with a warm damp towel. Set your dough aside for thirty minutes, your dough will rise and double!
After this second rising, you have two options. You can form the dough into loaves and let rise again, because you've handled it and touched it,it needs a resting period. Your other option is to transfer the dough right into dough pans (or bake in the shape of a round sphere, your preference) and bake!
Make sure the pan or baking sheet you are baking your bread on is sprayed with oil. Cut the top of your bread with a sharp knife (this is called scoring), spray with water, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
Technically, you should let breads cool for 30 minutes before you cut into them. Or, you can cut it while piping hot and indulge, your choice ;)
We enjoyed our olive bread with Veggie, Bean, & Quinoa Croquettes (pg. 153 in The Happy Herbivore Cookbook) and steamed kale.
Lindsay S. Nixon
Hi I'm Lindsay also known as the Happy Herbivore.
I've dedicated myself helping folks lose weight on a vegan diet. I been blogging since 2006, written 6 books, and started a business called Meal Mentor.
FAQs
Gluten is important for giving the dough – and final loaves – structure. Without it, loaves tend to end up flat and dense. One trick is to add some white all-purpose flour along with the whole wheat flour. Even just a little white flour has enough gluten to give the dough better structure.
How do you make bread lighter and fluffier? ›
Add Sugar
Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.
Why doesn't my whole wheat bread rise? ›
If your bread isn't rising, make sure your yeast hasn't expired. Yeast is a living organism, so if you've kept it in the fridge too long, some of it may die, and it won't produce enough rise. So check the expiration date, and store it in the fridge or freezer. If it's past the date on the package, replace it.
What happens if you add too much vital wheat gluten to bread? ›
Excessive vital wheat gluten can impart a strong, distinct taste to the bread, which some might find off-putting. If you're wondering how to get rid of the vital wheat gluten taste, it's essential to balance the ingredient proportions and possibly incorporate other flavors.
What ingredient makes bread less dense? ›
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.
Why is my homemade whole wheat bread so dense? ›
The reason why whole wheat loaves end up so dense is because whole wheat flour has very little gluten as compared to white all-purpose flour. Gluten is important for giving the dough – and final loaves – structure. Without it, loaves tend to end up flat and dense.
What is the secret to light airy bread? ›
One-half teaspoon of salt in a recipe makes quite a difference. Always measure salt carefully. If you want to speed up the rise, reduce the salt by 1/2 teaspoon. Add a similar amount to slow the rise.
Why is my homemade bread so dense and heavy? ›
If you score your bread too deep or get too carried away and cut too many times across it will be cut too much and the dough will not release the gas it has collected inside it. This means that you'll end up with dense and heavy bread.
Does letting bread rise longer make it fluffier? ›
Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.
How to get a good rise on whole wheat bread? ›
1st rise (about 2 hours): After you knead the dough, cover it and let it rise in a relatively warm spot. Whole wheat dough requires a slightly longer rise time than white sandwich bread because it's weighed down with wheat germ and bran. Once it has doubled in size, punch it down to release the air.
You can substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour 1:1, but you will need to adjust the mixing time AND the water content of the recipe, most likely increasing both. Add vital gluten to bread recipes to strengthen the dough. You will likely need to make the same water and mixing adjustments noted above.
Do you need more yeast for whole wheat flour? ›
Because yeast has to work harder to make whole wheat flour rise, we'll use slightly more yeast in this dough compared to my regular pizza dough recipe. You need 1 Tablespoon (8.5g).
How to add protein to bread flour? ›
It can be used to bake good breads, though they won't have quite the same structure and texture as bread made from higher-protein bread flour. Add vital wheat gluten, which is primarily made up of wheat proteins, and you can bump your all-purpose flour's protein percentage.
What does extra gluten do in bread? ›
Since it's a concentrated wheat protein, just a tablespoon or two of vital wheat gluten in your next loaf of bread can improve its elasticity and create a better crumb and chewiness in the final product. The recommended ratio is one tablespoon of vital wheat gluten per two cups of flour.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour? ›
Bread Flour Substitute
You can always substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour one for one in any recipe that calls for it. Your bread might not raise quite as high or have quite as much chew, if you are using all-purpose flour, but it will still be delicious and homemade and all the good things.
What can I do if my bread is too dense? ›
There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.
Why is it that whole wheat bread is often more dense than a normal loaf? ›
* Whole wheat flour has higher fiber content due to the presence of bran and germ. * Fiber interferes with gluten formation, making the dough denser.
Why is my wheat bread not fluffy? ›
As mentioned earlier, you may require additional water for wheat bread to make them fluffy. Water vapor is one essential leavening gas that makes the dough more moist and soft. Therefore, you need a lot of water, which changes to water vapor while baking.
How do you soften dense bread? ›
If your bread is especially hard, brush the outside with water before wrapping it. Then, heat it on the center rack of your oven for about 30 minutes for a whole loaf; or 15 to 20 minutes for a partial loaf, or if you have a long, skinny loaf like a baguette.
