Thanks - the liquid is 2 cups (1 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water). My
method is the quick-rise yeast way. I mix the dry ingredients (7 cups
flour to start, 2 pkgs yeast, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 3/4 cup
raisins), separate the 5 eggs and beat the yolks and whites separately
(reserve 1 yolk for glazing), and heat the liquids (1 1/2 cup milk,
1/2 cup water, 2 sticks butter, 2 tsp vanilla) to 125 degrees. Then
mix all together, add remaing 2 cups flour gradually till dough is
stiff, knead for about 15 minutes until the dough blisters and the
raisins are falling out as you knead. Let rise once, punch down, make
3 loaves, rise again, bake at 375 for 1/2 hour.

Tony


Yes, I suspect you have too little water. With most of the liquid being
milk, and a lot of flour in addition (7 cups), there's not that much water,
even with 5 eggs. The milk, btw, will also contribute to a crumbly texture,
especially if you're using full-fat milk. If the dough feels pretty dry
once you've finished kneading, as I suspect it does, then a crumbly loaf is
probably going to be the net result. You can add some more water at the
outset, perhaps upping the water content to 1 cup, but you won't want to
make it so sticky that you can't knead. I'd then fine-tune the water amount
at the end of the kneading, kneading in enough to give it a slightly moist
feel but not so that it's genuinely sticky or runny - I know the
consistency I'd aim for but am struggling for adjectives to describe it.

Anyway, experiment with water amounts and see where that gets you.


Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll experiment with using bread flour
instead of all-purpose, less fat, and more water, and see what works.

Tony