I Knead the Dough wrote:
> Yes . . . . and hello to you all!
>
> This post's about the hand-baking of white bread. I've made quite a few,
> now, and whereas I'm very happy with the *taste* of the finished product,
> it's in the *texture* department that I feel improvements could be made i=
n=2E
>
> I'm from the UK, and I tend to use the 'Super Strong' white bread flour m=
ade
> by the Hovis company (though I've also used the standard-grade stuff by t=
he
> same firm), and their 'Fast Action' yeast, which only requires one "knead=
ing
> and proving".
>
> I always follow the instructions to the letter. Kneading takes 10 minutes,
> after which I let it "double in size" (that's *so* specific!). As it's st=
ill
> summer, that usually means I allow it to sit for about an hour-and-a-half,
> at room temperature, before I pop it into the oven for half an hour (230=
=B0
> C). In winter, I'll place the dough somewhere warm.
>
> When finished, it looks good, and tastes good. The problem is that it ten=
ds
> to be a little . . . . well . . . . "denser" than the uncut loaves I can =
buy
> from a baker. Nothing wrong with that, as such, but I'd really like to try
> and aim for something a little lighter, while still keeping the great tas=
te.
>
> Question is - is this possible? I wonder if a *second* kneading, or
> something, would result in a lighter product? Or perhaps letting the dough
> sit longer? Perhaps adding some ingredient that's not mentioned in the
> instructions, like sugar?
>
> Anyone else use the basic methodology, above, and get a non-dense result?=
Or
> is that just the way of things?!

Without your recipe all anyone can offer is {{{{wild}}}} specualtion.

Sheldon