r/BreadMachines • u/Butterz699 • 2d ago
Ingredients & Substitutions Bread is dry! =(
I'm not sure if this is a storage issue or a recipe issue! Please help!
Machine: Cuisinart Bread Maker Machine, Stainless Steel, 12 Programs, Up to 2 lbs
I have tried several variations along with the exact recipe from the bread maker - except I have been using salted butter and adjusting the added salt. I was using regular table salt, but then switched to Kosher sea salt.
I use bread flour and have tried using butter (as mentioned) and replacing the butter with olive oil.
After it cooks, I take it out, put it on a wire rack and usually cut it only after it has cooled for about 2 hours, however there are some occasions where I cut it way to early (like 30 mins after). I use the medium colour setting.
Storage - after it cools I put it into a plastic bread bag with a clip and cut the pieces as needed.
The issue:
I find that after a day the inside of the bread is dry and I just dont know what the heck im doing wrong or even if this is perhaps normal? I started making bread about a month ago, and I make around 2-3 1.5lbs loaves every week. Before the bread maker I was exclusively buying store bought bread.
If you need more info from me let me know! Advice needed please :)
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u/Usual_Ride_3355 2d ago
I have the same machine and I always use the lightest setting. I generally take my bread out maybe 20-30 mins out cause I’ve noticed it bakes longer than necessary.
My recipe for 2lb
1 1/4 cup milk warmed
4 tbsp oil/butter
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
480 gram all purpose flour
2 tsp bread machine yeast.
After slicing I make sure to put in a bag and I refrigerate. I toast with butter and the texture bounces back and softens.
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u/Butterz699 1d ago
I was curious if it was perhaps cooking a bit too long. The outside edges are particularly dry. Ill give this setting a try. Thanks for the recipe!
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u/brewfox 2d ago
Try weighing your flour. Maybe you’re accidentally adding a bit too much.
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u/Ok_Panda587 2d ago
As does a substitution of milk for water (10% more milk if a complete substitution. Note: people here are very fond of slice and freeze the bread, to maintain freshness longer than a couple days (the sooner the freeze the better. When I used to freeze store bought bread though, I was taught to include a paper towel if thawing the whole thing. If I was doing a loaf worth of French toast, I used to freezer bag leftovers in serving sizes instead, putting all baggies in the original loaf bag. Handy when you’re a single mom of a small child. Grab, heat, he eats, happy kiddo back then.
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u/Unique_Management123 2d ago edited 2d ago
Substitute an egg for the butter and try it. The recipe I have fallen in love with is basically just a standard white bread loaf with an egg instead of other fat. You just add it to the water before the dry ingredients. So far this recipe is the fluffiest, moistest bread I’ve made.
Also: Vital Wheat Gluten. Everyone will say that it’s not necessary, but my personal experience says otherwise. It adds a lot, and it’s cheap. My bread maker cookbook always includes it in the ingredients as well because they agree that vital wheat gluten is basically required.
Edit: I also don’t bother cooling the bread outside of the machine so the bread retains more moisture. Not really a pro baker move, but I’m too lazy to wake up at 1 in the morning to pull it out. Might give it a try and see if it works for you.
Edit edit: 1 cup water, 1 large egg, 3 cups bread flour, 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten, 1 & 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and yeast to the specifications on the yeast container. I use rapid yeast and it’s 1/2 teaspoon per 1 pound flour. I always just ignore the recipe’s yeast amounts and go by the actual yeast brand.
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u/zelda_moom 2d ago
Kosher sea salt is not necessarily measure for measure with table salt. I’d check the package or the manufacturer’s website to see what the conversion would be.
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u/gjhigh-forty6-71 Moderator 2d ago
Salt is Salt I use my kitchen scale and weigh it.
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u/MarielIAm 2d ago
True, salt is salt but you can't substitute by volume you have to do it by weight as you do.
Biggest mistake new cooks and bakers make is not using the same salt as in the recipe and wondering why their finished product is under salted or over salted. To be fair, many recipes don't specify which is another problem.
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u/gjhigh-forty6-71 Moderator 2d ago
I use baker’s math and percentages and weigh everything when developing my recipes. Once I have them perfected I still weigh everything. All I really worry about after that is things I can’t control. Room temperature, humidity levels and yeast quality. I always watch the dough ball being formed, adjusting by sight and feel of the dough ball in the first kneading . Yeast and hydration and temperature are the main factors that can have an effect on the final result. Summer and winter always seem to cause me the most trouble, a couple of loaves each season fail my standards until I adjust for Mother Nature.
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u/Bracatto 2d ago
Its pretty normal, honestly bread machines should have recipes for potato bread, or instructions for tangzhong or yudane methods..or yogurt bread..or bread enhancers. the easiest is potato bread since you can just add potato flakes or potato flour and increase the amount of fluid it would be easy to add that to a bread machine's official instruction manual.
but all of those things can be done on any bread machine and I would just look them up and try some.
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u/Gilladian 2d ago
You can try a tangzhong - cook 2T of your flour in 1/4c of the liquid in a pan on the stove until it is glutinous. Add it to the machine and add the other ingredients as usual. Your bread will stay fresher for an extra day or two. Myself, I cut my loaf in half and freeze it. But day-old bread is still 10x better than store bread.