At first I thought it was my baking techniques that resulted in this 10 cm tall loaf that was dense and thick as a brick. Or maybe I could blame the new bread machine.
So I tried it again, faithfully following the directions as far as order and amount of ingredients.
It didn’t make a difference. The second loaf clearly resembled the first, complete with moist, dense, chewy center and the pleasantness of dining on horse pellets. Toasted was only marginally better.
Was it my fault? The third time rather than taking out the bag of mix, I carefully measured and added each ingredient. Only variation was throwing in some parsley, oregano and tarragon. Completely bland white bread is beyond me. Oh, and I tossed in an egg.
Worked wonderfully, a lovely sweet smelling loaf of bread which I gave to Beverley before we headed to a computer sales fair in Bracknell.
It was somewhere along the drive while I was explaining the challenge that I tumbled to the realization that none of it was my fault. The mix contained everything, including the yeast. Since it didn’t seem to rise at all, there was obviously an issue with the yeast in the mix. The package says to keep in the fridge once opened. Ok, and I opened it yesterday.
Meanwhile, the sunflower seed bread brick was really appealing to the squirrels.
