This article at NY Times makes sense and is consistent with my experience making bread.
I’ve bought those ‘artisan breads’ that (as the article says) are so in vogue now. I love ’em . Crusty outside. Chewy inside. Holes – where the butter melts through and gets all over your hands! Yum!
I want to make them myself. I experimented with quantity of oil – more oil, less oil; quantity of yeast; types of liquid (water, milk, beer); quantity of gluten (I was adding extra gluten); ratio of liquid to flour (or ‘wetness’ as the article calls it) – AND ESPECIALLY – quantity of time spent kneading. As the article points out – lots and lots of kneading gets what I got – finely grained texture. Sorta like homemade Wonder Bread.
Not at all what I was trying for.
I thought working up the gluten would bring out the chewy. Nope. It makes the bubbles tiny – making the bread “fluffy” (finely grained, if you will).
Now I’ve got a new combination of variables to try. Check that ratio of liquid to flour by weight and check it closely. Keep the quantity of yeast down. Just knead it a bit – don’t get it all worked up. In fact – here’s a previous article with more information.
I’ve posted the link in the sidebar.
Feb 27 Update….
I tried my first loaf with whole wheat flour. Didn’t get the texture I wanted. But then I search around on the internet for a written recipe and I found this write-up that is based off the video in the NYTimes.
Ahhh… I missed the part in the video (or perhaps it wasn’t clearly there in the first place) that your dough gets to rise another 1-2 hours after you do the “folding” (the “no-knead”) step. I missed this. So I’m trying again, with 4 cups of white flour and 2 cups of water. I’ll find out tomorrow evening how it comes out. It’s been pointed out to me that I’m not using quick yeast. Hmm…. will have to try that.