Light and Fluffy Brioche Bread Recipe | Wanderzest (2024)

FAQs

How can I make my bread lighter and fluffy? ›

Add Sugar

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

To make a perfect brioche, it is essential to knead the dough thoroughly: this gives the dough its elasticity. If the kneading is not done correctly and the dough is not kneaded enough or is kneaded too much, this will affect the texture of the brioche.

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

It is possible to add too much butter to bread dough. Too much butter will result in a very soft, sticky dough that's difficult to shape, and bakes up greasy and dense.

Once the dough has developed some strength and elasticity, add one piece of the butter and mix at medium speed until it's fully incorporated into the dough, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl if necessary, then continue adding the butter one piece at a time, mixing to incorporate fully before adding the next piece.

Lack of gas and fermentation that makes the dough aerate results in dense and heavy bread. In these cases, it is either necessary to allow the dough to be proof longer or move it to the warmer room.

With cold butter only being used when making brioche where temperature control is critical. Softened butter is my go-to for most other bread dough types. Melted butter is something I have always avoided because it would need to be added at the beginning of mixing unlike the softened or cold butter.

Ingredients: *White Bread Flour (WHEAT), *Plain Flour (WHEAT), Water, *MILK, *Butter (MILK), *EGGS, *Sugar, Salt, Raising Agent: Yeast.

Proofing time. Fat (such as butter) tends to increase the time needed for a bread such as brioche to rise. Make sure to let your brioche dough rise for one hour after kneading. Then let it rest for two more hours after you shape it.

How to make homemade bread less dense or more light & fluffy? ›

Dense or heavy bread can be caused by not kneading the dough enough, not letting the dough rise enough, or using too much flour. To fix this issue: try kneading the dough for longer or allowing it to rise for a longer period. You can also try adding a little more liquid to the dough or using a higher protein flour.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Adding dry milk powder to your bread dough will help your loaf rise higher. In addition, the loaf will stay soft and hold moisture longer which again means it will last longer. It also helps brown the crust. If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.

Bread flour is a popular choice for making soft and fluffy bread because it has a high protein content, which helps to create a strong gluten structure. Gluten is what gives bread its structure, and a strong gluten structure helps to trap air bubbles during the rising process, resulting in a light and fluffy loaf.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

Plastic wrap helps. Freezing it for long-term storage helps. Keeping it at room temperature for short-term storage is better than refrigerating, which makes the starch crystals set and makes the bread feel dry and crumbly.