Italian Bread used the same recipe, tastes different

[drnewman6]

Several months ago I made a bread that I have never made. Found the recipe online, labeled as Italian Bread. It was AMAZING. I made it twice that week and we loved it. You could really taste the olive oil

Every since then, I've used the same recipe, and the bread has no flavor...none. I've probably tried it 10 more times. Also used the same olive oil and other ingredients.

The recipe is simple. I put it in the bread machine on dough cycle then transfer it to cook in the oven . Mix 1 cup water with 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 teaspoons of yeast and 2 teaspoons of sugar, let it bubble a bit. Add about 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon of salt.

I can't figure out why it had such a great flavor the first two times and now is bland.

Help!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Luca Lazzari]

Welcome from Italy on DC forums, drnewman6

I'm no master in bread making, but I'm sure that some of our friends here will come to the rescue...

 

[Margi Cintrano]

By chance, have you changed the Olive Oil Brand or Type ?

Have you had an extreme change in climate perhaps ?

How do you store your flour and other products ?

The machine, is it totally clean of crumbs or dough that might have stuck to the interior parts ?

Just investigating ...

Have lovely August,
Margi.

 

[Hoot]

Howdy!
Welcome to D.C.
I am in the same boat with my compadre, Luca. I can make bread, but I ain't no expert.
Is the flour fresh? Same brand?
Are you certain of the yeast measure? Too much yeast can affect the flavor. Too little and the rise will be affected.
Good question, Margi.. How is your flour stored?
Mrs Hoot and I have an on-going discussion about flour storage. She stores it in the refrigerator, which means I have to let the flour come to room temp before I make bread.
We have a number of baking superstars here....They will be along shortly.

 

[Margi Cintrano]

Hoot,

Thanks for compliment. We are on the same wavelength. I bake bread for holidays or special occasions ... I am good at it, however, not a professional baker or caterer or chef.

Kindest.
Ciao, Margi.

 

[Steve Kroll]

Flavor comes from fermentation, which in turn causes the dough to rise. The longer the rise, the better the flavor. Is it possible you made your first loaves during the winter months, when it might've taken longer for the dough to rise?

The recipe I use for my "everyday bread" recipe calls for only a quarter teaspoon of yeast for 3 cups of flour. Then it's left to rise for up to 24 hours at room temperature. In this case, it's actually less yeast that creates better flavor, since it takes much longer for the cells to propagate and do their business.

What I would suggest is cutting back on the amount of yeast - maybe a teaspoon instead of two, and then allowing a longer rise time.

 

[drnewman6]

Ok, let me see if I can answer all of you and thanks for your input.

I use the same brand of Olive Oil and the same flour. Now how I store it could be different from the first times because I normally keep it in the frig but I have been keeping it in cannisters, simply because of space in the frig lately........ but it doesn't set long because I bake so much that my flour doesn't stay around more than a week or two, at the most. It was probably in the 70's or 80's the first times I made it and it has been in the 100's now but I made more loaves when it was still around the same temp that also didn't taste right. Also, my house is about the same temp year around.

Now, I could try decreasing the yeast a bit and letting it rise longer, I didn't think about that but I'm sure that I use the same amount each time, as I use the same measuring spoons.

Is there a brand of Olive Oil that anyone recommends because of superior flavor?

Everyone else likes the bread but since my husband and I ate the first two loaves, we know it is not right, its just plain.

Thanks!!

 

[GotGarlic]

Couple of new questions It sounds like your yeast is not old, since you bake often, but just checking - it is still good? Also, I had a problem with bread-baking several years ago - it turned out, the water I used was too cool and so the yeast didn't get going enough. I started measuring water temp with an instant-read thermometer and have not had a problem since. Hope that helps.

 

[justplainbill]

Flavor comes from fermentation, which in turn causes the dough to rise. The longer the rise, the better the flavor. Is it possible you made your first loaves during the winter months, when it might've taken longer for the dough to rise?

The recipe I use for my "everyday bread" recipe calls for only a quarter teaspoon of yeast for 3 cups of flour. Then it's left to rise for up to 24 hours at room temperature. In this case, it's actually less yeast that creates better flavor, since it takes much longer for the cells to propagate and do their business.

What I would suggest is cutting back on the amount of yeast - maybe a teaspoon instead of two, and then allowing a longer rise time.

+ 1

 

[CharlieD]

Actually I have similar problem with my bread. But I know for sure that I did not use the same amount of flour, unless you weigh flour it is not the same, I did not let it rise the same amount of time, and probably whole bunch of other little things that in the end affect the end result.

 

[TATTRAT]

Flavor comes from fermentation, which in turn causes the dough to rise. The longer the rise, the better the flavor. Is it possible you made your first loaves during the winter months, when it might've taken longer for the dough to rise?

Really the best advise given so far, and what I would go with. Time is crucial, unless it's a quick, unleavened flat bread/lavash.

 

[drnewman6]

I'm sure the yeast is good, it bubbles up/foams up great, rises great, and I cook several other loaves of bread every week. I'm equally as sure that my water temp is correct, as I've been baking bread for 20+ years and as I said I bake several loaves a week with no problems. I have just never baked bread with olive oil until now.

I think it must be the rise time, I don't understand why it was right the first two times but tomorrow I'll try it with a little less yeast and at room temp instead of in the machine and see what happens!

Thank you all for answering me on this, it has just puzzled me to no end. While I've cooked in restaurants, I'm mostly a home cook but I've never been so stumped as I have on this one. Once I doubled the olive oil, thinking maybe I messed up to begin with and added too much..... still didn't taste any better, though!

Thanks again!
Renee

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

It's an interesting topic. I'm no expert, just recently took up baking bread in earnest.

I'm going with (not in any particular order) (1) the yeast theory, (2) the climate theory, and (3) the amount theory (volumetric amount vs. weight amount). I don't think there's any way to assure that you have the same amount of flour unless you weigh it. Any other way depends on packing, settling and sifting.

 

[drnewman6]

I whole heartedly agree that the amount of flour is probably different each time. That could differ by a 1/4 cup with each loaf, as I add flour until it looks or feels right. I don't know that a slight variation in the amount of flour would effect the taste to the degree though, as every time you make yeast bread or rolls by hand, you add flour until the dough is the right.... I've made the same yeast rolls at holidays for over 20 years (not in a bread machine, by hand kneading) and for the first few years they varied alot because I probably didn't knead them correctly or added a little too much flour, the taste was always great, just the texture would be off and sometimes they just didn't rise correctly - It was severeal years before I learned that the reason they didn't rise correctly sometimes was because I didn't know that when I scalded the milk, I was supposed to let it set and skim the fat off of it, as milk fats inhibit the yeast. The times they were rising correctly, I probably let it get hot enough that I had to skim it and other times I was not letting it scald long enough.

I'm going to try less yeast today.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

I whole heartedly agree that the amount of flour is probably different each time. That could differ by a 1/4 cup with each loaf, as I add flour until it looks or feels right.

Now that you mention it, that's the way I make bread too. (I'm not an expert.) I measure my water and other ingredients, adding them to a bit less flour than I expect to need. (I proof my yeast.) Then I knead the dough adding small amounts of flour until it feels the right consistency. I would be hard pressed to tell anybody how much flour I used in any particular loaf of bread.

I guess I could develop a precise recipe by experiment and then make the identical recipe every time. I guess that would probably work as long as you don't change your flour or yeast brands.

When I think about it in those terms it hardly matters whether I measure it by volume or by weight. But I do know that if you want a precise amount of flour the only you can get that is by weighing it.

More often than not I bake breads like focaccia with additional ingredients like rosemary, cheese, chopped onion (sauteed), etc. I'm not so sure measuring an exact amount of flour would work in that case anyway. I don't really even know how much of the ingredients I add since I often add ingredients until I think it's right. And half an onion or a whole onion is how much? (Since onions vary in size.) I must be doing something right since it always comes out good.