Cooking Resources

nancyjzimmer · 10-03-2008, 09:29 PM

I am new to this website and I think I have finally found the right place to find out why my bread sometimes smells really bad - almost a vinegar like smell. I bake bread 3 times a week and have had this happen 3 times. Any ideas?

Sparkly77 · 10-03-2008, 09:38 PM

Do you add anything to the mixture that might be causing that? What are your main ingredients aside from flour, yeast, salt and water? If you give us the details it might help give ideas

**kadesma** · 10-03-2008, 09:46 PM

By any chance would it smell sour? How long is the rise. sometimes a long slow rise will give the bread a sour smell and then when baked it will taste more like sourdough then regular french. If it's just plain white, I'm not sure what to say.Just an idea.
kadesma

Michael in FtW · 10-04-2008, 01:25 AM

Without knowing your recipe it is hard to give you a definitive answer ... but it sounds like you're making a pre-ferment (sour dough type) bread. Without knowing how you are making your bread - any guess would just be a shot in the dark.

nancyjzimmer · 10-04-2008, 11:40 PM

very simple recipe with a very short rise time of less than 30 min. Flour, sugar, yeast, salt, water and veg oil. I make 3 loaves at a time and this has only happened mayne 3 or 4 times. Sour might be the right word - I can tell as soon as it comes out of the oven. I use my KitchenAid mixer, which has saved me lots of time. I believe I got the recipe a year or so ago on Cook.com. My husband and son will eat it no matter how it tastes, but I am more picky. We decided when bread got so expensive that is was cheaper and tasted better to make it at home. Any help you can give me will be a big help.

justplainbill · 10-05-2008, 08:56 AM

What ingredient changed when this happened to you the first time?

suziquzie · 10-05-2008, 04:41 PM

does it smell sour or taste sour.... you've said both.....

nancyjzimmer · 10-05-2008, 07:30 PM

It smells and tastes sour. No ingredient changed, but I do know that the yeast din't ferment until I stirred it this time.

Michael in FtW · 10-06-2008, 01:06 AM

From your list of ingredients (and method) the most obvious culprit would be your vegetable oil has gone rancid, second guess would be your flour has gone rancid. Dip the tip of your finger in both and taste them (one at a time). Oil may not always smell rancid when you open the bottle but will taste "sour/bitter" if it has gone bad.

This "guess" is from a single Dad who came home and baked 6-dozen brownies one evening for his sons to take to school the next day ... and had to go to the store and do it all over again because the veg oil was rancid.

JoeV · 10-07-2008, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael in FtW

From your list of ingredients (and method) the most obvious culprit would be your vegetable oil has gone rancid, second guess would be your flour has gone rancid. Dip the tip of your finger in both and taste them (one at a time). Oil may not always smell rancid when you open the bottle but will taste "sour/bitter" if it has gone bad.

This "guess" is from a single Dad who came home and baked 6-dozen brownies one evening for his sons to take to school the next day ... and had to go to the store and do it all over again because the veg oil was rancid.

I was going to suggest the same thing yesterday when my phone rang and never got back to the forum. I've seen this happen before to folks who don't use their oil and/or flour as quickly as some of us, or do not properly store them. Thanks, Michael. Great minds travel in the same gutter.

Joe