Why is my bread dense?

[katerose]

I am new to bread making, and have been having huge trouble with my bread being too dense. I knead by hand for 10mins, then proof at room temperature until double in size, knock out the air and shape then proof again until doubled in size before baking. Proofing always has a really good rise but the bread doesn't rise in the oven and comes out doughy and very dense. Any advice?

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

Too much or too little kneading can make the bread dense. When you stop kneading, what is the texture like? It the dough very stretchy and can you do the window test?

 

[ChesterV]

Yes, what Becky said.

It could also have to do with the flour you are using, or how MUCH you are using.

I've seen bread makers use way too much flour when kneading the dough, and all that does is make the bread tough and dense.

 

[katerose]

Thanks for your replies! Yes I'm never sure how wet the dough should be, should it be sticky to touch? I don't normally have any trouble with it sticking to me so maybe I am adding too much flour. We don't have bread flour where I live so I have to settle for high grade flour which is supposed to have more gluten. I knead it until it feels smooth and stretchy, but it never seems to pass the window test it just falls apart... am I not kneading it enough? Most recipes seem to say about 10 minutes of kneading so I tend to stick to that, but maybe I am not being strenuous enough when I knead it.

 

[Becky]

10 minutes of kneading is usually more than enough, so maybe it's your technique? Might be worth taking a look at some YouTube videos perhaps. You could also try some different recipes - there are lots of no-knead recipes where you leave the dough to prove in the fridge overnight - takes longer until you get the final loaf, but the flavour is meant to be a lot better as a result