Saturday, October 2, 2010

Baking question...

For all of you vintage bakers out there I have a question. I followed a 1929 recipe for cocoa bread to the T, but something still went wrong. Not a bad wrong, just not right. How do I get my bread to be more like bread in texture (light and airy) versus cake-y in texture? Perhaps this was the way bread was back when? Let me also state, that it tastes good (bread-like, not much cocoa flavor).

EDITED TO ADD RECIPE
Cocoa bread
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3 table spoons shortening
1 yeast cake
1/4 cup lukewarm water
About 3 1/2 cups flour

Mix the cocoa, sugar and salt. Add milk, which has been scalded, and the shortening. Let stand until lukewarm and add the yeast, which has been softened in lukewarm water. Add enough flour to make a dough which can be handles and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rise until doubled in bulk. Cut down and knead again. Shape into a loaf, place in a greased pan and let rise until doubled in bulk. Bake in a moderate oven.

Time in baking, 1 hour. temperature, 350*. 1 loaf

5 comments:

  1. Can you post the recipe? If the raising agent is baking powder you'll normally get a cake like texture (as opposed to using yeast). Resting & knocking down the dough also makes the bread lighter & airy.

    Hope that helps!

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  2. Hi Lila... I added the recipe to the original post. There is no call for baking powder, so I am wondering if the resting and knocking would have helped. Of course being that I am NOT a baker, I don't know what that means. LOL. Thanks for your help!

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  3. Aha! It's the shortening that would make the bread cakey! Shortening makes the texture of baked goods crumbly. You did everything right - it's the recipe that's at fault. It's really a yeast cake, not bread.

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  4. Yay! I am ok with that then! Since it still tastes yummy I am ok. :)

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  5. Love the recipe! I'm stockpiling these for a cooking series I'm doing on youtube. Where did you find it?

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