Another Bread ?

I finally had some free time today and decided that I needed to test out my bread making skills. I have not made bread in about 15 years, so I got out my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and used the white bread recipe.
The results were OK, just not what I thought they should be.

The bread tasted great and DH ate quite a bit after cutting off the crust where it had touched the pan. He likes a softer crust, would adding gluten to the mix help?
Also my pans are dark the Baker's Secret kind is this the cause?
I would have liked the bread to rise a bit more. I used Red Star quick rise yeast, would using a bit more yeast help?

Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.

What kind of flour did you use? To me a great chewy crusty crust is the best part of the bread except on store bought bread-Blecchh! Was your yeast maybe near or past the date? I've never used quick rise yeast but would assume it maybe doesn't work quite like the double rise and triple rise regular yeast that one can use with making your own bread. What does your hubby want? Muffins? I mean, making your own bread is going to result in a crust of some sort no matter what you do. Unless its like banana bread or something akin to that based on baking powder or baking soda for the rising. And even then, they will have some sort of crust, just not as obvious as on regular bread.... Keep trying, bread making is a very valueable skill and it takes time for you to learn all the ins and outs of it. I still haven't got it down pat yet, either. I am about to embark on experiments with useing tiles in the oven to bake the bread on and can't stand it because I have to do something else till I can get back to my bread experiments.

Heres a little article on Gluten:
http://www.foodreference.com/html/bread-gluten-729.html

Gluten is a substance made up of the proteins found in wheat flour that gives bread its structure, strength, and texture. Without these marvelous little proteins, bread would not be bread. It also explains why it is so hard to make bread from rice, potato, or oat flour and why wheat flour has to be added to rye flour to make bread—only wheat has enough protein. The gluten makes the bread.

Gluten is developed in the dough when the proteins absorb water and are pulled and stretched in the kneading process. As the proteins are worked, they become long, flexible strands. As the yeast produces gases in the dough, mostly carbon dioxide, these strands trap the gas bubbles and the dough expands. When we put the bread in the oven, the gluten strands coagulate or solidify much as the protein in eggs solidifies as the egg cooks.

How is it that we can use flour to make both a tender cake and firm chewy French bread? The gluten makes the difference. In a cake, we want little gluten development. In a chewy bread, we want a high percentage of well-developed gluten. We can control this texture in our baked goods by changing four conditions:
1. Selection of flours: Cake flours are “weak” or “soft” and have a low protein content, probably around 8%. Bread flours and high-gluten flours are “strong” and usually have a protein content of 12 to 14%.

2. Amount of shortening: Any fat is referred to as a shortening because it shortens the gluten strands. It does so by lubricating the fibers so they cannot stick together. The more shortening in the dough, the more tender and less chewy the product will be.

3. Amount of liquid: Gluten must have liquid to absorb and expand. If dough does not have enough liquid, the gluten will not fully form and the product will not be tender. That's why we put a minimal amount of water in pie crusts.

4. Mixing methods: Generally, the more a batter or dough is mixed, the more the gluten develops. Tender muffins use low-protein flour and are mixed only until the moisture is absorbed while breads are kneaded for a relatively long time.
http://www.foodreference.com/html/bread-gluten-729.html

Thanks for that tidbit Walrus Whisperer. I was wondering about Gluten
the other day and how to use it in breads.

Immediately when you take your bread out of the oven, rub the whole top of it with margarine. I always just scrunched up some waxed paper and used maybe a tablespoon of margarine or butter. This will soften up the crust.

Thanks for the tips. My daughter is getting into bread making as well, she found a very good recipe online and sent it to me. She was having the same issues as I was, dry crust & a crumbly heavy center. This bread recipe makes a perfect loaf soft crust and light moist interior. Hubby loves it! One other little thing I changed was I went to pyrex bread pans not sure if that made a difference or not.

When I make bread, either white or whole wheat, I use 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 cup milk. A couple of eggs, maybe 1/3 of a cube of butter, honey for sweetner. I buy costco yeast. 2 lbs package for about $3. It last for years in the freezer unopened. It is vacuum packed. Once I open it , I put it in a glass jar, and stick it in the fridge. Last a very long time there. This yeast is so much cheaper, than those 3 pack envelopes, or that little jar.
I prefer whole wheat. I have a very nice electric grinder. So yummy having bread that you grind the flour and make the bread the same day.
Yes, it does take some getting use to it, in making bread. No one showed me, I just kept doing it, till I figured it out.
Just remember that the liquids that you use, can not be hot, that will destroy the yeast. A rule of thumb, The heat should be about skin temp. Like testing the temp. of the baby bottle milk on your wrist. It can be cooler, and will work fine, too.