Crybaby wrote: Bugster2 wrote:I made that pane bianco bread today. I won't be making it again. The dough was too sticky even after adding more flour than the recipe called for. It took 2.5 hours to double in size instead of the 40 to 60 minutes it said in the recipe. When it was baked, none of us was impressed.
You know, it's funny, Debbie, as when you said you were making it, I had a suspicion you wouldn't like it or it wouldn't come out right as we rarely like the same things, even grocery products. But I did go back to KA's recipe to read the reviews to see if anyone didn't like it or had a rising problem. Number one, did you take a picture? If I made that gorgeous bread, I'm taking a picture to show you guys!
You might want to look over KA'a blog -- they call it a bakealong -- about this bread, as it has pictures of each stage of the bread making. When I looked over the blog, I realized that it really wasn't a difficult loaf to make.
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2016/08/08/pane-bianco-bakealongYou might see if you ran into a problem somewhere. Do you think you could have mismeasured or something? I only ask as there were so many wonderful reviews.
I know from my limited bread making that breads with a lot of cheese in them are always softer doughs and not only take more time to rise but often never rise as much even after baking that breads without cheese do. Sorry you guys didn’t like the flavor but given the number of reviews of how good it tastes, I’m wondering if you might have done something wrong. Do you weigh your flour or scoop it? Though I've had a nifty scale I've used for about 30 years that will tare, I just ordered a new scale a couple days ago so I could weigh ingredients when baking; I should have it by Wednesday, I think.
One lady said it didn’t rise enough after she shaped it and this is KA’s response: “We'll need more information from you to deduce the cause of this (kind of yeast, kind of flour and measuring technique, kneading technique, how long the dough was left to rise the first time, temperature of rising environment, etc.). We encourage you to give our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE(2253) so we can gather this information from you and come up with some tips to try. Kye@KAF.”
You’ll laugh but I just finished reading every single posted review – yes, all 234 and all 47 pages of them! – to see if anyone had trouble with the bread rising or thought it had a bad flavor. There were about 10 reviews with people saying they found the flavor bland, but there were five or six reviewers who added some things to jack up the flavor when they made the bread a second time. But then they must’ve liked it to make it again! Here’s the review from the woman who thought the flavor was lacking: “My only complaint was the taste. It lacked something but I honestly can't say what it was. My normal bread baking requires a biga which adds more flavor so maybe that was the problem for me. My husband loved it however and it disappeared fast.” She did however plan on making it again and try some different fillings.
The closest I found to someone having trouble with the dough when they made it was this review: “I loved this bread. This was my very first experience making bread....like ever! I have a few questions as I really do not know if I did things right. I used a stand mixer to mix ingredients. The dough was sticking to the bottom as recipe said it should. I put it in a greased bowl and let it rise, but it didnt double in size even after almost two hours. I then rolled it out into a rectangle added the tomatoes, garlic and basil but only did half of what was recommended as the dish i am serving it with is quite flavorful already. (forgot the cheese so i just sprinkled a little on top). While I almost got the s shape with the bread it was no where near as nice looking because it was SO sticky every-time I tried to adjust things got worse so i let well enough alone. Are there tips here or is there a reason my dough was so sticky? I then let it rise again but again it definitely didn't double in size. So I wung it and through it in the oven anyway. It came out perfectly delicious. But I want big puffy bread like the picture.”
Here's KA’s answer: “Nicole, it's important to use King Arthur Bread Flour in this recipe, as other brands or other kinds of flour don't have as high of a protein content. This means they won't be quite as absorbent and the dough will the more difficult to handle. If you're already using this flour, feel free to add extra flour, a few tablespoons at a time until you achieve the right consistency (which is a soft, slightly tacky dough). Happy baking! Kye@KAF.”
Did you use bread flour or all-purpose flour, Debbie? I see where one reviewer said she used all-purpose flour without reducing the water to 1/4 cup as recommended, but that it came out great anyway. Here’s her review: “As did many other reviewers, I required additional proofing time on the first rise; however, my house isn't that warm so that may have affected it. I did the second rise in a warmed and turned off oven and that was perfect. I also added an egg wash right before baking as others did, and I added about 1/3 cup of chopped prosciutto. It was a huge hit and very easy. Thank you for another great recipe.”
I'm also wondering about your yeast. I know you were shopping for some so I hope it wasn't expired or bad. Did you test your yeast first?
Again, so sorry your group didn't like it.
I'm still going to make it but I might add or substitute some things, like Kalamata olives and some roasted garlic now that I've read all those reviews and gotten lots of good ideas from people who've made this several times. I'm definitely going to take a picture, too, regardless of how it looks, good or bad!
I keep running out of steam around here but I am really hoping to make this bread and see how we like it!
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