Post your Preps/Tips and ideas.

[rckeystone]

Don't add more white flour, just add some extra gluten. That's all you need. The problem is the whole wheat flour doesn't have as much gluten so when the yeast starts to burp, the gasses don't get trapped inside the bread, making it more dense. You add the extra gluten to the yeast burps stay inside.

Understood on why it doesn't rise. I've seen both ideas as a suggestion though. Adding white flour in place of some of the whole wheat since white I guess has more gluten, and also adding gluten via vital gluten. White bread flour I have. Vital gluten I'll need to get. Agree though that adding straight gluten sounds like the best way to go.

One more thing in regards to using a bread machine, it may not kneed the dough long enough to develop gluten. I had a bread machine years ago, thought it would be great, but no matter what I tried, it always turned out as a brick. I sold it on CL for $40. Ever since then I use my KitchenAid mixer with the dough hook and I've never had a failure. Doing it that way allows you to keep an eye on the dough to make sure it's come together properly. Took sticky, add more flour, too dry, add more liquid. Bread machines don't really give you the ability to do that.

If you need to get dough to rise quickly, you can set your oven to 100F and turn on the light inside. When your dough is done kneeding, put into an lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Stick it into your warm oven, wait a couple minutes and then turn the oven off.

Yeah I've come across the lack of kneading as an issue also. I know my maker goes through three separate kneading cylcles at least for whole wheat. Obviously this will all be an education in process.

Appreciate your input and suggestions. I know you're old hat at these things that I'm just beginning to learn. Not saying your old mind you