White Bread - Hard Water

[AlanSellers]

So over the last several years I have been making bread regularly, I decided to start after finally losing the will to eat anything mass produced that has lots of preservatives and is generally not at all enjoyable to eat.......so much of it is really sweet from all the additives.

After about 2 years I finally mastered kneading by hand, apart from online reasearch I largely taught myself through trial and error which was at times maddening and times really satisfying but I wanted to be able to say I could make bread and not have that statement be contingent on having a bread machine or food mixer avaliable etc...
I like to master skills by hand than rely on machines wherever possible, my hands don't break down and have a 24 hour repairman call out so it seemed the wiser way to go for a one time proffesional.

So my question is.......does water hardness have an effect on the crumb of the finished loaf?

I am happy with my bread in all but the end texture, it is quite hard to describe in words but it always quite hard, rustic would be a good descriptive.........not soft and I have tried varying methods and ingredients over the years and I am at the point where the only thing that has been constant through every attempt has been the water, and my tap water is very hard.

I am going to try a softer bottled water and see if that affects anything, does anyone else making bread have any advice/input?

[Fred]

Hardness of water shouldn't be an issue. Softness of the crumb results from a combination of flour, kneading time, hydration, proofing time and cooking time. To soften it use softer flour, knead less, hydrate more, proof longer and bake less or some combination. Hardness of the crust can be controlled with spraying while baking. My recommendation is to get a strong mixer and knead by machine. It is consistent. You can time it exactly. It is also a lot less work. If I had to knead by hand, I wouldn't make bread.

[blwchef]

kneading my by hand would kill my wrists. A mixer is your friend.

[AlanSellers]

My recommendation is to get a strong mixer and knead by machine. It is consistent. You can time it exactly. It is also a lot less work. If I had to knead by hand, I wouldn't make bread.

I probably wouldn't use a machine for mixing/kneading even if I had one, it may be more work but I enjoy it, I enjoy the technical challenge of learning an old world skill that is passing away with the use of machines but the more hands on I am in the kitchen the more enjoyable and the more satisfying the resulting meal.

I'll try some of the variants you mentioned Fred, less kneading and more proofing, I might also lower the cooking temperature or time......more experiments!
I may also check out what alternative flours are avaliable in local shops.

[BreadFan]

I wouldn't be surprised if ultra-hard water did have some effect - it is, after all, a matter of chemistry. but I can specifically point out good ref material for that idea.

as to the rustic crumb - does the recipe call for any fats? fats make for softer crumb. real fast.

your 'rustic' description is right on - peasant type breads rarely have fats - flour+water+yeast+salt - the 'rest' is pretty much technique.

[AlanSellers]

I wouldn't be surprised if ultra-hard water did have some effect - it is, after all, a matter of chemistry. but I can specifically point out good ref material for that idea.

as to the rustic crumb - does the recipe call for any fats? fats make for softer crumb. real fast.

your 'rustic' description is right on - peasant type breads rarely have fats - flour+water+yeast+salt - the 'rest' is pretty much technique.

I was thinking it might be at least in part due to the water as my tap water is very hard, but I never thought about fat.

The recipe I use is flour+water+yeast+salt but I also add a spoon of olive oil, but that has been an optional that I haven't always added and I haven't noticed any appreciable difference between loaves with and without it.......would butter or lard be more likely to have an effect?

[BreadFan]

fats are the prime mover in this regard, but sugar is another one.

did don't say what size the recipe is - one spoon of oil for 1500 g flour is not going to make a difference. try something like 30 g of butter per 500 g flour.