For rolls, rather than adding garlic to the dough I brush them with melted garlic butter when they come out of the oven. Lots of garlic flavor. You can also add fresh herbs to the melted butter.

/tricia

This post was edited by triciae on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 11:00

Deb, I sometimes make a roasted garlic and cheese baguette.

I don't add the garlic and cheese until I am shaping the loaf for its last rise.

I would use powdered garlic rather than fresh, it won't change your liquid/solid ratio. Fresh garlic would be better pureed in butter and brushed on as Tricia says, or folded in as a swirl, but if you knead it through the dough I don't think it's sufficiently potent.

Cheryl

There ARE a few "rules" to keep in mind because some add-ins, and certain amounts of add-ins, enhance yeast growth, while large amounts can kill or diminish yeast.

-A pinch of ginger enhances yeast activity - and is an old German bakers' tale that happens to be true. But many times the flavor of these small amounts are lost in the bulk of the dough. Small amounts of ginger, ground caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, and thyme all improve yeast activity. But too much can do the opposite. Cinnamon and cloves (because of chemical compounds in them - cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol, respectively) should be limited to amounts below about 1/4-teaspoon per cup of flour (it also depends on the amount of sugar and yeast in the recipe). This is why we top the dough with cinnamon in cinnamon rolls instead of adding large quantities TO the dough. You can compensate, somewhat, by adding a little more yeast.

-Dry mustard is similar to salt and too much can inhibit yeast activity.

-Large amounts of cheese, olives, or other salty ingredients can add too much salt, which can kill yeast activity.

-What can inhibit the growth of yeast - oregano, garlic, onion, thyme, cloves, nutmeg and allspice, when overdone.

-Choose ingredients that are intense in flavor to begin with so they don't get lost. Remember, the dough will double or triple in bulk so a little has to go a long way. Good choices - grated lemon or orange zest, Parmesan cheese, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, rosemary, sage.

-If you want to use dried fruits for added flavor, the fruit can rob the dough of moisture so you can soak them first (water, water/rum/brandy mixtures, fruit juice, etc.) and add moisture and even more flavor. Wait to add fruit/nuts towards the end of kneading because the sharp edges can cut the gluten strands.

-Grainlady

Deb, I toss whatever herbs I have in the garden or the cupboard that suits me into my dough and it's usually pretty good. Like you, I found that a clove of garlic, even two, wasn't enough.

I tried pureeing the garlic and adding it with the fat and that was better, but I've found that tossing the herbs and fresh garlic into the chopper and chopping it all together then adding to the fat in the recipe works well. Garlic powder is also an option, although I use it for little else other than a rub for meat.

Annie

Thanks all! And thanks Grainlady for the notes. I'll keep them! Yes...usually I add something to the butter to spread on or pour over the bread/rolls. This time I was trying to get it into the bread itself to see if that would change anything. So, I threw the herbs in and just wasn't sure whether the garlic would cut it. I guess that's one of those things that is best done after the fact or folded in as suggested.

Oh, and Ann...YUM! I don't know why I don't ever do that, but I make cheese biscuits all the time. That's next on the list, then!

Maybe I'm more sensitive to garlic so perhaps less satisfies me or something but when I've made garlic bread in the ABM I used garlic powder and what I thought was quite a bit. I also put in Italian Seasoning. When I make pepperoni bread I put in a lot of garlic powder, Italian Seasoning and mozzarella cheese. I never thought about it impacting the outcome. I had a few times where the top caved in but after I started preheating the... the... can't think of the name for the "bowl" in there, but that solved the cave-ins for me.

I know there's a lot of people who use dough enhancers and I was about to start a thread about them and ask of anyone used them. I've seen several different recipes for enhancers and I'm curious if the more serious bakers around here use any.

cynic-

We should all be able to make a great loaf of bread using flour, water, salt and yeast, but the commercial bakers have all kinds of things they add, and then along came the Automatic Bread Maker and we couldn't make a loaf unless we loaded the Bread Machine with gluten, dough enhancers, flavor enhancers, dough relaxers, etc......

There are a number of dough enhancers (dough developers or dough conditioners) used commercially that can also be used at home. They tend to fall in these categories - mold inhibitors, antistaling agents and dough improvers.

You can find recipes on-line for homemade dough enhancers that include a number of ingredients and might save money over commercial "dough enhancer" products. Here's one example:

How to make Homemade Dough Enhancer:

1 cup wheat gluten
2 tablespoons lecithin granules
1 teaspoon ascorbic acid crystals
2 tablespoons powdered pectin
2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon powdered ginger

Mix together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For 100% whole grain breads, use 3 tablespoons per loaf. Add to your recipe along with the flour.

\-Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid) aids in better gluten development, especially if there is any wheat germ/whole wheat flour in the recipe. There is a substance in wheat germ (glutathione) that breaks the gluten bonds \- and as a result we get those squatty loaves of 100% whole wheat bread. When you add vitamin C it repairs the gluten and counteracts the negative effects of Glutathione. Add 1/8 t. ascorbic acid powder per loaf if there is wheat germ or whole wheat flour (which contains wheat germ) in a recipe. Ascorbic acid promotes yeast growth and helps yeast work longer and faster. It also helps produce the acidic atmosphere in which yeast grows best. Don't add ascorbic acid to naturally\-leavened breads (aka sourdough) because it is naturally acidic. You'll notice ascorbic acid is often an ingredient in yeast products. \-Egg yolk \- for antistaling and better gluten development \-1/4 t. ground fenugreek, rosemary, ginger, or cinnamon for enhanced yeast activity and better keeping qualities \-If you plan on freezing the bread use honey instead of sugar in the recipe. \-Add raisin juice or raisin pulp to a recipe to extend the shelf\-life of bread. \-My personal favorite trio \- chia seeds (or chia seed gel), agave nectar and coconut oil. Chia seeds or chia seed gel will help maintain the moisture in the crumb and keep it from migrating from the crumb to the crust. Coconut oil will help prevent mold and slow staling. Agave nectar, due to it's high content of monosaccharides has a high osmotic pressure. This characteristic in this sweetener helps to inhibit the growth of microorganisms (mold). Agave nectar increases the water retention properties. \-Salt \- use a quality high\-mineral sea salt. Minerals \= better gluten development. Yeast needs minerals and certain amino acids. \-Bean Flour \- French flour is fortified with 2% fava bean flour and it is supposed to improve dough performance and enhance flavor, nutrition and yeast growth. Chickpea flour is another add\-in choice. \-Barley Malt Syrup, Malt, Diastatic Malt Powder \- adds enzymes to supply sugars for better yeast growth. It also improves the nutrition, texture and keeping quality. Too much will make the bread gummy, dense and either too sweet or bitter. \-Lecithin \- Which is naturally occurring in egg yolks, but is yet one more add\-in that helps bread remain soft and moist because it slows down oxidation. \-Vital Wheat Gluten \- If you use a large percentage of low\-gluten or gluten\-free flour in a recipe, it can benefit from additional gluten. The problem using vital wheat gluten is that too much will cause the bread to be tough. It can also take much longer to develop the gluten if there is a high percentage in the dough. \-Mashed potatoes, potato flakes, potato water \- Acts as a dough enhancer and adds moistness. When it comes to refrigerating bread dough \- or choosing a refrigerator dough recipe \- mashed potatoes (or other pureed vegetable) is important because it preserves moisture in the dough in the dry climate of the refrigerator. Adding cooked rice to a recipe will do the same thing. And that's just a partial list..... \-Grainlady