Bread-Bakers v105.n040.16

I'm not surprised to read that all your bread tastes the same.

I suspect the reason is time and temperature (please forgive me if I 
am reviewing a topic you're already familiar with). My bread machine 
ferments the dough at about 87 F. This makes the yeast produce gas 
quickly. But the experts I have spoken with suggest that yeast 
activity makes only a small contribution to the flavor of bread.

That's why most artisan bakers ferment their doughs at a lower 
temperature, typically 75 F. This slows down the yeast, but gives the 
other flavor-producing components (most prominently enzymes and wild 
bacteria) more time to do their magic.

The bottom line is that if the type of bread you're making is very 
simple, i.e., just water, flour, salt and yeast, then you probably do 
not want to use the bread machine for it. You'll want to use a 
process that takes longer so that the dough can ferment longer and 
maximize the natural flavor of the flour. (You might even want to use 
a pre-ferment.)

If there are lots of flavor additives (such as milk powder, sugar, 
eggs, butter, cinnamon, etc.) then the natural flavor of the flour 
will be overwhelmed anyway, so go ahead and use the machine.

Allen