I recently bought an eight pound sack of Krustease sourdough mix for bread
machines. It makes pretty good faux sourdough using added lactic and fumaric
acids. I used both a packet of yeast that came in the sack and Red Star bulk
yeast. Both gave similar results; nice light fluffy bread.
I thought that by substituting some whole grain, I could still obtain most of
the sourdough flavor without the bother of using starter. Instead of using
the recommended 3-1/2 cups of the mix, I used only 2-1/2 cups. I then added
1/2 cup of rye flour and 1/2 cup of barley flour. To comensate for the
ingredients left out, I added 1/2 TBS sugar and 1 tsp gluten. There was no
compensation for salt fat or anything else.
The result was a tasty bread, but it baked out to no more that 2/3 the size of
the breads using only the mix. There was a little collapse in the center as
well.
Is there any rule of thumb or other wisdom on how to add whole grain to a
recipe that works?
William Buchman