This is in response to Steve Hayden, who wanted to know how to mimic Bob
Evans' yeasty hot rolls.
Having a strong yeasty smell in a bread would typically be considered a
flaw, rather than something desirable, but to each his own! I've looked up
the "problem" of bread tasting and smelling yeasty in several books, and
here are some likely causes of the "problem", according to a
troubleshooting chart published in Betsy Oppenneer's latest book, Breads
from Betsy's Kitchen. Yeasty bread can be caused by too much yeast, if
the yeast is old, if the yeast is over-fermented, if the dough rose too
long in either its first or second rising, if the dough rose too quickly,
or if the rising place was too warm.
So if your intention is to have yeasty bread, those are some conditions to
consider.
Another thought: just because someone makes bread (or any baked good, or
even any food product, for that matter) a certain way, even at a
restaurant, doesn't necessarily mean that it is the correct or intended
method. I've been served nearly inedible barely-baked bread at respectable
restaurants, probably because someone was trying to hurry things up.
Happy Baking!
Carolyn Dandalides