It's been almost two years and I'm STILL struggling with making bread.
I either knead too much or not enough and can't dial in the right amount. I've watched videos, following their instructions to the letter, and the dough never looks like in the video. I've asked for advice, rarely works. In the oven, there's no oven spring.
What I get is okay, but very dense, and often pretty dry. And never holds its shape.
I'm not getting better at it, and I think its just time to move on. I can at least do pastries and smaller breads. Just the Big Breads keep failing. :/
@dolari I understand the frustration. Sometimes there's just this wall and you don't know what is wrong but obviously it's*something*.
Gor me it's latte foam. There's a mysterious step which apparently is so obvious no one shows it, but I cannot replicate. If I could go to a class in person, I think I could find out, but they're all "There's only one person? Bwahaha, like we'd have an open class!"
@Hasufin - This literally happened with me and tortillas. For DECADES I couldn't make them right. Then one day, I sat down with my mom and went step by step with her.
At one point I walked away, and my mom who is very impatient took over the masa making before I came back. When the tortillas were cooked, they were fine. I asked her what she did when I'd walked away and she said "I just added water."
The thing that was killing me was I Was adding the water SLOWLY. You have to add it all at once. And that was what was killing me. Only because SHE did the step instead of me did I figure out where I went wrong.
@dolari Mind, if you want thoughts on bread, I have a few - but only if you want.
@dolari Exactly!
And not only do you not find that in instructions, they don't show it in online videos. It just is, and unless you see it in person, or have someone who knows tell you, you would never know.