> >If I add more than 2 tablespoons of honey to a loaf of bread there is a > marked reduction in loaf volume. So much so that the quality of the loaf > is > unsatisfactory. Up to the 2 tablespoon point the loaf volume is reduced > but > acceptable. > > Thanks, Dave, that is so interesting! Now I'm really curious about the > mechanism(s) involved! Repeat: the hygroscopic nature of sugars reduces the moisture available for yeast in a bread dough: yeast needs moisture to ferment the simple sugars that the amylases made available by converting the starch in the endosperm into simple sugars: more sugar or honey added to the dough results in reduced fermentation by the yeast. Adding vinegar, as one poster does, does not make the yeast "happy;" the acidity that the vinegar imparts has a tightening effect on the gluten network in the dough, and this in turn enables a greater rise to the loaves (due to better dough structure). Up to a point, a modest increase in acidity, generally in the form of sourdough, does aid in loaf volume. Too much has an opposite effect, and things get so tight that loaf volume is impaired. Jeffrey Baker Vermont *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Access BEE-L directly at: http://community.lsoft.com/scripts/wa-LSOFTDONATIONS.exe?A0=BEE-L