I was recently teaching a class on how to make simple homemade white bread and one participant said, “My bread always comes out heavy and dense and yours is so light and fluffy. What’s your secret?” This is a common question that deserves some attention.
Making light fluffy bread or bread that is less dense is mostly a matter of using the right ingredients and to some extent the right process. The main ingredients to accomplish this are 1) bread flour 2) instant yeast 3) dough enhancers. These ingredients combined with the right process will make the perfect homemade bread every time as described in detail below.
Some “experts” tell you that making light fluffy bread is about the rise time or the perfect recipe but they can’t give you an exact amount of rise time or a perfect process. I’m going to give you everything you need to make the perfect light fluffy bread below.
Bread Flour
First let’s talk about Bread Flour! When making bread it is very important to use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. Why can’t you use regular all-purpose flour, you might ask. Well it’s simple, bread flour has an increased amount of protein or more gluten which results in a lighter, fluffier dough which produces a less dense finished product. All-purpose flour can be used for bread but bread flour is always better if your goal is a “fluffier” bread. The biggest difference between bread and all-purpose flour is that the former has a higher protein content. This high protein produces more stability, form and ultimately increases the amount of rise. All-purpose flour results in a shorter bread and doesn’t rise as much. Just to dive in a little deeper, the higher protein content in bread flour means that the flour has more gluten in it. Gluten makes the dough supple and flexible (just compare gluten free bread to gluten bread to see this difference). Put simply, bread flour was specifically made to be used with yeast in breads. Most of the time, all purpose flour is a good choice, but those specialty flours – such as cake flour, pastry flour, and bread flour – can definitely deliver a better result when they’re called for in a recipe. Trust me, if you want your bread to be light and fluffy then use bread flour when making homemade bread and you won’t be disappointed.
Instant Yeast
Have you ever looked at a slice bread closely and noticed the little air pockets in it? Those little air pockets are caused by gas that is released from the yeast when it activates in the dough. How light the bread is directly relates to how much the dough rises or how much gas the yeast releases. The yeast, when given warm water and food (sugar, gluten etc.) causes gas to be released in the dough. The gas is actually carbon dioxide and when released creates all the little bubbles or gas pockets in the dough. The gas is created with the growth of the yeast. The more the yeast grows, the more gas forms in the dough. The more gas in the dough the fluffier the finished product will be.
Now that you know the yeast is the rising (leavening) agent in the bread dough. There are actually four different types of yeast. The difference between them is the amount of moisture and the size of the granules. All types are living organisms and below is the list of these yeast types.
- Fresh Cake Yeast
- Active Dry Yeast
- Rapid Rise Yeast
- Instant Yeast
I believe that Instant yeast is the best yeast to prevent your bread from being as dense as a brick. These are several reasons why I think instant yeast is the best route for creating that light fluffy bread.
- Fresh yeast is usually soft and moist and must be kept refrigerated or frozen. It will go bad much quicker and must be proofed. This means that you have to add the yeast to warm water and some sugar. The water can’t be too warm or too cold or it won’t work. This process scares a lot of bakers away.
- Active dry, instant, and rapid rise yeasts are all considered “Dry yeast” and have had the moisture removed from them so they can last much longer. However, active dry yeast has to be proofed, just like the fresh yeast.
- Rapid rise yeast is made up of very fine granules. In fact, it is the yeast with the finest granules and because they are so fine, they dissolve the easiest and cause the yeast to rise the most rapid. The rapid rise is good but the speed of the rise will actually affect the taste of the bread. This type of yeast is usually what is used in the automatic bread making machines.
- Instant yeast is the type of yeast that will not cause extra steps in the process (it doesn’t need to be proofed), will rise fast enough, and will not sacrifice any of the taste. Also, instant yeast usually has ascorbic acid (vitamin C) to give it a longer shelf life and it enhances the dough (see below). I like to use Saf-Instant Premium Yeast because it isn’t as sensitive to the temperature of the water too.
Dough Enhancers
The biggest kept secret, and probably the most important to less dense bread is actually the dough enhancers. When I say dough enhancers you might assume that I’m telling you to put chemicals or other crazy ingredients into the dough but all of the dough enhancers I will talk about are natural. In addition, this is the thing that professional or commercial bakers do to their bread. There are two main reasons for the dough enhancers. One is for preserving the dough and obviously the other is to make the dough rise higher by feeding the yeast. Since this is an article about making your bread light and fluffy or less dense, I’m going to focus on the dough rise. Below are several ingredients that can be used together or individually to enhance your dough.
Lecithin
Of all the dough enhancers I will mention, lecithin is my absolute favorite. It keeps the moisture in the bread and thus helps it stay soft and moist longer. It makes your homemade bread look and feel like professional store bought bakery bread. Lecithin is an emulsifying agent and keeps all the ingredients mix together better. It traps the gas bubbles from the yeast in the dough by creating a type of coating or elasticity which allows for better rising. It also tends to help the outer crust be softer and more delicate.
Lecithin comes in many forms. The form that many bakers have used over the centuries is eggs. Lecithin is found in egg yolk so if your recipe has eggs in it, you’ve added lecithin. However, eggs can be bad for longevity or preservation of the bread so that is why adding straight lecithin is preferred. Lecithin can come in liquid or granule form and is most commonly made of sunflower or soy. I like the liquid form of soy lecithin so much that I actually package and sell it individually as Pure Liquid Soy Lecithin or in our Homemade Bread Bundles. Both of these are also available on our Fast Easy Bread Amazon Store. You will also notice that most if not all of my bread recipes call for liquid soy lecithin. That’s because it makes for consistent well formed bread and more importantly, a very fluffy loaf bread.
Vitamin C Powder (Ascorbic Acid)
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, also enhances the dough in two ways. It acts as a preservative and it also creates a lighter bread by helping the yeast do a better job. You don’t need a lot of this to enhance the dough. In fact I suggest you only need about ⅛ tsp per loaf of bread you are making. You can purchase the ascorbic acid powder on Amazon and I recommend this brand (Nutricost Vitamin C Powder) or you can purchase vitamin C and throw it in the blender until it is powder. As I mentioned before, the type of yeast I prefer to use already has ascorbic acid in it.
Ginger
At first, I was sceptical about adding ginger powder to my bread dough because I don’t care for the taste of ginger. However, after trying it I realized that it really can enhance the dough and make a lighter fluffier bread without changing the taste. You only have to add about ¼ tsp per loaf and it is such a small amount that you won’t taste it. The ginger again helps boost yeast and also helps as a natural preservative.
Potato Flakes or Potato Water
As you know, potatoes are rich in starch. Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast. Potato flakes do the exact same thing as potato water without having to boil potatoes. I’ve even made doughnuts “spudnuts” out of potatoes. I would substitute about ¼ cup of potato flakes for flour in the recipe for this enhancer or replace half of the water with the potato water.
Wheat Gluten
If you’ve ever compared gluten free bread with regular bread you will notice that the gluten free bread is more dense. That is because wheat gluten, which is in the bread flour, strengthens the dough and encases the gas produced by the yeast. You can actually add a small amount of wheat gluten to enhance the dough and make it lighter and fluffier. The more gluten, the stronger the dough is. You can purchase vital wheat gluten and replace 1 Tbsp of flour with the vital wheat gluten. Here’s a link to Anthony’s Premium Vital Wheat Gluten on Amazon.
Dry Milk Powder
Adding dry milk powder to your bread dough will help your loaf rise higher. In addition, the loaf will stay soft and hold moisture longer which again means it will last longer. It also helps brown the crust. If you want a lighter fluffier bread loaf just add 2 Tbsp of dry milk to the flour per loaf of your bread.
Vinegar – Apple Cider or White Vinegar
Vinegar has a very similar effect to the dough as the ascorbic acid. It helps hold the dough together and strengthens the bubbles so they won’t pop. It helps to keep the integrity of the dough and strengthens the gluten bonds.
Process
The ingredients above are the main thing that will allow you to keep your bread from turning into a dense brick and more into a light fluffy loaf. In addition, there is some process to making that perfect bread loaf. If you use bread flour, instant yeast, and an enhancer like lecithin, the process becomes simpler. For example in our Basic White Bread Recipe, you don’t have to proof yeast, you only have one rise time, and the process really does become easy and the bread is made fast. If you use other yeast, you may have to proof it, let it rise more than once etc. The main process that should be followed in all recipes is kneading the bread. You can do this in a mixer like a Bosch or a KitchenAid or you can knead by hand. Whichever way you do it, the dough needs to be kneaded until it has a smooth and soft texture. In a mixer about 5 minutes will do, but if you are the brave soul kneading your dough by hand it takes about 10-15 minutes. This ensures that the ingredients have been activated, the gas is being released, and the dough is strong enough to keep the gas in.
I hope this post will help you create less dense, light fluffy homemade bread. I know from experience that it is as simple as it sounds. If you have any questions, please comment.
Happy Baking!
How much Liquid Lecithin do you use for artisan sourdough bread and when do I add it
Add one teaspoon for every 2.5 cups of dry ingredients (flours or starch). Add it to the dry ingredients and then add the liquids. You can also add it when you add the starter.
Is the liquid soy lecithin need refrigerated after opening? And why does it look like it’s hardening on the sides of bottle after open?
Very informative. I’ll be checking out more of your recipies.
How much vinegar do you use?
Hi, will your narrative apply to making pizza dough?
Ok I was ready to try and bake bread. All this science has me concerned that I’ll never bake an excellent loaf. Simply can’t afford all the fancy additives….lecithin powders, etc….I even gave up reading half way through the article. I wish my daddy was still alive. Made delicious breads, before all these things were concocted. Flour water yeast….and yum. I applaud you in all these! I just wish I could get to y’all’s level …lol it’s sounds and looks yummy and fun….
Have you ever made Portuguese malasadas the Hawaiian style way. Where it is really airy inside, slightly crunchy on the outside. It’s made by Leonard’s bakery in Hawaii.
Thank you for sharing your bread baking knowledge!! Just goes to show, even a 64 year old can learn something new.
How can I make a tasty gluten free bread that is light and fluffy. My Son has medical problems that prevents him from enjoying his favorite white soft bread.
This is a very interesting recipe but I would be interested if you could put recipe for 1kg of bread flour and then I could work out what I need for 5kgs of flour eg! Thank you and keep up the good work.
Do the lecithin granules get added to the wet or dry ingredients, it’s my first time for adding it.
It should be added to the dry ingredients. If it is liquid (my preference because it usually turns out smoother) then you mix all the dry ingredients and then add the liquid lecithin.
Happy Baking!
529094 766285I dont typically comment but I gotta state thanks for the post on this excellent 1 : D. 881911
How much water, if any, would you recommend removing if I were to add egg yolks to a bread recipem Say for example I am using a basic white loaf recipe (500g flour/365g water), how many egg yolks should I use? Thank you in advance
Lindsay,
I enjoyed reading your information about bread making. I was looking for information about lecithin and stumbled across your web site. I make bread fairly often–not often enough for my children and grandchildren–but never thought to nor heard of using lecithin in my bread. I will be trying it out soon. Additionally I was unaware of the difference between bread flour and all purpose flour, so now I will go hunting for a store that sell that. I have been using lecithin for a few decades, not in bread, but in soups, stews, and gravies to emulsify whatever fats or oils from meats or sauteing of vegetables into the soup or stew or gravy. It has worked very well for that. I would be interested to know if you bake sourdough breads and for whatever hints and tips you might have if you do make sourdough breads.
Thanks for listening to the rambles of a seventy-five year old home baker.
Alan
i would love to hear if you use lecithin granules or liquid in your gravies and your recipe for a gravy. thanks!
Liquid lecithin works great in gravy to smooth it out. I’ve also used it in steak marinades to make sure it mixes better. Works great.
Light, soft and fluffy bread can be made without any of these additives. It’s just a cheat method for people who don’t know how to make bread properly. Instead of adding stuff learn proper technique and you will get the desired result.
Can u please teach me proper technique in making bread,i have been baking breads but i can’t achieve the lighter and fluffy bread..hope u will teach the technique and the proper way
Please tell me how I can make bread for a loved one who cannot tolerate white flour. He’s allergic to wheat and was told to eat gluten free bread but he hates it. He lives the normal soft a fluffy white bread. Thank you
Smarty pants we cannot all be perfect,have time or strength to nead etc (as my hands are painful with arthritis
I am one of those who don’t know how to make bread properly. Can you share your “proper technique”?
Where can I learn to do it properly
That’s why we’re all here.
How’s the weather up there on your high horse?
Would you please tell us the correct way of making the bread fluffy and soft instead of using these additives. Thank you
You’re a braggy mofo. Go bake your superior bread and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Baked a no knead 18 hour proofing dough artisan loaf. Added toasted walnuts and raisins, as well as a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Everyone who indulged were “blown away”. Said that it was so delicious, a high end bakery product. A few said that they would be willing to pay $20.00 for a loaf. Not new to baking bread, have tried many different methods. I believe this time I’ve hit the mark when it comes to mastering a delicious artisan loaf.
Love this site!! Have been using her recipes for quite awhile, They always come out and are so much faster. Would be interested in an english muffin bread,
I have been searching for detailed information on how to make light and fluffy bread and this is exactly what I needed. My bread has always leaned towards a more dense bread. This is so helpful. Thank you!
Hi Isha, Thanks for the question. I would try 1 Tbsp of liquid lecithin (Soy or Sunflower) to replace one whole egg. It can also be used to substitute 1 Tbsp for egg yolk. I don’t know about the Japanese cake but you can maybe substitute the eggs with the lecithin. Give this a try and let us know how it turned out. Happy baking!
For years I made bread with water and active dry yeast. I decided to try milk instead of water and add an egg. My bread was too light. You could read the morning paper through it. I hated it. Going back to Mom’s recipe. Water and all purpose flour.
Do you add lecithin granules in the same quantity as liquid – 1tsp to 2 1/2 cups of flour? And do you had the dry milk as well as lecithin granules to the bread mix?
Thank you?. My breads have been way too heavy compared to the bakery bread. Vinegar? How much do you add to not have a vinegar flavor?
How much vinegar do you use per loaf.
Hi there, so i have only plain flour i can use at the moment because shopd here in the uk are always out of bread flour. I use fast actions dried yeast in the mix too.
The loaf was dense, so i want to try the vinegar tip you said. I have 500grams of plain flour so how much vinegar will i need and at what stage do I mix it in.
Thankyou
Hi Julie, bummer that bread flour is such a struggle to get your hands on. With the vinegar tip, I would add a tablespoon of vinegar to your liquid and then add to your dry ingredients. Let me know how it goes!
Lindsey, I am trying to make sweet bread. My first attempt came out too dense, it calls for 8 eggs. How much lecithin should I use? Also I will be using bread flour from now on. Thanks for any help you can give me. Have a great day!
Nancy, sweet bread my favorite! On your first attempt, how much lecithin did you use? Also how many cups of flour does the recipe call for? I usually say 1 tsp of lecithin per egg and 1 tsp of lecithin per 2.5 cups of flour. Also what kind of yeast are you using?
I just made my first loaf of white bread a few days ago and we really liked it. My husband was very impressed and bragged. The only thing is that it is so heavy! I’ve read the questions and comments and all your info. Do I add all these things or just pick 3. If I just pick 3 which 3 are the best?
Very informative. I’ll be checking out more of your recipies.
If carbon dioxide gas is to make the bread light why do we have to press out gas after first rise.
Thanks
Hi Lindsay,
How can I make my bread lighter but with a crispy top. My bread comes out soft because I tried using wheat gluten but the top is not crispy like the bakery and my husband like a crispy bread.
Thanks, I would appreciate your help.
Hi Sandra,
We like a soft crust in our home but the secret to a crispy crust is steam. My favorite to do that is to place a pan of ice under the bread in the oven to generate steam as it melts. The trick is not to overdo the ice. Experiment with it and let me know how it goes.
Happy Baking!
Off I add 2 tbsp of dried milk to my bread mix, do I have to put in extra water?
Lindsey.
I just purchased liquid soy lecithin and it has a very odd consistency. My breadmaker typically has you add ingredients then waits 45 minutes before starting its mixing. Will the lecithin be okay sitting 45 minutes before mixing and is there any chance it will harm the inner surface of my breadmaker pan?
Hi John,
This should be fine. It is sticky so maybe put it in the middle of the dry ingredients so it isn’t on the outside of the bread maker.
Hi Lindsey.
I make banana bread which calls for 3 bananas and 5 eggs and 1/2 cup of coconut flour. Since it comes out a bit dense (but very tasty) I want to try the instant yeast. However, does instant yeast work on flour and ingredients with no wheat in them? I use gluten free ingredients since I have gluten allergy. Thank you.
Can you also tell me how long it keeps before it goes bad?
I’d say you’re not looking much past a week and a half, two weeks tops. Whether or not you keep it in the fridge would have some effect on that time as well.
Hi! Do you have any recipes for a whole wheat version, and even gluten free? 🙂
Jana, we don’t have a gluten free version…yet. However, here is a link to a Honey Whole Wheat version.
I ‘ve ben making bread for over 3o years….. using bread machine to do the kneading and baking it separately. I’ve tried all sorts of flours, all-purpose, wheat flour, bread flour and whole wheat. I have never tried adding lecithin as of yet. where do I get the liquid type. Yes, my bread usually comes-out too dense!
Sorry, we missed your comment. If you are still looking you can go here to our website; there is also a link for Amazon on the page.
https://fasteasybread.com/product/pure-liquid-sunflower-lecithin-food-grade/
Hi Larry, you can purchase our liquid lecithin right here on our website or even on Amazon. Try either of these links… https://fasteasybread.com/product/pure-liquid-sunflower-lecithin-food-grade/ or https://fasteasybread.com/product/pure-liquid-soy-lecithin-food-grade/
What about adding dry beef broth to the all purpose flour
What about adding dry beef broth to the all purpose flour
Hello there …
I have active dry yeast that I need to use up first before I try the items in your recipe.
I am wondering if an still try our recipe just add rise time?
Or should I use a traditional recipe and add any one of the enhancers? And of course, use bread flour :)?
Baking now so look forward to hearing back.
https://fasteasybread.com/how-to-make-homemade-bread-less-dense-or-more-light-fluffy/
Your article is very interesting but not what I was hoping for. Trying out additives I wold prefer to avoid if I can.
I have been making bread for a while off and on but have had limited success. So yesterday, I tried with very high Canadian high protein white flour. It was more chewy, the dough rose a little better but the improvement in taste and texture was not there compared from when using a cheap brand of supermarket bread flour here in the UK.
With both flours, I was using instant dried yeast and from what elsewhere I have just read, maybe the yeast, which kind, makes the biggest difference since there are millions of different yeast fungi naturally occurring and the resulting chemical reactions have their nuances. Maybe I need to try again with sourdough. Is that so and which sourdough? I would like the bread crumb to be open rather than dense, have a crunch crust and distinctive, fairly powerful but not acid taste. So far my bread is anything but.
I tried making my own sourdough but it would not come alive, attempting it twice. then tried a bought in San Francisco sourdough starter but gave up after the discard used to make pancakes, even with a lot of syrup was way too sour. In spite of your article, I would prefer to keep to just flour, water, salt and yeast for the time being because the more ingredients the more variables and uncertainty as I will not just hit upon the right mix and get it right the first time, so just get more and more confused. How do J discover which choice of sourdough? Perhaps I need a very mild one which does not impart much if any noticeable sourness. What do you think?
How much vinegar do you recommend adding to the ingredients for a loaf of bread?
Interesting article. Everything I have seen talks about making bread lighter and fluffier. We detest it like that.
Do you have any tips for making it denser?
Hello Lindsey, first of all, thank you for the great information and the outstanding presentation of it. I’m a freshly retired guy that has recently become a beginner bread baker. I’m not adverse to standard baking processes, hell that’s what makes it fun, but my son bought me a bread machine for Christmas, and I won’t lie, sometimes easier is more appealing, if you know what I mean. That plus I’m a very messy baker and sometimes I’m not in the mood for cleanup. Any tips for bread machine recipes, and will enhancers work in bread machine recipes? Any help for this old guy would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, by the way, you are extremely sharp and well versed in baking and explaining how things work…….KUDO’s
Yes, the enhancers should work in the bread maker. Also, I’ve seen people use the bread maker to mix the dough and then they shape and cook the bread from there. Happy Baking!
I found your article very helpful in understand what natural ingredients help make bread less dense and fluffier. I tried using ginger in 2 different kinds of bread. The.y we’re both higher and lighter! You talk about a number of options but only give amounts for some. Can you either share amounts for the others or point me to that information? Also, can one liquify lecithin crystals for use in bread?
Thanks so much, Jane
Hi Jane, I’ve never been a fan of the lecithin crystals because of the process to get them in the dough and dissolved etc. I would opt for the much easier Liquid Lecithin and give it a try. As for the amounts, it really depends on the dough you are making and the quantities. You may need to experiment. Let me know if you figure anything out. Happy Baking!
Hi Thank you so much for these tips to make bread fluffier. A really great Italian bakery closed in our town and I’ve been trying to make something that is fluffy. So far it tastes fine but it’s dense. I looked for lecithin at Wegmans but only echinacea comes up. Is that the same? Or where can I buy lecithin?
Sorry! I see that you sell lecithin. Is it also used in Italian bread?
Hi Lindsey
Great information thank you. I’m sure you’ve probably been asked but do you have a version of your basic bread white recipe for a single loaf ? There are just two of us and most recipes yield too high qty for us. Hoping you do have this as I would really like to try your recipe. Thanks in advance for your time.
Karl
Can liquid milk (condensed Milk) also serve the same purpose
My grandma use to make a potato yeast bread using potato and the water and she like it a bit sweet so she used sugar too. Her bread was white, light, fluffy and rise A mile high. Can you point me in the direction of a good recipe. She came from the backwoods and just threw this bag together but her potato yeast bread and potato yeast rolls were the best
This is probably the single most useful website posts I’ve seen so far as a newbie bread maker! Thanks very much!
Thanks for your informative article. I enjoyed reading it. Do you have tips especially for gluten free breads? Creating a light and fluffy gf loaf is very difficult.
If a wheat bread recipe already calls for dry milk, will adding liquid lecithin also help, or would that be overkill?
Doctors have recommended my daughters go to a “FODMAP” diet that allows spelt (due to its lower gluten). I have been experimenting with making bread from spelt flour. Do you have any recommendations on which of the additives you list would work best for a moist loaf that would also have a longer shelf life? Would appreciate any advice!
Hi!
I know this is a bit old, but I was wondering if my recipe for bread already calls for eggs, is there a need to add a dough enhancer like lecithin or any of the others, considering there’s lecithin in it already? If so, how would I know how much to add?
Hi,
Just been reading comments on your page.
Now I have been trying to find how Bakers make those Very Light crusty rolls, I’m sure they only weigh about 1 Oz are full of air, with a crusty top!
Can you tell me how that is achieved please?
Will get back to the reading now, thank you in anticipation
Kind Regards
David