Technically by making white bread, you’re already going to have softer bread to start with. Whole wheat loaves end up dense is because whole wheat flour has less gluten than white all-purpose flour. Also you can try…

* Using bread flour not basic flour.
* Adding a TBS of vital wheat gluten per each 2-3 cups of flour.
* Use the following in your bread (for two loaves) – potato flakes (1/4 – 1/2 cup), milk instead of water, and butter, not oil (2-4 tablespoons).
* Use 1/3 cup powdered milk non-instant in the recipe.
* Add Dough Enhancer to the recipe.

Homemade bread is naturally more bulky and less light and fluffy. But some problems equal less fluffy bread, like… you may not be letting it rise long enough. No matter what the recipe says (i.e. let it rise 1 hour) your dough should double in size when rising – at the end of an hour, if it’s not doubled allow it to keep rising. You may be adding too much flour or your yeast may be too old.

Here’s a link to Doughmakers:
http://www.doughmakers.com/newmain.htm

These cookie sheets don’t warp, rust or let food stick. Love them for baking bread. I got mine at Viking many years ago. It costs around $20, but will last forever.

I’ve always loved to bake, but I mostly concentrated on desserts before, so it’s good I’m finally branching out to bread. I haven’t done the math just yet, but I think it’s saving me money over buying bread at Panera. I picked up some oats yesterday, so I’m making this recipe the next batch!

I’ve actually been making homemade bread now every week! Erin is inspiring me to finally try this recipe. I haven’t baked it yet since I keep forgetting to buy oats. I’m one of those bakers who preheats the oven though. With some things it doesn’t matter, but with bread, it makes me nervous not to. I also have a great pan called Doughmakers that allows me to skip the greasing part. It’s amazing, and there’s not even a nonstick finish. I think it’s just in the design of the pan. The surface is kind of bumpy like pebbles.