I'm using a Kenwood dough making machine,but after following the baking instructions the result is a very heavy and "close grained" loaf.Any suggestions please on how to overcome this? Thanks.
many possible reasons. Too much water, too much salt, (which will inactivate the yeast) not enough yeast, yeast old and didn’t work well enough, might be to do with the cycle you used, might be the machine not working properly. Have you looked at the trouble shooting section of the instruction book?
Did you leave out the sugar ? The sugar is needed, not to make it sweeter for eaters, but to feed the yeast which produces the bubbles which raise the dough
I gave up mixing all the ingredients and now buy the small bags of ready mixed stuff in Tesco for around 80p a loaf, just add water and away you go, guaranteed a perfect 'homemade' loaf every time