Re: My bread never rises very big
 

You know i've been looking at your recipe and I'm wondering if your dough is just too heavy for it to rise properly. :scratch Have you tried cutting back on the amount of oil and honey? Maybe try 1/4 cup of each instead of a 1/3cup. It won't make much difference in flavor but it might lighten up the dough enough for it to rise.

Also are you using yeast formulated for Whole Wheat Flour? If not I'd suggest you try it to see if it helps.

Re: My bread never rises very big
 

No, the availbility of baking supplies in my area if very poor, I even have a hard time getting whole wheat flour, they have two kinds of yeast, regular and quick and you can get the regular in envelopes or a jar. Dough enhancer is also unavailable and vital wheat gluten is very hard to find as well. :-/

Re: My bread never rises very big
 

king aurther flour sells dough enhancer that helps whole wheat flour bread rise. you can make it w/: vital wheat gluten, citric acid, and distatic malt powder (i ordered my ingredients from king aur. before i knew where to find it here. it is much cheaper to make it yourself...)
my bread always does better with this!
i think the pan idea is great. if you keep using your current pans you may need to adjust baking temp...

i don't use pans, easier clean-up :giggle

Re: My bread never rises very big
 

For yeast honestly I have had the best, most reliable, results with regular ol' Red Star. I don't use special yeast and have been baking whole wheat bread for over a decade. I know many people love SAF but it can, IME, rise too quickly if conditions are too optimal and that leaves holes in the loaf and Fleishmann's doesn't impress me (I have heard others say they didn't like Fleishmann's either so I don't think it's just me), though I have used it when that was all I could get. I know some people love the special types of yeast though. It just threw things off for me and didn't give me better results. Just thought I'd throw that experience out there.

Using a bigger batch in your pan is worth a try anyway. It may or may not turn out better. You might need to adjust baking time/temp.

Hey, you know what? I think it's cool talking bread mechanics. This is fun. I don't know anyone IRL who bakes regularly. The one friend I had that used to passed away a couple years ago. I let my baking slide the last couple years when life got complicated (still did it but not frequently) but I think I'm going to go start a batch now. :)

Re: My bread never rises very big
 

:rockon

yeah, i like red star too. :yes