why my bread feels “solid”

From time to time, someone tells me the bread is hard.

I understand what they mean. We don’t all eat the same way. Some of us grew up with softer bread.

Bread that yields easily. You bite, and it gives way immediately. There is nothing wrong with that.

The bread I make asks for a bit more.

You have to chew. It resists slightly before it breaks down.

Part of it comes from the flour. I use whole wheat and rye. They weaken the gluten structure, but they also make the crumb denser.

Part of it comes from how I work the dough. I don’t push it to become light and airy at all cost. I stop earlier. The result is not as soft. Not as open. But it holds differently.

It carries flavour longer. It fills you in another way.

Texture is something we get used to over time. It shapes how we judge food.

What feels right.

What feels off.

I don’t try to change that for everyone.

I just make the bread the way I believe it should be.

Some people come back for it.

Some don’t.

That’s alright.