As far as I understand it, the amount of yeast you put in has a maximum amount of gas it will produce before it can't produce any more. The goal is to get it to produce enough to shape the bread how you like while it's in the oven so the cooking process will kill the yeast and stop this process. Getting the timing right is essential of course which is why we typically have 2 proofs. But other things also affect the process, sugar being one of them. But sugar doesn't make the yeast produce more, it just makes the process happen faster which it sounds like your process is already fast. So you are correct that adding more sugar will help to get the bread to rise faster to the shape you need before putting it in the oven, but it sounds more to me like there is a different issue. Other factors that can effect the rise include things that inhibit or kill yeast, such as salt, hot water, or high altitude. Or even the weight and density of the dough can inhibit the bread to rise properly. I make a hybrid sandwich bread weekly with half bread flour and half whole wheat, and I typically need to add vital wheat gluten because the loaf is made fast and there isn't enough time for enough gluten to develop to make it soft and pliable. I wonder if you have the same issue and your bread is simply too dense? Maybe try it out and see what happens. I add 3 TBS to a single loaf usually. Hope you can figure it out. Bread sure it tricky.
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Thanks! I didn't mention in the post but I have experimented with adding gluten, it definitely makes the dough stronger and less likely to settle back, but doesn't seem to let it rise much higher.
If you're already adding a lot of yeast and gluten isnt helping, then it may be something inhibiting the yeast or the yeast could be old. The amount of yeast you're putting in should definitely be enough.
Some points that come to mind
- whole wheat flour rises faster than white (https://www.theperfectloaf.com/whole-wheat-sourdough/)
- the bran in whole wheat serves as tiny knives to interrupt the gluten formation and thus it doesn’t rise as high
So the result is it’s easy to over proof whole wheat and it’s not exactly puffy to begin with. Over proofing happens when the gluten reaches its limit and the yeast run out of food. Typically there’s a bulk fermentation to grow the yeast colony and then the gluten network is reformed and the yeast is jiggled around as the loaf is shaped, permitting the second fermentation before baking.
Sugar is a pretty common ingredient for sandwich bread because it aids in browning especially when toasting it. The yeast doesn’t consume it all - but it gets pretty far. That and fats are what make a fluffy sandwich loaf - but you’re far from that with this recipe. I don’t think you really need the molasses. Particularly because it’s going to make for a faster fermentation and the gluten is already struggling to hold in the air.