276942 Thu Mar 10 13:54:19 -0800 2005 6 31 Home Cooking 0 1462459 So I made a yeast bread from one of Laurie Colwin's books, and it hardly rose at all. (It may have been my technique, but the main reason was probably the expired yeast. Hindsight, etc. ) Anyway, I have nearly two loaves of not awful but very dense bread. Mostly white flour, but it's also got oatmeal and wheat germ in it. What would you make with it? I'm thinking maybe a strata and/or a bread pudding, but maybe there's something else this bread deserves to be. Thu Mar 10 13:54:19 -0800 2005 0 Wisco 1 1462462 Croutons? Meatballs? Thu Mar 10 14:20:28 -0800 2005 1462459 0 nooodles 1 1462464 Bread crumbs. If it's too dense, it would ruin a bread pudding or even croutons for me. Thu Mar 10 14:57:04 -0800 2005 1462459 0 Carb Lover 1 1462475 I made some extremely dense bread a few years ago. It also had not very good flavor, so I played fetch with my roommate's dog with it. It was sad how long it took the loaf to look at all damaged by this, but at least it didn't go completely to waste. :) If the bread has good flavor I would make croutons, since I like croutons to be fairly dense. Use plenty of oil and bake them nice and dark. Thu Mar 10 15:59:16 -0800 2005 1462459 0 sprout 1 1462520 or maybe you could make crostinis out of them for snacks. Or thin sliced and toasted with peanut or almond butter. Thu Mar 10 19:43:08 -0800 2005 1462459 0 Allison 1 1462566 I've been using yeast for which the expiration date is long gone by at least a year. I proof it before using it and it works fine, but it has been kept in the fridge. Density of the bread depends on the amount of water in the dough. If your dough was firm before you put it in the oven, that is probably the reason for the density. I've been experimenting with an Italian bread called 'ciabatta' which results in a light, airy loaf. The dough is very sticky and somewhat difficult with which to work. Add a little more water to your current dough recipe. Also add some herbs to the dough for some flavor. Fri Mar 11 07:06:30 -0800 2005 1462459 0 ChiliDude 1 1462753 Oatmeal and wheat germ are going to suck all the moisure out of any bread. One or the other, I'd say. Black Cake is the only Colwin receipe I've ever made that worked, and I think Nigella's variation is an improvement. And the loaves you've got now will make handy doorstops. Sat Mar 12 22:52:11 -0800 2005 1462459 0 Kitchenette