Factors affecting texture:
Dough manipulation
Handling the dough causes degassing, breaking the bubbles, resulting in smaller holes
Hydration
A dry dough will be stiffer, making it more difficult for the dough to rise and form large bubbles.
A wetter dough will rise higher, but too wet a dough will collapse.
Some flours absorb more water than others. Artisan breads tend to use higher hydration levels and require more delicate handling, commercial breads lower and rough handling.
Hydration varies a lot according to the flour used, eg a baguette dough with french flour might be 60% water, but 70% with american flours.
50-55% Stiff dry dough, dense crumb - eg bagels, pretzels
55-60% Supple dough, tacky but not sticky. Denser, closed crumb, eg sandwich bread, rolls
60-70% Slightly sticky dough. Crumb hole structure gets larger and more irregular.
85% (eg ciabatta) Very sticky dough. extra large hole structure
Yeast
The more yeast is added, the faster the bread will rise.
Time
Slower rise = better flavor and texture
Salt and fat retard the action of the yeast
More time = more rise, but when the yeasts run out of food or become overconcentrated, they will stop.
Gluten
Gluten forms the surface of each bubble, so the strength of that is critical to how much the bread can rise. With less gluten, the bubbles can burst.
Kneading helps develop the gluten
Enzyme effect on gluten?
Baguettes are traditionally made of lower gluten flour
Fat coats the gluten so that longer chains are unable to form
Too much sugar can retard gluten development
Whole-wheat flour can be high in gluten, but the shards of bran in the flour tear the strands of gluten, inhibiting its development
Protein Content of White Wheat Flours
Semolina 13-13.5%
Whole wheat, bread, durum semolina 12-16%
Northern all-purpose 11-12% (King Arthur is 11.7%)
National all-purpose 9.5-12% (Pillsbury and Gold Medal are 10.5%)
Southern all-purpose 7.5-9.5%
Pastry 8-9%
Cake 7-8%
Oven spring
Yeasts continue producing CO2 until they die at 60C / 140F.
Gasses expand with heat, which will grow the holes.
As the crust forms, that will retard the growth. Keeping the dough moist for the first third of baking time will alleviate this, either by adding steam or cooking in a closed environment such as a dutch oven
Bread is scored to allow it to grow more easily, and control the direction of the growth.
Note: effect of radiant heat?
Liquid / fat
Water yields a crusty loaf with a fairly dense crumb while milk gives bread a rich and tender crumb and a softer crust
(does water + butter = milk?)
If you add the fat at the beginning of the mix, the gluten formation is interfered with
First hydrate the flour and then add the fat after the gluten strands have been established.
Allow the flour to completely hydrate with the liquid before adding salt and oil. Autolyse at room temperature for 30-60 minutes.
http://www.breadwerx.com/how-to-get-open-crumb-from-stiff-dough-video/