Last time I left the sugar out of my low-yeast, long-soak-and-rise bread machine bread. The results were pretty good. This time I kept the sugar and left out the added gluten.
Both loaves — the one without sugar and the one without gluten — baked up to a similar texture, with a similar flavor. They're both a little short, but they still have a wonderfully soft texture — I guess that's the soaking.
I think I will continue to put sugar in my bread, because we are all very fond of honey-oatmeal bread and molasses-rye bread. If I always put some kind of sugar in the bread, then I'll get more-or-less consistent results, I guess. But I think I will perhaps stop putting gluten in soaked bread recipes.
I wonder, now, if I can get the loaf to rise a little higher (even without added gluten) if I add just a bit more yeast. I think that will be the next experimental bread.
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