What causes a bread dough to become dense?

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I have a stand mixer, but it’s in a box in the garage; I haven’t rescued it since we moved. I consequently use the “mix” cycle on my bread machine to mix and knead the dough. The mix cycle runs 15 minutes. I usually use a whole cycle to mix the dough, let it autolyse for about 15 minutes, then run the “mix” cycle again (and incorporate the fat during the cycle). My doughs seem to come out very dense after baking. Am I kneading the dough too much? Or do I need to adjust my formulas?
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Quick Answer about "What causes a bread dough to become dense?"
Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough long enough. Mixing the salt and yeast together or Losing patience in the middle of molding your bread and there is not enough tension in your finished loaf before baking.How do you fix dense dough?
Why is my bread dense and not fluffy?
Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough mix properly \u2013out of many reasons out there. Some of the other potential reasons could be mixing the yeast & salt together or losing your patience while baking or even not creating enough tension in the finished loaf before baking the bread.How do you make bread less dense?
Bread flour contains a higher percentage of gluten than regular all-purpose flour. Using bread flour will produce taller, less dense loaves. If you use all-purpose flour (which has smaller percentage of gluten than bread flour), your loaves will be flatter and denser.How can I make my bread lighter and fluffy?
Boost the fluffiness of your bread by using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten. All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result.How to make your bread softer and less dense
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