The present invention relates to a method of preparing a leavened bread dough, said method comprising the following sequence of processing steps: combining flour, water, yeast and/or leavening agent, and optionally one or more additional bakery ingredients to produce a dough-type mix;mixing and working the dough-type mix in a mixer to produce an underdeveloped dough with a density of 0.9-1.5 g/ml, the total energy input from the mixer into the underdeveloped dough during said mixing and working of the dough-type mix being at least 1 W.h/kg;further working a batch of at least 15 kg of the underdeveloped dough by subjecting it to deformation shear, thereby producing a developed dough;dividing the developed dough into two or more developed dough pieces having an individual mass of 30-3000 g; andleavening the developed dough pieces to yield leavened dough pieces having a specific volume of at least 2.0 ml/g;wherein the aforementioned sequence of processing steps is completed within 3 hours. The present process employs high energy working to produce an underdeveloped dough, followed by low energy working to further develop the dough. By employing a combination of high energy working and low energy working the total working energy needed for preparation of a fully developed dough can be reduced substantially. At the same time, this combination of working conditions produces a dough that after baking yields a very soft crumb with an extremely regular crumb structure.The invention further provides a loaf of tin bread having a unique cellular structure that can be obtained by the aforementioned method as well as an apparatus for operating the above mentioned method.
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