What went wrong with your bread? (2024)

FAQs

What commonly goes wrong when making bread? ›

Check the liquid added to the dough is not over 37°C or it may kill off some of the yeast, similarly check the yeast is not too old or stale and inactive. Check that you haven't added too much sugar or salt as both common mistakes may stop the yeast from working properly.

Yeast is too cold If the other ingredients are too cold, it could cause some of the yeast to die. Was the dough kneaded properly? Dough may not have been kneaded enough. Kneading 'exercises' the gluten in the bread and gives it the elasticity to hold in the air bubbles produced by the yeast.

One of the most common mistakes is having a dough temperature that's too low for the starter to feed on all the flour in the dough, resulting in a crumb that's dense, with fewer openings. "Starter is happiest and most active at around 75 degrees. If it's a lot colder, the process will be much slower.

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

Coarse or uneven grain Too much leavening, not Insufficient beating of Improper make-up, enough liquid, or eggs. Too much or not excessive water or improper mixing.

Common Yeast and Bread Dough Problems

Many of these common yeast dough problems are usually due to the yeast being dead to begin with, the yeast being killed or impeded somehow during the bread-making process, or being in a non-ideal environment that is too hot or too cold.

Hot water and steam create the perfect conditions for the dough to rise inside the oven. They help achieve consistent results with better flavor development and texture. What is this? The moist, warm environment makes dough rise faster than simply letting it sit on the counter.

Adding fat to a dough makes is soft and fluffy and generally gives it a gentler mouth feel. That does not mean that it is better, but it has its place. I personally love enriched dough. There are certain things to consider when adding fat.

If the loaf has a flat top then you may have used flour which is too weak. Always use strong bread making flour. Other potential reasons for this problem could be that too little salt was used, the dough was too wet or that the dough was poorly shaped.

Does Rising Bread Affect Its Texture? For a fluffy bread texture, the key is to let the bread rise long enough.

How can I make my bread lighter and fluffy? ›

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don't have bread flour. “Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

Add more yeast, blend in the starter, or knead in more flour to help initiate rising. Dough that has expired yeast, too much salt, all-purpose or cake flour, or antifungal spices like cinnamon might have trouble rising.

But almost as good as a proofing box is taking a Mason jar filled halfway up with water, microwaving it for two minutes, then putting your bowl of dough into the microwave with the jar to rise. The other thing you can do is place your lidded container or bowl of dough into a second, larger bowl of warm water.

Some external faults include improper volume from too little or too much yeast, under or over fermentation, or too high oven temperature. Internal faults include holes and tunnels from weak flour or improper mixing, as well as cores from uneven mixing or skin formation during proving.

Bread can be over or under proofed, have too much or too little yeast, or be baked at temperatures that are too high or too low. These issues can result in bread having a hard or thick crust, poor taste, cracking, holes and tunnels, small volume, poor shape, or texture issues.