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Poor rising and cracked bread

vtelf03's picture
vtelf03

Poor rising and cracked bread

Hi. I just pulled two Honey Wheat loaves out of the oven (and I haven't tried them, although they smell good) and while they are done, and the tops are a lovely golden brown, each loaf cracked on the side. I've only tried bread a few times, and each time with a different recipe. I made some dinner rolls last weekend that were divine, and I thought I'd try some Wheat bread (my second attempt, although a new recipe - the first wasn't good at all).

The recipe I used was this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Wheat-Bread-II/Detail.aspx?prop31=4 (I love allrecipes!). I did everything exactly like the recipe said, with the following exceptions: I used 1/2 of honey instead of 1/3, and I used 1 cup or wheat flour and about 3 cups of all-purpose in the last step (I couldn't add the other cup in).

I spent probably about 10 minutes kneading the bread, let it rise for about an hour (it doubled in size nicely), and I split it into two loaves. I put it in a warm over to rise a second time (I cut the oven off when I put them in, just wanted a tiny bit of heat since it's kind of cold in my house tonight). After 4 hours, my loaves were both about 1/2 inch BELOW the pan edge. The recipe says to let it rise until it's OVER the edge of the pan, and my questions are these:

 

- How long should this normally take?

- Why didn't mine rise as much as it was supposed to after 4 hours?

- Did it dry out (if that's the cracking?) because I let it rise for so long?

 

I used a regular package of active dry yeast, and my wheat flour is relatively new.

Any thoughts?

 

Much appreciated,

 

Leigh McKagen

vtelf03's picture
vtelf03

Update: It tastes great - although it's a tiny bit heavy/thick (whatever term you prefer), obviously, since it didn't finish rising. It will be great for toasts and things, but not sandwiches as was my original plan.

 

Thanks again.

Jw's picture
Jw

Leigh, maybe I should write "opinions".

- How long should this normally take?
I am not sure, but I have never used such a long rise. "normal" to me means 2x 1 hour (maximum and only if it is a double rise bread). Sometimes I put the dough into the fridge after the first rise (if we are going somewhere). Did you monitor the dough? If it goes down, you are too late (proofing was too long)

- Why didn't mine rise as much as it was supposed to after 4 hours?
sorry, can't help you here. Could be anything. Maybe in the changes of the recipe?

- Did it dry out (if that's the cracking?) because I let it rise for so long?
The cracking shows that the bread wants to rise, but can't find the space for it. Did you used a humid oven? (eg. put some water?).

The 'problem' is that these breads still taste great, allthough somewhere the baker does not feel 100% about it. Pictures next time?

Cheers,
Jw.

vtelf03's picture
vtelf03

Ah yes, I should figure out how to post a picture. I monitored it was well as I could, but I was also busy grading papers so I might have missed when it stopped proofing. And no, would keeping the oven humid have helped? I wouldn't have used the oven if it hadn't been so cold in my house ...

 

Thanks for the responses. I think it boils down to trying and trying again (and a different recipe, perhaps), which is ok with me!

Danni-loves-2-cook's picture
Danni-loves-2-cook

Leigh, 

 

Try this recipe on Allrecipes: fabulous homemade bread

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fabulous-Homemade-Bread/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

 

This was the first recipe I used to make bread a little over a month ago. I screwed it up so bad and thought I would have horrible bread, but it turned out so good, I now use it with some adjustments every weekend for sandwich bread. 

I use brown sugar,  but I've read some of the reviewers who use honey, so it does work with honey. 

I use regular oats (not quick cook) for a heartier bread, add 1/4 c steel cut oats and 1/4 c ground flax seed. 

This bread comes out so light and the crumb is perfect for sandwich bread. You do have to adjust the amounts. I change it to 48 servings and get three good sized loaves (about 24 ounces each). 

Hope this helps. 

 

Danni

vtelf03's picture
vtelf03

I saw this one the other day, and it did look good. Thanks Danni - I'll try that next time around and see what happens. I'm definitely enjoying the learning process!