The Fresh Loaf

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Why does bread sometimes shrink after baking?

Angelica Nelson's picture
Angelica Nelson

Why does bread sometimes shrink after baking?

During baking there was a nice oven rise but it shrinks by the end of the baking time.  I'm guessing it's because of water loss. 

This bread recipe is gluten free and I've read before that the shrinking of bread after baking happens a lot more in gluten free bread making.  I've never seen anyone explain why this is, though.  It just is.

If this was a wheat bread and this happened, what would be the reason?  Too much yeast?  Too much water?  I'd like to do what I can to minimize it.  Maybe if I added bean flour?  I have some mung beans that I could sprout, mash and add to a bread recipe.

Here's the size of the bread after complete cooling, and the crumb structure (which is really nice for a GF bread).  The recipe is here:  https://www.nixgluten.com/2019/11/substantial-sandwich-bread-recipe-part-5.html

Comments

Angelica Nelson's picture
Angelica Nelson

In this case, I traced the problem to a loaf temperature that was too low.  I used a thermometer-alarm and made sure a loaf got to 207*F and that one didn't shrink to such a dramatic extent.  More like a normal shrinking amount.