The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Discouraged Wife w/ Un-risen Bread Help!

New2Dough's picture
New2Dough

Discouraged Wife w/ Un-risen Bread Help!

Looking for advice on helping our bread rise. I bought my wife a Komo Grain Mill for Christmas and some wheat grain and she has tried 10 times now with maybe one or two good loafs. I am savvy in the kitchen but have limited experience with baking bread. I want to do what I can to help her/us in this hobby. What advice do you have for activating yeast and proofing?

 

The loaf today had the yeast almost spilling out of the small jar it was in when it activated. Loafs rose really well but then fell right before we put them in the oven. Such a bummer! 

Any books or courses or youtubers we should watch? 

 

She is also wanting to start sourdough for the first time and I want to support her there as well as I wouldnt be surprised if there are more flops in our future. 

 

Thank You!

Abe's picture
Abe

Before putting in the oven then they're over proofed. You need to get them in the oven sooner. 

Giving us the recipe and method you're following would help. 

Yippee's picture
Yippee

are you aiming to include? I have a straightforward recipe that uses only freshly milled flour to make 100% whole wheat bread:

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/71297/20221020-simple-100-wholewheat-bread-clas

Yippee 

 

Petek's picture
Petek

What type of wheat berries did you use? For yeast bread, you should use a type of hard wheat, not soft wheat. Soft wheat (used for quick breads) might not have enough gluten to support a fully risen yeast bread.

jo_en's picture
jo_en

Having experienced many failures, I found that whole grain flour from  freshly milled wheat berries behaves very differently from store bought whole wheat flour. I do not know why, except that the germ is included, there is a lot of coarse bran and the flour ferments at a different rate (faster?).

Search this site for "100% whole wheat bread" and you'll find that a lot of effort has gone into making loaves from freshly milled flour.

Here's mine and do send in more details of your steps and formula. 

Richard Lemieux's picture
Richard Lemieux

Hi. I suggest you take a look at this thread: Honey WW bread.

I have tried many combinations of techniques and additives during the last year and the points I have noted have an impact on final volume are

  • I soak WW flour with hot water and fhen let rest overnight in a cool place like a basement. Add half the yeast and half the salt when the mix has cooled down before  the night rest, The dough temperature is around 58F or 14C the next morning when I start mixing (kneading).
  • I add about 5 % cold butter during mixing after a window starts to develop., Does that have any impact on volume, I can't tell yet.
  • I add up to 6 % weight honey after the butter. (weight of honey/ total flour). I usually need to add one or two spoons of white flour while kneading after adding the honey.
  • I stop kneading when the dough is still stretchy before it gets stiff.
  • The bulk fermentation can be extended (at room temperature) to help stretch the dough.
  • I proof for 1 hour or less before baking. I proof at around 90F in the oven (2 min on, then off).

Hamelman is a good teacher. Look for his book and his YouTube videos. This one xhows when and how to add the butter and sugar: Making Brioche Dough with Jeffrey Hamelman.

tpassin's picture
tpassin

Speaking only from reading and not from personal experience, either the flour needs to be used the same day as it is milled or it needs to be aged for several weeks.  If used in between, it's common to have problems.

I'd also suggest making bread with no more than say 30% whole wheat to begin with.  The rest can be white all-purpose or bread flour. Once good bread is happening, the amount of WW can be increased bit by bit.

If a loaf falls before baking, it may work out just to knead it and shape it into a new loaf, then rise it again before baking,  I'm not going to guarantee this will work, but it succeeded the one time I tried it.