The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Too much oven rise…

Mangia Pane's picture
Mangia Pane

Too much oven rise…

I tried reducing the yeast and also reduced my rise time but the loaves rose too high in the oven with the result being a flying top crust. Next time I am going the other direction with longer rise time after shaping the loaves. I’ll go up to two hours instead of current one hour. I did the poke test and maybe I am missing something but I thought if the dough springs back slowiy but leaves an indent it is proofed properly. Am I right or wrong on this or any other variable? Thanks! 😊

 

 

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

Too much top heat (or too much fan/convection)  is likely doing that.

troglodyte's picture
troglodyte

I had the same "flying top crust" problem with some bread machine recipes I was working on. My homebrew fix is to make a single slash down the middle of the dough, the long way. Use a razor blade or a lame tool to cut the slash just before you bake the loaf. With the affected bread machine recipes, I set a kitchen timer to remind me to slash the dough just before the bake cycle starts. 

When the oven spring expansion occurs, the slash serves as an "expansion joint" and relieves the tension between the top and the sides.

I am just a beginner, and there are real experts here, but that trick works for me.

Abe's picture
Abe

A few things going on here. 

1: The top crust has formed too quickly and the escaping gas had nowhere to go so it found the weakest spot. 

2: Scoring helps but only if issue 1 has been sorted. 

3: Steam will help. 

4: If you don't wish to score the loaf then proof for longer, bake with steam and redirect the heat under the loaves till the oven spring has finished. If you time it perfectly and correct the baking technique it'll rise just perfectly without splitting. Takes some real baking talent to do that just right!