making bread

[grotbag]

hi ,i had a go at making a white loaf today .followed recipe ok ,and bread rose ok. but when i took it out of oven it had deflated. why?? still tasted ok tho.

[grotbag]

[johnny]

hhhmm this happened the other day for me, i think it was because i left it to rise for too long...

[Alimo]

Did you get your oven up to the highest it could go before you put the loaf in? 

Just a thought.

Regards,
Alison

[grotbag]

yes i did that alimo

[Alimo]

Did you put any hot water in the bottom of the oven so that there was steam in there??

Sorry I'm probably asking you pretty basic questions here!

Alison

[springs]

do you use dried yeast or fresh .  when you use fresh yeast after it rises you have to knock it back again and then let it rise again. We bake at 220c for about 20 to 25min.

[qahtan]

 sounds like overproofed.... qahtan

[johnny]

sorry for hijacking this thread - i used dry yeast, no i didnt preheat oven, why do you steam?

[Jeannine]

If it very light and you take it out a little too soon I find the weight of the heavier crusty topping sometimes settles down on the lighter bottom and it seems to fall. Other than that I am certain it was over proofed and when it went into the oven and the yeast gave it's last spurt of growth it couldn't handle it.

XX Jeannine

[Alimo]

You need steam in the oven so that the air is humid, the crust will take longer to dry, and as it stays softer for longer  the bread can rise higher. Well that's the theory. :)

Alison

[macmac]

do you use dried yeast or fresh .  when you use fresh yeast after it rises you have to knock it back again and then let it rise again. We bake at 220c for about 20 to 25min.

I'm very good at baking "house bricks"but I keep trying,when you say to knock back when using fresh yeast does that not apply to dried as well ???Maybe that's part of my problem 'cos I only use dried and I do the knocking back ::)

[springs]

No you don't knock back  with dried yeast just let it stand for 30min to an hour. Must be in a warm room, i put mine on top of the cooker until it doubles in size.

[springs]

//
today's bake

[qahtan]

A little tidbit for new bread bakers, ;-)))) qahtan

From 'The New York Times'

A good loaf of bread cannot be rushed........

The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work.

[macmac]

No you don't knock back  with dried yeast just let it stand for 30min to an hour. Must be in a warm room, i put mine on top of the cooker until it doubles in size.

So after kneading do you shape it in tins then put it to rise or do you rise it then shape it and put in tins ?

[small]

I use dried yeast and always knock back to allow a second proving, just as I used to with fresh when Tesco gave it away free.....I don't try to 'steam' either.  It's reckoned that breadmaking is an art as well as a science, if you are new to it then I would just persist, it will come. I've made all my own for over thirty years and a batch is still never entirely predictable.

[macmac]

Small I've been trying on and off for 30years.... :(

[Squash64]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpCSAnkPkbI

This is a short video of how I make it.
There are lots of other ways of course, but this works for me.
I always pre-heat the oven, but don't use steam.

[grotbag]

have just tried again ,looking good i reduced the cooking time to 25 mins(we have a new oven and it very effective),will let youknow how it tastes later.

[qahtan]

Might as well throw my 2 cents worth in .... A year before I was married my to be husband Gerry gave me 1/2 pound fresh yeast and asked me if I could make him some Hot Cross buns.
That was 53 years ago, and I have been baking with yeast ever since, almost all the bread etc that is eaten in this house and a few friends, both here and in UK.
I Also make a variety of breads, some with Guinness some with nuts some sweet some plain, multigrain, Hovis,  whole wheat for which I mill my own berries, I was lucky enough to get 4 Hovis tins last year ;-))
The bread I made today just plain white.
1 litre warm water
10 cups All Purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 TEASPOONS active yeast NOT DRIED ACTIVE.
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
2 ozs soft butter

Mix water, sugar , yeast and half flour together until well blended, add butter, mix well in. Add almost all the flour along with the salt, mix well if dough is very sticky add a bit more flour.
  The amount of flour depends on how long you have had the flour if it has dried out a bit, the humidity in the air etc.
Turn the dough out of the bowl and knead to a nice workable dough 5 /6 mins , place in large oiled bow cover , and leave to rise to double, this can take  anywhere from an hour plus.  Leave covered at room temperature
do NOT place in warm place, as time is what develops the flavour.

When risen turn out of bowl, gently knock back, divide into what ever you want to make,  Freeform is best if you have no tins, Although the tins in my picture do not look too great they have served me about 27 years, baked in at least once a week.
Leave loaves to rise again until almost double, mist with little water, and place in hot oven I do mine at 400 for about one hour. these loaves are 1 pound 2 ounces each.
I also use this dough to make Pizza, pita pockets etc.......  qahtan
As a previous poster to this thread said," bread baking is not a science it is an art"
Plus it does not like to be hurried , q
dough


in bowl ready to rise


risen dough


knocked back weighed in tins waiting to tise again and bake


baked and finished