Help! I'm Baking Bricks

[suziew]

I just tried to bake Annalise Robert's Basic Sandwich bread. Twice they turned out as bricks. But everytime I tried to bake bread gluten or non gluten it always turns out this way. I am a bread baker failure. However, I can bake a decent loaf in the breadmachine. My question is has anyone tried to bake this recipe in the breadmachine? If so did it come out okay?

[Guest Robbin]

I saw the title of the thread and was wondering why you would bake a brick! Are you preheating your oven? Maybe it is not heating to the right temp. You can buy little oven thermometers (very cheap) to check to see if the temperature control is accurate. Also, what kind of pans do you use? Try switching to a light colored pan or glass. Sometimes that will make a difference. Another idea is to watch it carefully and when it starts to turn golden, cover with a tent of foil till the baking is complete. You could also put a little oven -proof dish of water in the oven to keep moisture in . Hope this helps Good luck!!

[Nantzie]

I did this once way back in the gluten days. My dad said that a lot of the time the water isn't warm enough for the yeast to activate. It should be around 110F.

I would -

Check to make sure your yeast hasn't expired. Yeast is alive and will actually die after a while.

Check your water temperature.

Add a teaspoon of sugar to the yeast and water.

Here's something from Fleishman's Yeast's site:

Water is the most important liquid because it does 2 critical things:

It dissolves and activates the yeast.

It blends with the flour to create a sticky and elastic dough.

Milk, buttermilk, cream or juice may be added to enhance the flavor or texture. Only warm liquids should be added to dry ingredients in a recipe because:

A too-cool liquid will slow or stop yeast action.

A too-hot liquid will destroy the yeast and prevent it from rising.

Ideal temperature ranges are 100°F-110°F, when yeast is dissolved directly in water; 120°F-130°F when undissolved yeast is added to dry ingredients.

There is a bunch of other information there too - Open Original Shared Link

Hope that helps. I know that there is a certain type of yeast that you can add to dry ingredients, but I've never used it. Fleishman's site should have more information on the type of yeast you're using.

Nancy

[mamaw]

Sorry your having trouble with your bread. I too Am not a good bread maker-- I can do most anything else well but for some reason yeast does not like me. I have gotten better but I think it just takes practice like a good pie crust. In my gluten days people used to beg me to make them a flaky pie crust. The only bread I make in my machine is Anna's mix and it is alway perfect. I just got Annalise cookbook so I'll have to tey bread soon.

I alway take a temp reading on the water as I know it must be perfect....Another thing would be the size of the eggs ....

don't give up , keep trying and you will succeed .

mamaw

[suziew]

I did all the above things, except water in the oven. I emailed Annalise Roberts, she said that as long as my breadmachine was gluten free compatible, I should be able to make her breads in the machine. I was going to try yesterday, but I ran out of yeast. So I'll try to make it this weekend in the breadmachine.