Help -- My Bread Rises And Then Falls

[bogglefan]

I am hoping to get some advice. I have made the bread recipe created by Laurie150, and raved about on this board, several times.

Heres the link to the recipe Open Original Shared Link

The first time it came out OK, not perfect but promising and my picky picky gluten free husband liked it. It had risen a lot when it baked and then sank way down when it was taken out of the oven. I have tried to use hints I read in the post each of the other times I made it and nothing seems to help.

I have never been a great baker ( I'd rather cook things on top of the stove where I can play around with the ingredients and amounts to my hearts content)

The flour blend I am using does not contain extra xantham gum or anything like that.

I greased the sides of the pan before I let it rise. I only let it rise to the top of the pan before I cook it.

I made sure the eggs are room temperature and the milk was zapped briefly in the microwave just enough to take the chill out.

I tried in a glass baking dish instead of metal and did not notice any change.

I am using the correct type of yeast. I am using a one premeasured package rather than measuring from a jar - I don't know if that makes a difference but I thought the first time I made it that I measured what was in the packet to make sure it was correct and it was fine.

I have not yet tried using less liquid, that will be on my next attempt.

I would really like to get this bread to work, it's the only recipe that has come close to working for me, and I would really like my husband to have some bread he can eat. Unfortunately my attempts have been laughable (and time consuming). The bread rises and rises and rises as it cooks, gets kind of misshaped and then when I take it out it sinks down causing the lower sides that were fine in the pan to cave in a bit as well. and the insde becomes sort of dense and the bread is very oddly shaped.

Has anyone with experience in gluten-free baking overcome this probelem or have any ideas on how I should try to get the bread to work.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[ptkds]

I kept having the same exact problem. I was using a different recipe, though. But one day I was out of butter and used margarine instead. It was the best shaped loaf I had ever made! So now I don't use butter for my bread anymore. It sounds weird, but it worked for me. Also, make sure it doesn't rise too long. Try not letting it rise so much next time. Like you said, it rises alot in the oven.

[Guest j_mommy]

I have has the same problem..went to grandma for help. She said I was over proofing it..letting it rise to long!!! So I would cut down on your rise time before baking!

[Takala]

This sounds like a leavening problem. Since the recipe you linked to and follow ("lorka's flax bread") doesn't have baking soda or powder, and is relying on the eggs, sugars, and yeasts for the bubbles, let's look at that.

I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I have read all the posts on it trying to prepare for it, (I hate wasting flours ) and I'm a pretty good bread baker, so let's troubleshoot this.

First, there are two kinds of yeasties. The old fashioned kind, that rises slowly, and the modern kind designed to rise more quickly for things like bread machines, called "rapid rise." Which kind are you using? Because your yeast sounds very enthusiastic there! I have read that some of these recipes work better with the slow rise yeast.

Second, yeast feeds on the sugars in the dough to rise, and it takes a certain amount of time and temperature to get it to go ahead and eat the sugars and give off the little gas bubbles and then slow down and eventually STOP when put in the oven and the internal dough temperature gets too high for it to do its thing. Your yeast is not stopping, it's still partying like mad and poofing the dough up. This means that your pre bake rise temperature could be too low for the amount of time you're letting it sit pre baking. You want the stuff to poof, er, proof and get most of it over with before the oven, not hit the oven and try to frantically finish. You want the yeast in the unbaked dough to feel comfortable. Turn on the oven to "warm", turn it off after a bit, open the door, and let set the pan in the warm oven so it's sitting in a nice cozy enviroment, like about 80

[Franceen]

I agree with all of the suggestions above. But, I have a little bit easier way to implement. I have my eggs and oil/butter at room temp (greater than 70) and then I mix them all with the milk/water and put in microwave and heat to 110 degrees (no less, a little more doesn't hurt) - I check the temp with a candy or meat thermometer. For pre-starting the yeast I put about 2 - 3 teaspoons of sugar into the measured amount (subtract from the total milk/water amount) of very warm water and let the yeast "start" while you are getting the other stuff together and mixing (it bubbles up a lot, so use a big container). I add that last while mixing the dough in the mixer. By the way, I use the rapid rise yeast (2.5 teaspoons) and therefore I agree that MOST of the rising has to occur BEFORE the baking - although I have about the same results with both rapid rise and regular yeast out of bottle or a packet!

To proof the dough I put it into my microwave oven (off!) with a glass of hot water set in the back.

It takes a varying amount of time for the dough to rise, but could be as much as 1.5 hours! I let it at least double before baking.

I've noticed that it doesn't do much more rising after baking (a little bit of "filling out and up" - like maybe another inch at the most). I also cover the loaf with aluminum foil after about 15 -20 minutes or when it is browned to your liking.

Also you might look at the amount of liquid you are using. In a very humid place and/or at higher altitude (or low barometric pressure day at sea level) you may need to decrease the liquid by a couple of teaspoons (or add a few teaspoons of flour).

I did have all the same problems as you! But I seems to have fixed them for the most part. You also have to realize that no two loaves will ever be exactly the same!

Good luck and have fun!

[bogglefan]

Well the verdict is in and it is that I am an idiot.

Thank you for all the great information in your responses. I read the posts this weekend and tried a few different things.

I double checked that I was using the right yeast (yuo).

I checked the temperature of my oven and it is off but is seems about 10 degrees cooler than than the oven says it is, so I couldn't blame the oven.

I tried making a bread from a mix since I figured that would be a bit more foolproof and I wanted to see if messed that up too or if it came out OK (Bobs Red Mill multi grain bread). It rose quite a bit over the pan but did not go crazy rising and get all misshapen and it did not collapse when I took it out of the oven. Nice to have something go right but I still wasn't sure where I was going wrong and needed to do some more work.

Then, I scratched my head and decided to measure the packet of yeast I was using, AGAIN. Maybe I was a little more focused this time or a using a better measuring spoon but I think I found my problem - it was a little more than the two teaspoons the recipe called for. I have not made the bread yet again - I need a little break from baking, but I am going to try soon and see if the mystery was all about me using too much yeast.

If I still can't make it correctly after correcting that I may have to throw in the hat. Nah, I will just work my way through all your wonderful suggestions until I get it right. I will let you know how it goes when I make the next loaf.

Thanks for all the advice.

[HiDee]

I've also had lots of problems with falling bread (same recipe). My problem is that my bread has fallen while it is baking (most of the time, it sometimes falls after taking it out). Why is that?? I've tried decreasing the water, decreasing the oven temperature and baking longer, I've tried different flours, warm water, room temp. water, proofing the yeast before mixing, nothing seems to help. What is happening when it falls while baking? I let it rise to the rim of the bread pan in a slightly warm oven and then bake it, it rises fine and then shrinks at least an inch or two while baking. I'd really like to figure this one out because it's good bread, I just want to have a normal sized sandwich!

[PeggyV]

I've also had lots of problems with falling bread (same recipe). My problem is that my bread has fallen while it is baking (most of the time, it sometimes falls after taking it out). Why is that?? I've tried decreasing the water, decreasing the oven temperature and baking longer, I've tried different flours, warm water, room temp. water, proofing the yeast before mixing, nothing seems to help. What is happening when it falls while baking? I let it rise to the rim of the bread pan in a slightly warm oven and then bake it, it rises fine and then shrinks at least an inch or two while baking. I'd really like to figure this one out because it's good bread, I just want to have a normal sized sandwich!

I use a bread machine and I have the same problem. It falls while I am baking. It looks beautiful and then it falls. Very frustrating.

[bakingbarb]

It isn't the amount of yeast, the packet is almost a Tbsp. This is normal. If you were baking using bulk yeast you would use closer to 2 1/4 tsp yeast.

It is the proof time. Nothing else. Don't let it raise as long as the recipe calls for, take 10 min off that time and see what happens.

[HiDee]

It is the proof time. Nothing else. Don't let it raise as long as the recipe calls for, take 10 min off that time and see what happens.

so, should I not let it rise to the top of the pan? it seems that rising time is different each time I make it (probably because I'm often trying to change the water in some way - more/less/room temp/warm to see if that changes anything) so I'm not sure how much time to take off because it's different every time. will it continue rising while baking if I don't let it reach the top of the pan? Thanks for your help!

[Franceen]

I do not pay attention to the time it says to let it proof (rise) before baking.

I let it rise until it has doubled in it's height. The amount of time can vary greatly. I've had it take 40 minutes and as long as 1.5 hours!

Seems to be related to season (longer in winter). It just so happens that "doubling" is about the top of my pan - but that's not the criteria. It's doubling no matter how high in the pan it is. Yes, it will rise more in the baking! Falling after having risen usually does mean too much liquid or too hot an oven. But I've stopped having that problem, since I now have my liquid amounts and temps pretty consistent. The only variables I have now are how long it proofs to get that double height and how much extra it actually rises during baking. But how much it rises during baking is not that variable (difference is less than an inch).

The biggest variable is and probably will remain the "proofing" time.

I would stop making multiple changes to your recipe at the same time - because then you don't know what caused a change! Hold your ingredients and oven temp steady and try varying only the proof time/height and see what happens. You will eventually get it right!

[bogglefan]

Ok, I made the bread again and it still fell after I took it out of the oven. I was very careful with the temperature of the eggs (room temp) water ( warmer than room temp) and I DID NOT let it rise to the top of the pan. I let it rise t in my turned off electric oven which had been turned for just over a minute and then turned off. I check it after about 30 minutes and it looked like nothing had happened. I took it out after about 55 minutes and then warmed the oven to 350 and put the bread in for 45 minutes. It rose a lot in the pan but did not fall sideways while it cooked like it sometimes does. Then when I took it out of the oven you could see it slowly collapsing on itself. It was like watching an insect slowly twitch. By the time it was done it was quite compacted. This is getting very depressing. I think next time I will try less water and see if that helps.

[Guest Jemenii36]

ok now i know there is nothin like a loaf of bread sometimes but have you ever tried putting your bread dough into cupcake tins? instead you have rolls and ihave tried it two times and they never sank! and when i made this one particular bread recipe in cupcake tins they almost came out like popovers! they were so delicious!

also for those who are having a problem with the sweetness of bread i found if i substitue 1 or 2 eggs (Depending on how many eggs the recipe calls for) with sour cream! it is very delicious and cuts the sweetness!

hope this helps!

[cruelshoes]

Ok, I made the bread again and it still fell after I took it out of the oven. I was very careful with the temperature of the eggs (room temp) water ( warmer than room temp) and I DID NOT let it rise to the top of the pan. I let it rise t in my turned off electric oven which had been turned for just over a minute and then turned off. I check it after about 30 minutes and it looked like nothing had happened. I took it out after about 55 minutes and then warmed the oven to 350 and put the bread in for 45 minutes. It rose a lot in the pan but did not fall sideways while it cooked like it sometimes does. Then when I took it out of the oven you could see it slowly collapsing on itself. It was like watching an insect slowly twitch. By the time it was done it was quite compacted. This is getting very depressing. I think next time I will try less water and see if that helps.

The best thing I have ever done to increase my successes with gluten-free bread baking is to get an instant-read digital thermometer. Many times I would bake gluten-free bread for the amount of time that was specified in the recipe and when I would take it out of the oven it would deflate. It looked done, but it wasn't cooked all the way.

Here is some advice that may help you. Get yourself an instant read digital thermometer. You can get them anywhere - Wal mart, Target, wherever. It will run you about 10 bucks. When your bread says it's supposed to be done, stab it with the thermometer without taking it out of the oven. If the temperature is not above 209 degrees (ideally 209 - 212), it isn't done all the way. Add a few more minutes and then test it again. You can tent the top with foil if it's starting to get too brown.

I bake bread twice a week, and have only had a few failures in the last 2 years by using this method. If it doesn't help, I would try reducing the water in the recipe by 1/4 cup.

Good luck, and I hope to be hearing about your baking successes soon.