Sagging Bread And Cake-any Tips?

[Spartans1960]

Can anyone provide some tips to keep bread and cake, baked in an oven from sagging or shrinking?

Have used some of "Roberts" and "Fensters" recipes and followed them precisely, ingredients, baking time, no improvisation. Please advise?

[JennyC]

Maybe try adding more protein to your flour mixture. When I make bread I often add a couple of tablespoons of whey protein, which someone on here mentioned on the flax bread thread. I have also started using fava bean flour to make up about 25% of the flour called for in many recipes. It is really high in protein for a gluten free flour and most of the time you cannot taste it. The only time I had a bad experience using fava flour was when I made sugar cookies. If that does not work, then try altering the cooking time. When I used to bake gluten cakes, I would try to pull them out of the oven as soon as possible, but I find that with gluten free cakes and bread it often works out better to keep them in the oven longer. I hope this helps. I know it can be frustrating!

[missy'smom]

Yes, I agree. I find that gluten-free baking often needs a longer time that what the recipe states. I'm often afraid to keep it in longer because it seems that it would dry out but the only times that I've had things sag is when I pull them out too soon. Generally, in regular baking, overbeating eggs can make things rice too much and then fall. With gluten-free baking I sometimes I get better results if I break a recipe up into several smaller pans rather than one large one, ie: cupcakes instead of a 9x13 cake, or mini loaves of banana bread instead of a 9x5 loaf.

[mftnchn]

With yeast breads I have found the yeast is important, using regular yeast rather than quick acting.

[DMarie]

I always had the same problem with bread recipes from Annalise Roberts as well! I really liked her bread - but it always fell in the middle. I tried adjusting the water as suggested in some of the tips - and no matter what I did - still fell. I also really liked a bread recipe off of Recipezaar as well - but it also fell. Made good stuffing though for Thanksgiving!

Since I quit eating all grains in November, I haven't made more attemps to fix the problem, but if there is an answer would like to know - because I have 2 gluten free daughters. Though - they always turned up their noses (somewhat) at gluten-free bread. I figure some day, when they have been away from wheat long enough!! Meanwhile, the one daughter now loves the gluten-free biscuits I make.

[Spartans1960]

Maybe try adding more protein to your flour mixture. When I make bread I often add a couple of tablespoons of whey protein, which someone on here mentioned on the flax bread thread. I have also started using fava bean flour to make up about 25% of the flour called for in many recipes. It is really high in protein for a gluten free flour and most of the time you cannot taste it. The only time I had a bad experience using fava flour was when I made sugar cookies. If that does not work, then try altering the cooking time. When I used to bake gluten cakes, I would try to pull them out of the oven as soon as possible, but I find that with gluten free cakes and bread it often works out better to keep them in the oven longer. I hope this helps. I know it can be frustrating!

Thanks Jenny, how much longer have you extended the cooking time (ex. minutes)?

[JennyC]

Thanks Jenny, how much longer have you extended the cooking time (ex. minutes)?

I usually extend it at least until the upper limit of the baking time. If I am baking bread I often bake it until I'm afraid it's going to burn. It took me a long time to get bread that would not sink. It still happens to me sometimes when I try different recipes, like the gluten free french bread recipe on recipezarr.com! I also bake my bread in a bread machine and that has seemed to help.

[lpellegr]

Try baking an extra 5 minutes at a time, and tapping on the bread until it seems solid. Also make sure not to let it rise too much - the top should just be to the top of the pan when you put it in. I have found that baking at 25 degrees less than called for can help keep it from getting too dark. I have better luck with recipes calling for 2 cups of flour than 3 cups of flour. All that said, sometimes it's perfect (like in my picture here) and sometimes it squashes down to half size! Usually the old familiar recipes work and new ones don't, so each recipe might have its own idiosyncracies. I kept trying things with one recipe until I got it consistent, rather than trying different breads.

[celiac-mommy]

I have no idea why this works, but it does--when I pull my bread out of the oven, I place the pan on its side on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan (so the bottom of the loaf doesn't get soggy) and place the bread back on the cooling rack on its other side. Sometimes it shrinks a little on the sides, but not significantly. I also increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes longer than suggested and I let the bread rise in a pre-heated(170 degrees)/turned off oven until the dough just comes over the top of the pan, then I turn on the oven to bake.