It is frustrating to see your bread collapse in a bread maker after putting in all your effort. There can be various reasons why bread in your bread maker collapses. This article explores these reasons and gives tips to prevent bread collapse in a bread maker.
14 Reasons why your Bread Maker Collapses
1. More water content in the dough
One of the main causes of bread collapsing in a bread maker is the more water content in the dough. Too much dough will cause the crumb to shrink down upon cooling. If you are making bread in a bread maker, your loaf will quickly get ready. And for a quickly made loaf, you need dry dough instead of wet. Well-hydrated flour is essential for making stable dough. Too damp or too dry dough can cause your bread to collapse.
2. Not enough kneading time
Proper kneading of dough is necessary to eliminate the excess air from air pockets. If your dough is not mature enough, it can easily collapse in beard maker. Without proper kneading, the dough’s gluten structure will be weak and will have air pockets through the crumb.
Kneading helps in creating gluten mesh. But if the gluten mesh is not evenly spread, it will not have the capacity to hold gases. As a result, your bread will collapse even after rising.
3. Less fermentation time
A good loaf requires plenty of time for water soaking in gluten. Insufficient fermentation time will decrease the strength of gluten, which results in bread collapsing. If no proper fermentation time is provided to loaf, then it will not resist collapsing.
4. Wrong yeast type and condition
Yeast is one of the key factors that help get well-fermented dough for loaves of bread. But if you are using wrong type of yeast, it will cause bread to collapse. Instead of instant yeast, if you are using active dry yeast, it may not be suitable for your dough making.
Besides the wrong yeast type, if you use rotten yeast, it will also damage your bread and ultimately cause it to collapse. Too old yeast can also destroy your dough.
5. Too much yeast
Adding too much yeast into your dough will also cause its collapse. However, it helps in the quick rising of bread dough, but after that, it will ultimately flatten because of a massive quantity of yeast.
More yeast will consume the sugar content in the dough, which leads to the creation of air bubbles. And too many air bubbles will create too much gas that is not good for dough and flattens the bread.
6. Selection of wrong flour
Wrong flour type is another common cause of bread collapse in a bread maker. The protein content in your flour has gluten that helps in dough making. If your flour has low protein content, you will get a weak gluten mesh. Any flour with a good amount of starch and protein content is mandatory for a good bread product.
7. Not Enough Salt
Salt in bread dough tightens the gluten strands and makes them stronger. This allows the dough to hold carbon dioxide more efficiently. You can increase the salt by ¼ teaspoon to check if the bread doesn’t collapse next time.
8. Wrong Measurement for Ingredients
It is recommended to use a kitchen scale while measuring ingredients. Many recipes mention tablespoons, cups, and teaspoons for ingredients and weight in grams or ounces. The ingredients are written in this style to help people that don’t have measuring scales. Slight variations in measurements can cause your bread to collapse in a bread maker.
9. Wrong Measurement for Ingredients
It is recommended to use a kitchen scale while measuring ingredients. Many recipes mention tablespoons, cups, and teaspoons for ingredients and weight in grams or ounces. The ingredients are written in this style to help people that don’t have measuring scales. Slight variations in measurements can cause your bread to collapse in a bread maker.
10. Too Much Humidity
You may think that temperature doesn’t play any role in bread collapse. This is completely wrong. Too much humid weather adds extra moisture to the bread. A hot day will remove moisture and make the bread dry. You have to take care of these little things. You can solve this problem by adding more flour if the dough looks extra wet.
11. Too Small Bread Pan
A small bread pan can collapse your bread. For example, making a 3 lb load in a 2 lb bread pan capacity isn’t a good idea. The dough will probably rise above the rim, collapse, or spill over the edges.
12. Cold/Hot Water/Milk
The water or milk added to the bread pan was too cold or too hot. Yeast is killed when the liquid is too hot, and cold liquid slows down growth. Yeast prefers warm liquids; the temperature must not be too high or too low.
13. Opening the Bread Machine
Another reason behind bread collapse in a bread maker is opening the bread machine during the baking cycle. It lets the heat out and impacts the process.
14. Wrong Setting on the Bread Machine
You probably used the wrong setting to run the machine. You need to select the mode as per the recipe you are following. Different settings have different times for mixing, kneading, or baking.
Tips to keep your bread maker bread safe from collapsing
Maintain adequate water content in the dough
Maintaining good water content in the dough would be very helpful. Avoid adding too much water. But if you feel your dough is too wet, add some flour to it. Try to decrease water by one to two tablespoons next time you prepare your dough. If your dough is too dry, you can also add a tablespoon of water. All you have to do is to keep your dough well hydrated.
Give more time for kneading
Keep kneading your dough until you get finely meshed gluten dough. Do a windowpane test to check your dough. Take a tiny amount of dough in your fingers, and if you see a light shine through it and it does not break, then you have a fine gluten mesh. But if your dough is not like that, give more time for kneading.
More fermentation time
Give your dough a little more time for fermentation. You can add extra step for autolysis to allow the gluten to settle down properly. Extended fermentation of dough will have more organic acids and ethanol. It will strengthen your gluten and resist against collapsing.
Choose perfect yeast quantity and type
The right type of yeast and its quantity helps create good stable dough. If you were adding more yeast previously, then decrease its amount now ¼ to ½ teaspoons. Check your yeast expiry before adding it to your dough. Add fresh and instant yeast to avoid bread collapsing.
Select the right flour
Choose the suitable flour for good gluten content. Flours having maximum protein content offer more gluten. 11-14% protein content is recommended for the flour you will use in bread making.
High Altitude Baking
Adjust recipes accordingly if you live in a high-altitude area. Yeast rises more at higher altitudes.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why does the top of my bread collapse in a bread machine?
While making your dough, if you add too much yeast into it, the top of your bread will collapse in a bread maker. It happens because too much yeast causes more gas production during the baking cycle. The gas bubbles will cause the dough to rise, and if gas bubbles are present in massive amounts, they will collapse your bread top.
2. How to keep the bread from sinking in the middle?
If your bread sinks in the middle of the making process always then do not over-mix your batter. It can create more air pockets that will lead to bread collapse. Besides this, if too much moisture is present in your bread after baking, then it will immediately collapse down after getting cold. Bake it for a longer time to avoid too much moisture prevalence.
3. How do you keep your bread from collapsing?
- Using good quality flour
- Choosing the right quantity and type of yeast
- Giving proper kneading and fermentation time to the dough
- Keeping a moderate water content in the dough
4. Why is my Sourdough bread collapsing?
Sourdough bread takes a few more hours of preparation compared to other breads. Apart from the reasons listed above, your Sourdough bread can collapse due to a young Sourdough starter. Make sure that your Sourdough bread is strong and ready to be baked.
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