August 13, 2011 - 5:15am
Zojirushi bread machine rising problem
We purchased a Zojirushi bread maker a couple of months ago and returned it because we could not solve a problem of uneven rising. The loaves always came out much higher (looking like a ski hill) on the connection end of the heating element. We tried everything we copuld think of including changing ingredients, changing amount of ingredients, how we placed the ingredients in the appliance, and water temperature all to no avail. I could not find anyone having a similare problem, so gave up. I can only conclude we had a dewfective unit or other people living with the appearance issue. I would appeciate comments.
Jekes
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here's the deal - like the other posters here I had trouble with the zojirushi being inconsistent and yet wanted to love what is a great little machine. Here's the solution to get more love out of your zojirushi. It took some digging to get to it. Use SAF gold yeast which requires less water, available at amazon. To prove the point, look at the amazon reviews for the SAF yeast and also go to the kingarthur bread website and look at their yeast recommendation. For me this discovery made the inconsistency a thing of the past. Best.
This pertains to uneven rising/baking on the Zojirushi. Mine rises more and gets more brown (on top) on the left side. I was thinking that possibly the heating element cooks unevenly. Today, when I looked through the window one time I noticed that the dough was all the way to the edge of the bread pan on the left side but on the right side there was a space between the dough and the bread pan of approximately a quarter inch to half inch. I'm thinking that possibly the paddles do not work evenly and wondering if the problem is the heating element, the paddles or a combination of both. The model I have is the Home Bakery Supreme BE CEC-20 BA.
I also have a new machine, model BB-PDC20, and each of the 3 loaves I have so far baked have been significantly sloped. Hoping another reader may have found a specific answer. If it happens again I will conclude there is a defect in the machine.
Can you post a pic, and your recipe/formula ?
Today’s loaf was whole wheat, course number 2, from the Zojirushi booklet. It calls for, in order, 370g water, 40g honey, 553g whole wheat flour, 36g sugar, 8g dry milk, 10g salt, 32g vital wheat gluten, 28g unsalted butter, and 6g rapid rise yeast. I did not add the honey in an oversight. This loaf had a greater slope than the other two. The others did not contain the gluten addition.
That looks better than my first machine loaves.
Honey has water that might have allowed the dough to even out. That could have made the difference. Change the recipe --> no guarantee.
Also, adjusting water, just a leeeetle bit, is a common thing for bread machines. This is because some flour is drier or more moist than others.
Until I found out the exact water amount for my brand of flour, I had to "babysit" the machine, and adjust by adding more water or more flour, maybe pinching off the extra dough.
This is so the paddles can push the "dough ball" and "walk" it around the machine and knead it "just right."
You just have to learn the intricacies of each recipe with your flour.
It's hard to duplicate the exact flour that the recipe-inventor used.
Good luck, amigo!
Thank you! I appreciate all of your comments and observations. Now that you mention it, the dough ball did seem a bit lopsided and I may have been able to help it out by being a more attentive babysitter. Thanks for the support!
Another trick I learned, is to set a separate timer for me to go back at the -last- "punch-down" (right before the last rise) and even out the dough with a spoon or spatula (ok, I usually used my bare hand, I live alone).
I also had this problem and after a lot of searching on the web, I found the answer and now all the loafs are even again. I am not sure if paddles have anything to do with it since they don't end up where I start them. Regardless, I start them with one pointing up and one pointing down. The real solution came from King Arthurs Flour site. People are correct that there is too much flour in your recipe. The solution is the ratio of flour to liquids. There is a short video on King Arthurs web site. It shows people taking a scoop cup of flour and then weighing it. They then take a whisk and "fluff" up the flour before taking the cup. They also recommend but not required, to use another scoop and take some flour and pour it into the measuring cup. They then weighed it and now the "cup" of flour exactly matched the ounces, grams, or ml. The secret is to "fluff" of the flour with a whisk. After doing that, every loaf is perfect again. Enjoy!