Hi all,
So I'm VERY new to bread-making, but VERY excited about it. I own a coffee shop that just opened where we also have a good lunch business, and I'm looking to save money on our bread by baking it in house. I have baked a few test loaves and the loaf comes out great but within a few hours after baking it appears to fall. I know this is probably a very simple situation but as I said I am quite new. I appreciate any thoughts! Thanks!
Is the loaf freestanding or baked in a loaf pan?
No-knead bread. Recipe is 2 pounds of flour, 24 oz water, 1 tbsp salt, 1.5 tbsp yeast. The loaf is freestanding. Thanks!
Try 23 oz of water and 1 and 1/4 tbsp of yeast. Also try covering the loaves with a dry towel/cloth for 10 mins after removing loaves from oven. If this doesn't help we'll look at your technique.
Jim
I appreciate the help. Do you have any idea why it might be contracting like that? I'd say when I take it out of the oven it is 3 inches higher than a while after it is out. It looks perfect right out of the oven and then...foof.
Too much water creates a steam rise (oven spring) and along with too much yeast, the bread rises too high and too quickly without enough strength to support the crust. Ergo as water vapor escapes (the cool down) the roof caves in. Any bread recipe usually needs a little tweaking to arrive at the desired results; more so with no-knead. Bread baking is a different animal than cooking; there's a little more science involved.
Jim