THAT IS IT! I am jumping off the ledge!!! Thank goodness I only live on the first floor so sprained ankle at best.
I just flop loaf after loaf. I just mix honey and yeast in water and put it in the mixer and just add flour till it pulls from the sides, bit of enhancer maybe, salt and gluten just for kicks. The loafs proof BEAUTIFULLY! I do a first rise, punch it down, put it in the bread molds and then put it in to proof again. they rise beautifully, big rounded over the top of the bread pans, you want to take a picture.
Then in the 3 seconds it takes me to take them out of the proofing oven and put it in the 400 degree oven they drop faster than a rock thrown out a window, I just watch them go FLOPO! It is almost like I need to increase the temp of the proofing oven slowly up to 400 degrees like the old throwing the frog in the boiling pot thing. Anyone help me here? this is slowly driving me mad.
Does anyone have a great recipe for just good old whole grain bread with yeast, no starters, nothing fancy that will yeild a nice fresh loaf that is not going to flop? If so love to see one and try it.
Thanks all!
Sound like classic over proofing. Don't proof them so long. Search for 'poke test' here on TFL and use it.
Yes, "big rounded over the top of the loaf pans" is probably over proofed for sure. First, try proofing them at room temperature instead of in the proofer. Second, proof to the 1 inch rule - bend down and look at the dough with the rim of the bread pan at eye level. The top of the dome should be no more than 1 inch above the rim of the pan. And then, as BobS says, poke it gently with a floured finger or knuckle. The dent should spring back slowly and partially. If the dent stays as 'poked', or the loaf collapses at that point, it is over-proofed.
Good luck!
My rule of thumb for breads is that i want them to go in the heat at 85% proof maybe 90% for white bread but no more! The way to do this is to weigh how much water will fill your tins, As an example, if your tins hold 2000 g of water then you can figure out how much dough gores in them to proof perfectly For white bread divide the 2000 g by 1.9 and you get 1052 g of dough. Preheat your oven to 450 F.
When the center of the dough is 1/2" above rim of the tin and certainly no more than 1" that is when it goes in the oven. Make sure your steaming method is in place. Steam the bread for 12 minutes, then remove the steam and turn the oven down to 425 F to finish baking. When the bread hits 205 F on the inside it is done.
Easy as pie and no worries about it flopping due to over proofing.
Happy baking
Do you still divide by 1.9?
I expect to proof 90% so 1.9. 100% whole grain wheat I would expect 80% so 1,8 would be the factor. Some breads say panettone might have 120% proof so 2.2 would be the factor.
Some recipes might call for a 100% whole grain bread to bulk ferment in the fridge overnight, then shape the next morning after it had proofed some in the fridge and allow it to rise 50% in pan pan before baking . What to do then? It is still the same 1.8 of the weight. But , you will notice that when it goes into the pan it will fill it up 30% more in volume even though it is the same weight because it has already proofed some. It will still hit the heat when the middle of the loaf hits 1/2" to 1" over the rim - but it will have only risen 50% after it hit the pan.
I wonder if you're trying to proof until the dough reaches the size you associate with a baked loaf. If so, you're forgetting / neglecting that the loaf is supposed to increase in volume during the first part of its baking time.
I really do love this forum, so many knowledgeable people in here. I will try the recipe above for sure and see how I make out. I am still baking the opposite of robotically after all these years. No real recipe, just cup or so of water, tbl of yeast, honey and then throw in flour until it pulls from the sides and proof once, knock it down, put in cooking molds and proof again, i time it an hour per proof and on teh last proof they are big and beautiful but the second you touch them it is like you pop the balloon! hehe. I will try the one inch thing, that seems a lot better. I will also give a bash at trying to proof in room temp as well. All wonderful ideas. Thanks everyone! Now back to eating my brick loaf! hehe
Right away for a cup or so of water, one tablespoon of yeast is too much unless it is fresh cake yeast. So your dough is probably rising like crazy and doubles when you walk out of the room and come back. If it is rapid rise yeast, even faster.
Slow the mass down a bit and use only one teaspoon of yeast.
You can also try punching down the dough twice when it gets out of hand (from all the yeast) and rises too high too fast for you in the tin.
If you are still over-proofing, try baking what you yourself might call under proofed dough and see what happens. :)