A loaf that sinks in the oven is a result of over-proofing, or letting your dough rise for too long. Basically the yeast works so hard to make the dough rise and then it has no energy left once it meets the heat of the oven. The gluten-structure of the dough is also stretched out at this point, so it has lost any of its strength and is likely to collapse. You want to put your dough into the oven before it reaches it maximum rise, that way it still has some oven spring when it bakes. For tips on how to gauge how long to let your dough rise, check out our blog called, The Bread Also Rises. I hope this helps! Kye@KAF
June 30, 2015 at 5:44pm
In reply to I have made this bread twice, and both times it was dense inste… by Angie (not verified)