Barb at King Arthur

April 1, 2022 at 3:50pm

In reply to by Peg (not verified)

Hi Peg, we're sorry to hear you're having difficulty with your bread baking recently, and that this loaf fell in the oven! When bread falls in the way you describe this could be caused by a few different factors, but most likely it's a result of over-proofing (allowing the dough to rise too long or at too warm of a temperature prior to baking). Temperature plays an important role in how quickly a loaf rises and ferments, and ideally you're aiming for a dough temperature in the 75-78F range after mixing and kneading, and while the dough rises. This blog on Desired Dough Temperature can help you land in that ideal range, which can make the bread making process more predictable. While it sounds like you didn't allow the dough too rise too high in the pan, it's still possible that putting it in the oven a bit earlier would have helped provide a more stable rise in the oven. Another factor that could have played into this result is if you weren't able to use our bread flour for this recipe and substituted a different type of flour. Our bread flour is fairly high in protein (12.7%), which means it is not only likely to develop a strong gluten network, but will also absorb more liquid than lower protein flours. Substituting another type of flour could easily result in a wetter, weaker dough that wasn't able to sustain the structure of the loaf as successfully. For more help troubleshooting, please don't hesitate to give our Baker's Hotline a call at 855-371-BAKE (2253). We're here M-F from 9am-9pm EST, and Saturday and Sunday from 9am-5pm EST. 

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