Spending time baking bread is something that a lot of people enjoy doing, and many have been baking bread for fun while they have extra time at home. If you recently started baking bread using a bread maker, then you might be figuring out how to use it well.
It can be a bit disheartening when your bread isnt rising in the bread maker like it should, though. You could be confused about what is going wrong, and it might not always be clear what you should do.
Read on to learn about what you can do when your bread is not rising in your bread maker as it should. Youll learn why this might be happening as well as what you can do to try to alleviate the issue.
Once you know how to get consistent results when using a bread maker, you wont have to worry so much. The practical advice below should help you to feel much more confident in your bread making abilities.
Contents
- 1 – You Might Not Have Given It Enough Time
- 2 – You Got the Ingredients Wrong
- 3 – You Didn’t Knead the Dough Well Enough
- 4 – Old Yeast or Baking Powder
- 5 – Temperature Issues
- 6 – Pan Size Issues
- Can You Do Anything with Dough That Won’t Rise?
- FAQs
- Why is my bread not rising properly in my breadmaker?
- What can I do with bread dough that didn’t rise?
- Why is my homemade bread so dense in my bread machine?
- What happens if you put too much flour in bread machine?
- Can you open bread machine while kneading?
- Can you make anything with dough that didn’t rise?
- How can I tell if I killed my yeast?
- Is it better to let bread dough rise twice?
- What ingredient helps bread rise?
1 – You Might Not Have Given It Enough Time
Before moving any further, its important to acknowledge that bread takes quite a bit of time to rise. Its very possible that you might not have given it enough time to do what it needs to do.
If you gave up early, then your bread not rising might have been easily avoidable if youd exercised a bit more patience. Its normal to think that something might be wrong when youre new to the world of making bread, but giving it more time to rise might be just what you needed.
Try to give the bread that you are making the time that it needs to rise. Its also true that different types of bread will take different amounts of time to rise, and this means that youll want to check information for the specific bread recipe that you are using.
If youre able to get the bread to rise by just waiting it out, then you wont have to troubleshoot any further. If this isnt the issue that youre experiencing, then there are still other things to consider.
2 – You Got the Ingredients Wrong
One of the more common mistakes that throw people off when making bread is making a small mistake with the ingredients. If you cant get the bread to rise no matter what you do, then it might be that you didnt add all of the right ingredients.
Try to go over the recipe that you are using again and check to see if you used all of the ingredients that you were supposed to. If you did, then you will be able to go on to something else, but its plausible that you might have missed something.
Even measuring something wrong can make a big difference in how the bread will turn out. For example, you could have added a teaspoon of something instead of a tablespoon due to trying to go too fast.
In the future, itll be better to take things a bit slower when youre getting the ingredients together. This will allow you to get things right, and you can even take the precaution of checking the recipe twice to ensure that youre following it to the letter.
3 – You Didn’t Knead the Dough Well Enough
Kneading the dough is something that can help it to get into the right state so that it will rise. People who are new to making bread might assume that a bit of kneading will be enough, and they will wind up moving on too quickly.
If you only did a bit of kneading before trying to get the dough to rise, then you likely made an error. You might wish to try kneading the dough more so that you can get better results.
Many recipes will give you information about how long you should knead the dough. If you dont have that information, then you might be able to get some specifics by looking up information on the type of bread that youre trying to make.
4 – Old Yeast or Baking Powder
Another thing that you need to consider is how old the yeast or baking powder that youre using is. If you use yeast or baking powder that is too old, then you might not get good results.
Did you buy the baking powder that youre trying to use a very long time ago? Is your yeast from a date in the past that you cant even recall at this point?
Avoid using old yeast and old baking powder when you want your bread to turn out how it should. If you use better yeast and baking powder, then you will get much better results.
5 – Temperature Issues
Temperature issues can actually cause your bread not to rise either. This can involve temperature issues with the water that youre using and the temperature of the room itself.
The water that youre using for the bread should be between 100 degrees Fahrenheit and 115 degrees Fahrenheit. You dont want the room to be too cold either, since that can have an impact on the bread.
Keep your room at a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit while youre waiting for the bread to rise. Many people keep their homes significantly cooler than this, and this could be the cause of your trouble.
6 – Pan Size Issues
Pan size issues can actually trick people into thinking that bread hasnt risen when it has. If you put your bread dough in a pan that is too large or is an unusual shape, then you might get thrown off.
Try to use the right type of pan for the bread recipe that you want to make. Many bread recipes are specifically meant for traditional bread loaf pans, and itll be easier to tell if things are going right if you use the recommended pan type.
Think about the type of pan that youre using and see if that could be causing your problems. If youre using an unusual pan, then the dough could have risen without you realizing it.
Can You Do Anything with Dough That Won’t Rise?
If you cant figure out what went wrong even after going through the information above, then you might need to start over. This doesnt necessarily mean that you need to throw out the dough that you made, though.
There are some things you can do with this dough that could be fun and tasty. Many people will roll the dough out until its very thin before baking it so that they can make crackers.
You could also roll it out thin before cooking it on the stove to turn it into a type of flatbread. You can salvage the dough to make something tasty even if you cant figure out what mistake you made.
In all likelihood, youll be able to determine where you went wrong so that you can correct things. Often, just waiting a while longer or figuring out what ingredient you missed is all that you need to do.
Hopefully, youll be able to make the delicious bread that you have been looking forward to. Itll give you a chance to enjoy something nice with your friends or family members, and youll be happy once youre able to get consistent results when baking bread.
FAQs
Why is my bread not rising properly in my breadmaker?
Too little yeast, your bread won’t rise sufficiently; too much, and it will rise and collapse. It’s important to watch your dough as it rises and bakes; dough that has risen and collapsed may look just like dough that never rose at all, once it’s baked.
What can I do with bread dough that didn’t rise?
To fix dough that won’t rise, try placing the dough on the lowest rack in your oven along with a baking pan filled with boiling water. Close the oven door and let the dough rise. Increasing the temperature and moisture can help activate the yeast in the dough so it rises. You can also try adding more yeast.
Why is my homemade bread so dense in my bread machine?
Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough mix properly –out of many reasons out there. Some of the other potential reasons could be mixing the yeast & salt together or losing your patience while baking or even not creating enough tension in the finished loaf before baking the bread.
What happens if you put too much flour in bread machine?
Too much flour and not enough water can cause crumbly bread – people often do this if the dough is too sticky and they add more flour rather than kneading through it.
Can you open bread machine while kneading?
So many people seem afraid to “interfere” with their bread machine as it works. But honestly, nothing bad will happen if you open the lid and poke at the dough. Start watching the dough about 10 minutes into its kneading cycle; it shouldn’t be viscous and liquid-like (top), nor dry, stiff, and “gnarly” (bottom).
Can you make anything with dough that didn’t rise?
Stretch it thin and bake into flatbreads. Stretch it thin, fry in a skillet, and spread with butter and honey, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake it into loaves anyway, and when cooled, cube the bread, sprinkle the cubes with melted butter and herbs, and toast them. Voila, homemade salad croutons!
How can I tell if I killed my yeast?
Instructions
Stir in all the yeast for about 15 seconds until combined and then leave it alone for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, the yeast should’ve doubled or tripled in size and should be high up.
If your yeast does nothing and you added the right temperature of water, your yeast is dead.
Is it better to let bread dough rise twice?
The second proving has given the bread more elasticity, and made it harder to deflate the air. Second rises may add significantly to the total time it takes to complete a loaf of bread, but the step can be essential to achieving the taste and texture inherent to a number of popular breads.
What ingredient helps bread rise?
When you add yeast to water and flour to create dough, it eats up the sugars in the flour and excretes carbon dioxide gas and ethanol — this process is called fermentation. The gluten in the dough traps the carbon dioxide gas, preventing it from escaping. The only place for it to go is up, and so the bread rises.