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I prepared yeast-based bread with both hand and bread machine. The dough looks perfect, but when I try to bake it whether in bread machine or oven, it starts to collapse upon heating.

The dough preparation was based on common bread recipes, e.g. 300ml water, 450g all-purpose flour, yeast, sugar, salt. The process was conducted by bread machine within 90min (programmed for dough preparation).

What is wrong? And how to avoid collapse of yeast-raised dough in the course of baking?

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  • Your recipe has a hydration of 66%, which seems in the middle of the range. You may want to consult your bread machine manual for recommendations on cycles and timings based on the type of flour you are using. – SAJ14SAJ Jul 18 '13 at 16:24
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There are three major things that will cause collapsed yeast raised breads:

  • Underdeveloped gluten (possibly from insufficient kneading), which doesn't create enough of the gluten network to hold the gas from the yeast, especially during oven spring. This may be exacerbated by using low-protein flours, which do not generate as much gluten as high-protein flours (called strong flours in Europe). This tends not to manifest as a collapse, so much, as a failure to rise.

  • Considerable overkneading, to the point where the gluten network begins to break down, and cannot hold the gas (this is quite unlikely, unless machine kneaded)

  • Over-proofing (allowing to rise or ferment too long), which creates more gas than the gluten cells can hold, leading to their rupture and collapse when the heat of the oven causes expansion and oven spring. This leads to collapse of the loaf.

Without more information, it is difficult to tell which of these you are experiencing.

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  • thanks for useful information. I added further information about my dough preparation, which should be standard, as conducted by bread machine. – Googlebot Jul 18 '13 at 16:21
  • Based on lots of empirical data (eating perfunctionary kneaded homemade bread), I can say that underkneading is in no way related to non-rising. Theory says the same - starchy solutions (like cake batter, or doughs made from grains which do not contain gluten) rise well enough, with the expanding gases holding the bubbles in place while hot, and the setting structure trapping them after baking is finished. Cannot say anything about the second reason, as I never tried to bake overkneaded dough. #3 is a common problem, but there are other possibilities too (e.g. yeast dead from improper storage) – rumtscho♦ Jul 19 '13 at 14:45
  • Perhaps a better phrasing would be "underdeveloped gluten" rather than "insufficient kneading". The fact that cakes and gluten free doughs can rise without being kneaded doesn't really reflect on the ability of bread to do the same, as cakes have entirely different leavening processes, additional binding agents, more structural support from pans, etc. – SourDoh Jul 19 '13 at 17:21

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