Why does my bread sink in the middle after baking?
So, you have followed the recipe, gently cared for your dough but open the oven to find your expectations have sunk. This is a common problem that can be rectified easily once you have identified the problem.
Dry ingredients
One of the most important items in your breadmaking toolkit is yeast and it could simply be too old. Yeast is a living thing and if it is left too long it could expire. So, before you mix any ingredients together it is best to test your yeast.
To do this just add the amount of yeast specified in the recipe to some warm water along with a little sugar. Set aside for a few minutes and live yeast will start eating the sugar and foamy bubbles will form at the surface. In nothing happens after 10 minutes buy a new pack.
The proof is in the pudding
Dough needs time for the gluten to develop to let the yeast eat the starch in the flour converting it to carbon dioxide and alcohol.
Gluten is developed through kneading and proofing and too little of both will affect the structure of the dough resulting in sinking.
When proofing your dough, the two crucial elements are time and temperature. The lower the temperature in your kitchen the longer the dough takes to proof. Conversely, the warmer the environment, the less time it takes to proof.
If the dough sits too long the yeast would have eaten up all the starch and will stop rising and collapse in on itself.
The ideal temperature for proofing dough is between 24 and 36C or 70 to 115F and generally, the first proofing time is no more than two hours and the second no more than one. But remember, if the dough has doubled in size before these times it is ready to use.
Baking temperature
All ovens have their own foibles, and you need to get to know yours. Some ovens run hotter than its settings, some cooler.
If the oven is too hot the loaf will be brown and crispy on the outside but doughy in the middle and may collapse as it cools.
When bread is baked at too low a temperature it will not rise enough in the oven resulting in a dense and sunken loaf.
If you suspect your oven is not baking at the right temperature a little experimentation is required.
The easiest way is to use an oven thermometer to work out the accuracy of your thermostat or through trial and error by setting the knob a few degrees higher or lower for your loaf and checking the results.
Any master baker will tell you that you can have the best equipment and perfect technique but if the quality of your ingredients is substandard your loaf will be of poor quality.
If you're looking to get excellent results with every bake, then take a look at our full range of top-quality <a href="https://britainlovesbaking.com/collections/baking-boxes-and-kits">baking kits</a> available at Britain Loves Baking
FAQs
Baking temperature
Why does bread sink when baking? ›
Under-proofing: If the dough has not risen enough before baking, it may not have enough structure to hold its shape during baking. This can result in the dough sinking during baking. Over-handling: If dough is handled too much or too roughly, it can lose its structure and cause it.
Why does top of bread sink in 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.
Why is bread slashed before baking? ›
Why Score the Bread? Scoring is generally done after the bread's finally rise and just before the loaves go in the oven. These intentional splits give the bread more room for their final rise in the oven without splitting the carefully closed seams. Slashing can also be done for purely decorative reasons.
Why do bakers tap bread? ›
When you put bread in an oven (to bake) it kills the yeast. It also (if you get the temperature and cooking time correct) fixes the structure of the loaf. Traditionally one thumps a loaf to see if it sounds hollow as a test to see if the bread is done. Further, a thump on the pan will loosen the loaf out of the pan.
How do you keep bread from deflating in the oven? ›
How to solve the problem of the deflated loaf. Next time you bake a loaf try putting it in the oven 10 minutes before you normally would. In other words, put the loaf in before you think it is ready to go in. Keep experimenting until you are confident that you know what to look for in a properly proofed loaf.
Why is my breadmaker bread so dense and heavy? ›
Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf. The bread machine works on a timer and hums along at its regular pace.
What happens if you use too much yeast in bread maker? ›
The slower the process the more byproducts the better the dough. If you add too much yeast this process will be very fast and your dough will not be as good. It will lack in flavor and you risk a flat bread because the structure of your dough won't be as stable. There is another ingredient involved in this: Salt.
What happens if my bread is Overproofed? ›
You'll end up with a loaf that doesn't expand or bake well, and that is also misshapen and very sour. While some people (including us) like that biting flavor, others may find it too sour. Mistakes are inevitable when it comes to proofing bread, but there's no need to throw out dough if it proofs too long.
What is the final rise of bread before baking called? ›
In bread baking, the word proofing most commonly refers to the final rise dough undergoes, which takes place after being shaped into a loaf, and before it is baked. In practice, however, the words proof and fermentation are sometimes used interchangeably.
"In the heat of the oven the loaf wants to expand; that expansion is also known as oven spring. If you don't cut the dough, the loaf will stay smaller but still have a blowout somewhere on its side," Tartine baker Chad Robertson explained in an interview he did with Food & Wine in 2017.
What is the purpose of adding salt to bread dough? ›
Next to its role in boosting the flavor of your bread, salt plays a role in tightening the gluten structure and adding strength to your dough. It helps the loaf to hold on to the carbon dioxide gas that is formed during fermentation, supporting good volume. Salt slows down fermentation and enzyme activity in dough.
Why do the Germans love their bread so much? ›
Bread is not only a significant part of German Cuisine, it literally sustains their culture. According to the bread register of the German Institute of Bread, there are 3,200 officially recognized types of bread in the country, and German bread has since been designated an official UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
Why are the French so good at making bread? ›
In France, bakers pay careful attention to where their flour is made and which grains are used in the milling process. The result is usually softer, heartier, and tastier bread than can be found in other parts of the world. French flour tends to be made with a lower ash content than the flour from other countries.
Why do you sprinkle water on bread? ›
A small amount of steam during the last few minutes of baking or as soon as you take your bread out of the oven can give a nice shine to the surface of bread dough. Here is where that spray bottle of water comes in handy. Spritz the bread lightly and watch the surface develop a nice sheen.
How do you keep bread from caving? ›
But my recommendations would be:
- reduce hydration - if you include the eggs and oil, your hydration is 92%, which is pretty high. Try reducing the water somewhat.
- bake longer - aim for 203F internal.
- leave the loaves in the tins for a few minutes when you take them out of the oven.
For baking light and fluffy bread, it is necessary to choose flour that has high levels of protein. If you choose to use flour with lower protein levels, you'll be left with the bread being dense. The reason for this is the fact that flour varieties with low protein aren't able to form a strong gluten network.
What happens if bread is Overproofed? ›
underproof dough will spring back completely correctly, proof will spring back slowly and only halfway, and overproof dough won't spring back at all. after baking, the underproof dough will be dense and deformed. while the dough that was ready will be fluffy and light. and the overproof dough will be flat and deflated.
How do you prevent dense bread? ›
Let your dough rise enough before baking it
If the dough doesn't fill out with gas, perhaps because it hasn't had time to rise properly, the inside of the loaf will remain soggy and dense as the dough won't bake properly. You should therefore leave plenty of time for your dough to rise.
