Help - bread sinking

Sharra

I'm hoping someone can help - I got a Panasonic breadmaker for xmas and all the loaves were wonderful from it. Now the last 2 I made have sunk in the middle and the tops are very rough textured.
One was the 100% wholemeal on a long bake and the one I've just taken out is a 70% wholemeal on rapid bake.
Does anyone have any suggestions why this is happening?
Thanks

Ishtar

Afraid not. I've never been able to make a successful 100% wholemeal loaf in the bread machine. I used to have a Kenwood BM (for six years until I wore it out) and now have a Panasonic, which is fantastic, apart from the wholemeal loaf thing.

I've tried all sorts - increasing the amount of water, or reducing it, increasing the yeast or, again, reducing. I've tried bread mixes from Lakeland which were guaranteed not to fail....but still I've had problems.

The way I've managed to get around it is to make a 50/50 white/wholemeal and cook it on the white bread programme. I think it would easily tolerate a greater amount of wholemeal flour, but haven't tried it so far.

It's really frustrating!

D.

Edited to add: Finally, I've managed to make one that isn't like a brick! The sun was out the other day, shining directly onto my Panny....obviously did the trick! It's not as risen as other loaves I've made, but at least it didn't sink.

purpleivy

I made 2 rubbish loaves the last 2 days, the first one I forgot to put the yeast in. Hmmmm

The second came out rough on top as you describe. I don't know, but have a feeling that it was either too wet, or too much yeast... rises up and then collapses. I'll have to go and find the book!

squeaky

Some time ago I sent away for the Hovis breadmaking booklet from their website.

It has a handy troubleshooting section, and here's what it says about collapsing loaves...

1. too much liquid - reduce the amount of water by 1 tablespoon (15mil) and check the dough during mixing.
2. you forgot the salt
3. too much sugar

It's always a good idea to only make one change per loaf that you make - otherwise you'll never know what the fix was

If your bread finishes up as inedible it's still not a total write off. Often a poor bread will still be reasonable if used for toast (or toasties). If not - try it in bread and butter pudding (we have loads of recipes) or turn it into breadcrumbs or even dice it and fry it for croutons - both of which can be stored in the freezer so that you can use them over time.

After that... well, your local bird life won't be quite so fussy

Sharra

I thought I'd resurrect this to say that I've bought a different flour to use - Dove's Organic Wholemeal was 60p / 1.5kg in sainsburys - and last night my 100% wholemeal flour loaf had risen beautifully.
Apparently adverse weather can affect the gluten levels in wheat and so the flour, I wonder if lthere was a link to last year's bad summer ?

squeaky

It could well be. The one problem we all meet with breadmakers is that they work to a timed program.

A slight variation in any ingredient means that the loaf may not quite be ready for cooking. When hand baking we'd just give it more time to prove. The machine just goes ahead on schedule, which is why we can get dodgy loaves now and then.

So... who's gonna invent the first smart breadmaker?

potbelly

I have found the one ingredient that has the most effect on success or failure is the salt. If you have too little, the first rise tends to be excessive, the dough is weak and the loaf collapses, so when it gets baked you get a smaller, apparently unrisen loaf. Increasing the salt, by 1/8 tsp. will reduce the first rise but give a stronger dough so it won't collapse when it gets baked.
I also agree about finding a flour that works for you (and your breadmaker). My favourite is Carrs Coarse brown. Lovely wholemeal / granary loaf. Works every time, now I use the right amount of salt.