A. The loaf may have risen and collapsed or just not risen at all due to a number of factors:
The gluten quality in the flour may be poor. Flour quality is affected by keeping methods, temperature and humidity. Another important factor about the flour is that its quality can vary from year to year and season to season. This is due to the quality of the wheat crop being affected by the growing conditions. Sometimes due to bad weather the crop may not grow with as much gluten forming properties as it would require to produce flour for making excellent breads.
We suggest trying another brand of flour.
Insufficient liquid. The dough may have been too stiff. Flours can vary slightly in the amount of water they absorb, add an extra 10 - 20 ml of water to loaf.
Too much salt or sugar. Excess of these ingredients can inhibit or even kill the action of the yeast.
Q. Why is my loaf very airy in texture?
A. If you are finding that the loaf has a very open texture, with air pockets this could be due to the following:
Too much yeast. Check that you have measured the correct quantity of yeast according to the recipe in your cookery book.
Too much liquid. The water absorption of flour can vary, try reducing the water by 10 - 20 ml.
Q. How do I get a crustier loaf?
A . As there is no viewing window, the heat reflection onto the top of the loaf is much improved to give a better crust, however if you would like even crustier bread the following options are available:
Select the dark crust colour option if this is available on your model, this can be selected for basic white or brown bread.
Remove the loaf promptly from the bread pan as soon as it has finished baking, and cool on a wire rack.
Reduce the sugar or water slightly in the recipe. But only try changing one at a time, so that you can evaluate the difference. The sugar can be reduced by about 50 % or cut back on the water by initially 10 - 20 ml, as the water absorption of the flour may vary.
Try the French bread option if this is available on your model
Q. Can I use Bread Mixes in my Bread Maker? A . Yes.
If you have a Rapid Cycle option of 1 hour 55 minutes on your Bread Maker, you can use ready prepared mixes where the yeast is already in the packet. Make sure you do not exceed the maximum quantity of flour (mix) recommended for your model.
For all varieties of mix, place in the bread pan, add the recommended quantity of water from the recipe on the packet.
Select basic bake rapid option of 1 hour 55 mins and press Start.
We would recommend that you check the progress of the loaf as we do not know how much yeast is in the packet and therefore how high the bread will rise (Some Ciabatta mixes could come over the top of the bucket, just use half the mix in your bread maker).
For ready prepared mixes, where the yeast is supplied in a separate sachet, select the program according to the type of flour in the mix.
For example; white and brown mixes use the basic 4 hour program and wholemeal mixes the 5 hour program.
Follow the recipe proportion in your cookery book for yeast and water quantities to use. Again do not exceed the maximum quantity of flour mix recommended for your model.