Bread Machine Problems for Dummies

collapsed bread

The house dogs here at Antisocial Network global HQ love bread in any form. It can come from a bag, it can even be "Mexican bread," i.e., pieces of flour tortilla. Their favorite, however, is fresh-baked bread made in the kitchen. No one here takes the time to knead bread by hand (so sue us); instead we use a bread machine. It was with some interest, then, that our staff baker read through the HomeSteady.com post, "Why Is the Top of My Bread Sinking in the Bread Machine?" He was not, however, particularly pleased with the answer spewed out by Jessica Kolifrath.

He'd seen the problem before, and the troubleshooting section of his machine (a very nice Zojirushi, if truth be told) suggested some possible remedies (one at a time, in this order):

• Decrease the yeast by ¹⁄₈ to ¹⁄₄ teaspoon.
• Decrease the liquid by 1 to 2 tablespoons.
• Increase the salt by ¹⁄₄ teaspoon.

You start with the yeast adjustment and work from there. According to Zojirushi, it's as simple as that. After all, you're dealing with a bread machine, so you have limited capability to adjust anything beyond the recipe, and perhaps the cycle.

That's not, however, what Kolifrath said. According to Jessica, your remedies are,

• "Too Much Yeast..." — We'll agree, but by what amount should you reduce the yeast? Kolifrath didn't say.
• "Over-Rising... Try adjusting your bread machine for a shorter rise cycle to eliminate collapsed loaves." — Ummm, Jessica? Very few bread machines allow you to adjust the cycle. You might have known that if you'd ever actually used one!
• "Excess Liquid... Bread machine recipes often call for high-gluten flour to help overcome the limited kneading, but these flours will lead to collapsed tops if you don't adjust the liquid levels to compensate." — Two points: first, bread machines call for high-protein flour; and second, once again Jessica didn't have guidance about amounts.

We note that Kolifrath said nothing about the salt in a recipe, but we found a reference to salt in the troubleshooting section of every bread machine book we checked. Salt helps "calm" the yeast and prevent over-rising of the loaf. We'd like to think someone with a little experience would have caught that.

Jessica's problem was, we think, with her sole reference. First, it wasn't very well written; and second, Jessica failed to notice that there was a separate section for bread machines at the bottom of the page. Our Dumbass of the Day tried to use suggestions for hand-kneaded, oven-baked bread problems to troubleshoot a loaf from a bread machine. Duh-duh-duh-dumb!

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