On Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:03:54 -0500, Douglas Frank
> wrote:

>I've been struggling with a problem making white bread for sandwiches,
>following the recipe in Betty Crocker. I've been proofing the yeast at
>100F and following the recipe to the letter. I'm having trouble with
>the rise.
>
>I've been putting the bowl in a warm water bath for the first rise (it's
>winter, and my kitchen's ambient temp is 64). This one goes well; the
>dough doubles in an hour and holds finger indentations.
>
>After punching down though, the 2nd rise doesn't go so well. I've been
>putting the pans in a 100F oven for this, and the top only rises to
>about 3/4 inch over the edge of the 9x5 pan after 75 min. (How can I
>get a taller loaf?)
>
>Then- this is the kicker- soon after the bake begins, the top collapses
>and I end up with a concave loaf.
>
>Cutting open, it looks like the gas bubbles just under the top were
>considerably larger than the rest of the loaf, and have collapsed. That
>would explain the concavity. But what causes this? I'm wondering if
>the 100F oven was too warm for the 2nd rise.
>
>Thanks for any tips!

Howdy,

The simple explanation is that the yeast has "eaten" all of
the available nutrients.

As that happens, the rise slows, but in addition, the dough
becomes slightly more acidic. With that, the gluten (the
rubbery protein that prevents the gas from escaping)
weakens, and, as a result, you are getting what amounts to a
huge bubble below the upper crust. (That is called "flying
crust" and you might want to Google that phrase.)

I'd suggest that you simply allow the dough to rise once
before the bake.

But for better taste, you might want to slow the
fermentation. Allow the dough to ferment at your kitchen
temperature of 64, and things will go slower, but you will
end up with a far better bread.

All the best,
--
Kenneth

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