topic Re: What went wrong with my bread? in Kitchen

What went wrong with my bread?

gulf coast girl — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 04:22:50 GMT

I have the big Zojirushi bread machine, I bought it here from qvc 4 years ago. It has always worked fine, I mainly use it for donut or pizza dough, very rarely do I make bread. Anyway the other day I made the following recipe and had it on "basic" with "dark" chosen for the crust color. And it had no color at all, it was the color of cream.

Into the machine I put:

1 1/3 c water

4 1/4 c all purpose flour

4 T sugar

2 T powdered milk

2 t salt

2 1/2 T soft butter

2 t yeast

When it beeped that it was done it was pasty white, no color at all. Can you give me any advice so the next time it actually turns out looking edible. Thanks

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

rms1954 — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 04:45:44 GMT

Isn't there dedictated in your manual page for solving problems.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

Carmie — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 05:05:20 GMT

My first guess is that your bread maker is not hot enough. Can you check the temp?

Breads that use sugar or milk in the recipe will get darker crusts.

If your dough was over proofed, that could be a reason too...cause by the temp not being correct.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

gardenman — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 11:58:35 GMT

If the bread was cooked all the way through, no raw dough inside, then the temperature was probably fine. Crust color comes about as a result of the Maillard reaction where sugars and amino acids react to heat. As long as the dough was cooked all the way through, heat wasn't the issue so that leaves the sugars and amino acids as the likely culprits. Yeast feeds on sugar and apparently the dough rose okay, which implies there was adequate sugar for the yeast. (If you have a slow rising dough, a bit of extra sugar will speed it up, or if you have a dough that rises too fast, reducing the sugar or increasing the salt slightly will tame it.) Flour has some natural sugar in it that's typically enough to feed the yeast which is why many bread recipes don't call for added sugar. If this is a known good recipe that you've used in the past and gotten good results from, then I'd probably give it another try and see if the result repeats. A different flour might be helpful also if the problem repeats. In a conventional oven, temperature plays a big role in crust formation. Several recipes I bake call for five hundred degrees to start, then reducing the temp during the bake. Those recipes tend to have the darkest, heaviest crust.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

SharkE — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 13:30:59 GMT

I never use dark, always , medium. Sounds like you either thought you had set it on dark and didn't or machine might not be working.

Bread machines you really have to put ingredients in the exact order that is specificed by the bread machine instructions not the recipe instructions. Yeast has to be bread machine yeast made just for the machine and put in last . Using your finger make a indention in the flour and pour the yeast into the indention.

I use my Zo maybe twice a yr. I've read the book completely word by word. Use the basic fast method where you set it and forget it and in 2 hrs you've got bread.

good thing about making it the old fashion way is it's not as finicky as the machine is, more forgiving.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

Sooner — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 16:59:32 GMT

@SharkE Actually, some bread machine recipes call for active dry yeast, and some for bread machine yeast which is instant yeast. Very confusing! So any instant yeast should work unless the recipe specifies active dry. But the yeast doesn't need to be labeled "Bread Machine", just "instant."

Active dry yeast takes a little longer to rise, and some bread machine settings have only one rise. At least that is my understanding.

We only use SAF instant yeast in our bread machine.

If anyone is confused, lots of articles on yeast if you search.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

gulf coast girl — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 17:49:39 GMT

Thanks everyone, I forgot to mention that the sides and the bottom were all browned, it was thoroughly baked all the way, it was just anemic looking on top.

I'll try it again and see what happens.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

SharkE — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 18:30:56 GMT

yeah, after I posted I remembered reading that at King Arthur. I still like to be spot on with using what's made for Bread Machines. They're tricky not for inpatient or seldom bakers.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

brandiwine — Sun, 08 Nov 2020 18:42:59 GMT

@gulf coast girl wrote:
I have the big Zojirushi bread machine, I bought it here from qvc 4 years ago. It has always worked fine, I mainly use it for donut or pizza dough, very rarely do I make bread. Anyway the other day I made the following recipe and had it on "basic" with "dark" chosen for the crust color. And it had no color at all, it was the color of cream.

Into the machine I put:
1 1/3 c water
4 1/4 c all purpose flour
4 T sugar
2 T powdered milk
2 t salt
2 1/2 T soft butter
2 t yeast

When it beeped that it was done it was pasty white, no color at all. Can you give me any advice so the next time it actually turns out looking edible. Thanks

At a glance your flour to water ratio looks off. Too much flour. Your powdered milk for that much flour should be 4 TBL. I would also check the temp of the machine. Try making the recipe and take it out after the dough cycle and bake in the oven and see how that looks. FYI you might get some bread flour and use all or at least 1/2 of that for all purpose. I have always used King Arthur flours. Good luck.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

Toppers3 — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 04:16:18 GMT

@SharkE wrote:
I never use dark, always , medium. Sounds like you either thought you had set it on dark and didn't or machine might not be working.

Bread machines you really have to put ingredients in the exact order that is specificed by the bread machine instructions not the recipe instructions. Yeast has to be bread machine yeast made just for the machine and put in last . Using your finger make a indention in the flour and pour the yeast into the indention.

I use my Zo maybe twice a yr. I've read the book completely word by word. Use the basic fast method where you set it and forget it and in 2 hrs you've got bread.

good thing about making it the old fashion way is it's not as finicky as the machine is, more forgiving.

I was thinking just like you while I was reading through the comments.

You--meaning "anyone"--have to follow the instructions that are in the bread machine manual for making bread.

The ingredients for any recipe should be added as recommended per the bread machine owner's manual instructions/guide.

Usually your bread machine will come with some recipes that you can test/try out. Those recipes are a good way of trying out different ingredients and different types of flours.

Also, I have mentioned in past posts on bread machine bread that all of the ingredients should be as fresh as possible. meaning that the yeast should have a good freshness date on it.

The ingredients should all be at room temperature too when they're used, including any liquids.

I found that it's trial and error when getting used to using a bread machine, so don't get discouraged. Just keep trying, and measure everything carefully.

I know that when I'm using my bread machine, I have to be focused and pay careful attention to what I'm doing when I'm getting the ingredients together and measuring them out.

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

Sooner — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 04:42:02 GMT

If your machine does not have an element in the top as well as the bottom, it is difficult to get a loaf with a browned top.

The higher the protein content of the flour the more precise it seems the measurements have to be. We have had better luck weighing the flour. Bread machine dough can be wetter than what you would knead by hand--it is part of what makes a good loaf.

We never had luck with ALL whole wheat bread until we got a Zo Maestro and it makes wonderful wheat bread even on the quick setting.

We also make "mixes" in small sealed containers and keep them around for a couple of weeks so we don't have to measure each time. We put in all dry ingredients EXCEPT the yeast.

We use SAF instant yeast and we keep it in the freezer until we use it. We don't let it come to room temperature--that will happen as it gets mixed in the initial kneading in the machine. We don't use out of date yeast, and what we buy from KAF is better than those little packets they sell in the store.

It's good to peek in the machine during the initial kneading to make sure you have anough liquid, or not too much.

We've used bread machine since1992 consistently. Some have turned out better loaves than others. The first Maestro we got wouldn't make a good loaf of white bread, but we exchanged it and this one works like a champ!

But if you want a really brown top, the most efficient way to get it might be to make dough and bake in a pan in the oven, or make sure your machine has an element in both the top and bottom.

HTH!!!!

Re: What went wrong with my bread?

ScrapHappy — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 15:35:05 GMT

@gulf coast girl wrote:
I have the big Zojirushi bread machine, I bought it here from qvc 4 years ago. It has always worked fine, I mainly use it for donut or pizza dough, very rarely do I make bread. Anyway the other day I made the following recipe and had it on "basic" with "dark" chosen for the crust color. And it had no color at all, it was the color of cream.

Into the machine I put:
1 1/3 c water
4 1/4 c all purpose flour
4 T sugar
2 T powdered milk
2 t salt
2 1/2 T soft butter
2 t yeast

When it beeped that it was done it was pasty white, no color at all. Can you give me any advice so the next time it actually turns out looking edible. Thanks

Does your bread machine specify to put ingredients in a specific order? I know my does. First it's water, unsalted butter, sugar, salt, flour, nonfat dry milk then last is yeast. That may have something to do with it.