What went wrong with my bread?

gulf coast girl · ‎03-10-2010

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

rms1954 · ‎06-06-2019

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

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

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.

gardenman · ‎03-09-2010

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.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

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.

Sooner · ‎03-10-2010

@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.

gulf coast girl · ‎03-10-2010

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.

SharkE · ‎08-19-2010

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.

brandiwine · ‎03-11-2010

@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.

Toppers3 · ‎10-25-2016

@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.