A few weeks ago, I made bread as I do every week, bread for sandwiches. I use our Bosch mixer to help prepare the bread. I used to make all the bread by hand just like my mom did when I grew up. The recipe I follow only requires the dough to rise once, its a quick recipe from start to finish. Once the dough is ready to be shaped, i usually flatten it in a rectangular shape and then roll it up before placing it in the bread pan. Once in a while, maybe once or twice a year, my bread bakes but on the inside it has a BIG hole in the middle. It is obvious air is being trapped in the rolling. I usually mill my own flour but this time I used organic flour from the store. I have yet to figure out why this happens. I also make challah on Erev Shabbat and have never experienced this problem. I've done some research on this problem and here some reasons which were mentioned:
- The dough may be too dry and when it is being rolled, it doesn't stick together.
- Oil separating two layers of strong, well fermented dough. thus creating the channel, similar to having excess flour on a dough when final shaping, although usually the flour will bake out, but the oil is stopping the dough from molding together.
- Milling your own flour might result in a hole like that! I think it is caused by over-active enzymes. What I've read is that you should either use flour milled within the first 24 hours or put it away for several weeks.
We made the best of this situation and did eat the bread by slicing it the best we could and toasting it in the oven on a cookie sheet. It was a real treat since we don't own a toaster.
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Have you had this happen to your bread baking? Why do you think this happens? What have you done to resolve this issue. I'd love to hear some your advice.
Blessings
Carmen
Shalom Carmen,
ReplyDeleteI have never seen anything like that! I am so glad you were still able to eat it!!! The kinds of things I have had happen to my bread are~ really dense loaves, that I lovingly refer to as "bread bricks"(so non edible). I have also had bread rise too fast and fall, and I am left with a very silly looking flat loaf(usually the first loaf of summer)! It is always a good thing to laugh it off!! And great to be able to learn from it, good for you! I hope you get some answers!!!
Shalom,
Moira
That has happened to me, too, but I have no idea why! :(
ReplyDeleteThat bread is just begging to be made into THIS:
ReplyDeletehttp://simplyhomemaking60.blogspot.com/2010/04/egg-holes.html
:)
I suppose you could always designate that your "Toad in the Hole" bread with an egg in the middle. :) I always have either too wet or too flat bread when it flops, which is pretty much only useful as breadcrumbs.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that it's the rising only once. If you let it rise and then punch it down well before shaping, you will be less likely to have that problem. It's worth the extra effort if you are trying to make sandwich bread.
ReplyDeleteOften my bread has large air pockets after the first rise.
Thank you Henny Penny, I will keep that in mind, I appreciate your wisdom.
ReplyDelete