bread disaster!!

supermum1

hey everyone,

I just bought a new breadmaker and made the switch from wheat to spelt. Only problem is I can't get my loaves to rise properly, they rise beautifully after the second prove (on a traditional white loaf) but fall in on themselves before the cooking time has ended.

Wondering if anyone has any tips or advice?

Thank you!

Magic Monkey

They may be over-proofed - the gas bubbles are expanding too much, weakening the structure, which causes it to collapse. Are you proofing manually or using the automatic settings on the breadmaker?

If manually, then on the secondary proof, instead of proofing to x2 times the original height/volume, it should be only x1.5 - the "oven spring" action of rapid growth once heated in the breadmaker will bring it up to the full x2 times size, before the yeast is killed and growth no longer occurs.

Also, what type of yeast are you using? Post the recipe too.

mw3guc

I used to make low carb bread and it was never able to take the second knock-back and recover it's rise. What I did was remove the paddle after the first knock-back of the dough - this was a bit messy as it involved removing the dough from the pan. It worked because the spindle just revolved on the next occasion without affecting the bread rise already achieved. Another advantage was the almost complete lack of a hole in the finished loaf.

johnnycee66

Magic Monkey wrote: »

They may be over-proofed - the gas bubbles are expanding too much, weakening the structure, which causes it to collapse. Are you proofing manually or using the automatic settings on the breadmaker?

If manually, then on the secondary proof, instead of proofing to x2 times the original height/volume, it should be only x1.5 - the "oven spring" action of rapid growth once heated in the breadmaker will bring it up to the full x2 times size, before the yeast is killed and growth no longer occurs.

Also, what type of yeast are you using? Post the recipe too.

As Magic Monkey says. The gluten in spelt is very weak, needs a minimum of kneading. When I made spelt loaves in my breadmaker before, I had to reprogramme it to cut down drastically on the kneading and proving. Hope this helps

Alun

My breadmaker has a gluten-free setting, maybe that would be worth trying if your's has one too?

supermum1

hi guys thanks for all the replies, sorry i didn't get back sooner.

I admit I am a bread making novice, I use the bread maker for the whole process. I use doves farm quick yeast which states on the pack that it is ideal for breadmakers. I am also using the recipe book that came with the breadmaker as I am still trying to find a spelt specific book.

The recipe I use is for a 2lb traditional white bread:

300ml water
1.5tbsp margarine or butter
1.75tsp salt
2tsp dry milk
2tbsp sugar
520g flour
1.5tsp dry yeast


thanks for the tip mw3guc, that hole always annoys me and it's something I would have never thought of!

Magic Monkey

What breadmaker is it? Here's another recipe for you to try. This one has a higher hydration and 25% more yeast (relative to the flour weight.) If the settings are available, use the "Rye" setting and "Bake" for 3.5 hours:

1.5 tsp dry yeast
400g spelt flour
1 tsp honey
3 Tbsp oil
1 tsp salt
300ml water

supermum1

thanks magic monkey, it's a cookworks.

it doesn't have a rye setting though does have a bake setting. is there another i could use?

Magic Monkey

If there's a setting for spelt/rye/hearty breads that might work. Oherwise, try the recipe I posted with the method you were using before. What model number is the breadmaker? Can check out the manual online perhaps for more info.

sokelengl

Spelt is low gluten flour, it can't withstand long hour fermentation. To prevent the dough from collapsing prematurely, you should cut down the fermentation of the dough and replace portion of the spelt flour with bread flour.

Here is my <a href=" http://www.bakingfrenzy.com/2-lb-loaf-tin-pullman-tin-p-176.html"&gt; loaf tin</a>.

thecookingapple

maybe replace the yeast with a small amount of baking powder and dont leave to rise, just straight in.