My bread isn't rising either!

[daffodil]

I've made this bread before and had no problem. I used active dry yeast this time instead of the normal quick rise yeast. It's not rising at all. What happened?

[kldickinson1]

If it's not rising at all (i.e. raw, not in the oven), your yeast is probably dead. The only time I've had bread not rise is when I used old yeast. I bought new yeast, used the same recipe, and don't you know, my dough puffed right up.

If new yeast doesn't work, you could try making your rising environment warmer. Put the rising bucket up high (like on top of your cabinets, if possible) or on the top shelf of a pantry. Alternately, you can heat the oven to 100, turn it off, wait until you can put your hand in it and leave it there, and let your bread rise in there.

[daffodil]

The yeast was brand new, just bought it and opened it. I had it sitting on top of the toaster oven and I had that on preheating it. Funny though...it turned out perfect! I've been trying to make a heavy bread like that! Now I'll have to figure out what I did wrong and do it again! :D

[daffodil]

I should add, it rose in the oven just enough to make it a nice size, a little small but not too bad. Glad I didn't toss it out!

[Anon001]

daffodil,

Did you "proo" your yeast in warm water before adding it to your dough? If so, if the water is too warm, you can kill the yeast.... Also, following your other posts and threads I doubt you were using fresh milk, but if you do, fresh raw milk has to be scalded. Raw milk has enzymes that can kill yeast. So, the scalding kills the enzymes that would kill the yeast. But if you use water, store bought milk, tomato juice, etc, you don't have to scald.

I would bet your water was too hot.

[johnjmw]

I'm Blond and not really much of a cook. *I keep seeing scalded and asked my Mom about it. *She said it was just warmed up and did not have to be brought to a boil.
* * What is proper way to scald milk? And is it only needed on raw milk (versus store bought pasteurized stuff) ?
John

[Anon001]

John,

Pasterized milk has been heated and thus everything in it killed... all the good stuff and the bad stuff so, it never has to be scalded. Raw milk has not been heated so, it has to be scalded if using with any type of leavening such as yeast.

I can't remember what it says about "how" to scald milk, but you DO NOT let it boil. You heat it slowly until it starts to skim over. I would guess somewhere between 140 and 160 degrees. It only has to get hot enough to kill the enzymes that would kill the yeast.

[daffodil]

It could be I let it get too hot. I'm not real careful about those things. It will give a temperature and I just kind of look at it and stick my finger in and say, yeah that's about right! :D

[Anon001]

Daffodil,

Next time, let your yeast "proof" for about 10 to 12 minutes in lukewarm water.

[MrsL]

Some of the dreid eyast I use needs a spoonful of sugar in to activate it in warm water. Not sure of it's the same over where you are?

I read somwhere that salt will inhibit yeast activation, but I usually put salt in my bread with no effect. Anyone know?

[daffodil]

I used salt in mine before with no problem but that was with the rapid rise yeast. Not sure if that makes a difference or not.

[kldickinson1]

Almost all bread recipes contain salt. You can very much safely salt your dough with no ill affects on the rising.

[johnjmw]

Thanks Paul.

[Anon001]

Almost all yeast needs sugar to activate it. *That is why most breads have sugar in the recipes. *The sugar activates it and the salt keeps it in check.... *I sort of look at it like the comical scenes of Lucy and Ethel when the washer filled the room with suds. *If you use too much yeast with sugar and no salt, it can activate it too much and the salt keeps it in check. *

With that said, you normally don't have to put sugar in the yeast and water. The sugar in the dough will suffice. The sugar in the water may just be a recommendation or it may be that the person writing the recipe prefers to do i that way.

This is not something I've experimented with or read but an old woman told me that years and years ago. *She was in her 90's and had never bought a loaf of bread in her life.

[bookwormom]

well, it just shows, there is more than one way to skin a cat. I never use sugar in bread, does not bother the yeast any. I used to dissolve the yeast first in warm water with a spoon of sugar and a spoon of flour and let it get to work. since we do not have any kids around anymore and Ihave to do all the work myself, I am cutting corners wherever I can, so, sift the flour, add the yeast and salt and any any herbs, spices, take a wire whisk and stir it all so the yeast is dispersed in the flour, add warm water. this works very well for me. I used to make a bread that everybody raved about, but I just can't make it anymore. I had to knead it for half an hr. It also had a spoon of gelatin in the recipe and molasses.

[annabella1]

I don't use any sugar in my bread either, just flour, water, yeast, and salt and I left out the salt once it rose and looked good but it just tasted okay.

[Bootz]

Whatever recipe I use, I've learned a few tricks.

Dissolve the yeast in warm, not hot water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

If my yeast is old, add some flour and sugar to the yeast and water to make a sponge and let sit until bubbly and starting to rise. Yeast multiples more quickly in a sponge than a dryer dough.

After I'm sure the yeast is active and healthy, I add the salt and the rest of the ingredients. Powdered milk seems to cause less problems than fresh. Oil can be added directly to the sponge, but butter and other solid oils should be kneaded into the dough at the end of the kneading process so they are not actually part of the structure of the dough, but swirled in. The more powdered milk, fat and low gluten flours that are added the harder it will be for the dough to rise.

Humidity as well as cool temperatures slow rising. High heat KILLS yeast and too much is much worse than not enough. Do not put a bowl directly on a toaster oven.

[daffodil]

Humidity as well as cool temperatures slow rising. High heat KILLS yeast and too much is much worse than not enough. Do not put a bowl directly on a toaster oven.

I was just wondering about that humidity thing...between that and putting it on the toaster oven and heating the water to too hot, now wonder my bread doesn't rise!

[Bootz]

I took the time to read a little about the chemistry and biology of what is happening in making bread and it helped me so much. I can look at recipes and know which ones are likely to fail.

I've had to rise bread in a freezing, damp kitchen many times, sometimes with just sourdough or a small amount of yeast. Sometimes I would put the sponge bowl inside another bowl filled with hot water, and stir and check frequently for temperature. Then I would place the dough on a cookie sheet over the bowl of hot water, checking the bottom of the cookie sheet frequently. I didn't do a second rise.

These were the recipes I used back then. The overnight oatmeal was a standard in our home. Some friends nicknamed it "Chaos Bread" because I was able to make it even when life was total chaos. The oats are the best whole grain to store unnground and suprisingly the bread isn't that heavy even though oats don't have much gluten, and are not even ground into a flour. The slow overnight rise gives the bread a slight sourdough taste and a more cakelike structure that keeps the bread from going stale as quickly. For busy moms assembling the bread at night and popping in the oven as soon as getting up, is very convenient. Hot bread is coming out of the oven in time for breakfast and making lunches.

If I needed bread in just a few hours it needed to be the white bread recipe and I needed to use more yeast.

Overnight Oatmeal Bread Pour 2 cups warm water over 1 teaspoon of yeast (½ foil packet), 2 cups of quick oats. ¼ cup sugar (or any sweetener). Stir well and let sit for 30 minutes. Add ¼ cup oil, and 1 tablespoon salt. Knead in enough white flour to make a sticky, but kneadable dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Grease a cookie sheet and roll dough into a long jellyroll shape. Place on cookie sheet, cover and let rise overnight. Bake at 350 degrees until bread can be knocked on. Do not UNDERcook. Crust should be well browned.



[B][U]Quick Rise White Bread Dissolve 4 teaspoons yeast in 2 cups water. Add ¼ cup sugar and enough flour to make a batter. Let sit till bubbly and risen, about 1 hour. Add ¼ cup oil, and 1 tablespoon salt. Add enough flour to make a kneadable dough. Knead for 10 minutes. Shape dough into a large jelly roll and place on a greased cookie sheet. Place cookie sheet on top of a large bowl filled with hot water and cover. Let rise until double in bulk. Bake at 350 degrees until medium brown and can be knocked on.

[annabella1]

daff, if you had the yeast on top of your toaster oven while it was preheating, it got too hot. you killed your yeast. (I was going to call you a yeast murderer but we shouldn't call names)

[Bootz]

The yeast itself or the bread dough was on the toaster?

[AlchemyAcres]

I'm Blond and not really much of a cook. *I keep seeing scalded and asked my Mom about it. *She said it was just warmed up and did not have to be brought to a boil.
* * What is proper way to scald milk? And is it only needed on raw milk (versus store bought pasteurized stuff) ?
John

There's lots of misinformation on the methods and reasons for scalding milk.

While scalding isn't essential, the benefit scalding milk in bread recipes is to inactivate an element in milk that weakens gluten.
Heating the milk to 198 degrees inactivates the element. Standard pasteurization won't do.

Bread from unscalded milk will have a courser texture and less of a springy rise.

That's why so many dinner roll recipes call for scalded milk, it produces a finer texture.

~Martin

[AlchemyAcres]

I've made this bread before and had no problem. I used active dry yeast this time instead of the normal quick rise yeast. It's not rising at all. What happened?

Most recipes designed for instant or rapid rise yeast won't work with active dry.

Usually, instant or rapid rise recipes call for adding the yeast directly to the other dry ingredientsand then adding a warm liquid. Active dry yeast needs proofing.

Also, instant or rapid rise recipes don't usually have a second rise, just a short rest period before forming and then just one rise.

All that is a "no go" for active dry yeast.

It's best to only use active dry in recipes specifically designed for it.


~Martin

[Pokeberry Mary]

I keep my yeast in the freezer and just have a small amount out at a time. Otherwise it tends to die. When my dough won't rise it almost always turns out that I need to replace the yeast in my little jar on the shelf.

[NotSoFast]

Thanks for the tip.