Troubleshooting Chart

See more in Beginners, Tips
If The Loaf Is…
This Could Have Caused It

Short Loaf
  • Not enough sugar.
  • Not enough yeast or the yeast was old or improperly stored.
  • The timer was used and the ingredients were placed in the pan so the salt or water was in contact with the yeast for a long period of time.
  • Short, heavier loaves are normal when using whole grain flours or when using all-purpose flour instead of using bread flour.
  • The pan was too large for the recipe size used. Not enough dough to fill the pan.

No Rise

  • The yeast was old or improperly stored, or yeast was forgotten or mismeasured.
  • Other key ingredients were forgotten or mismeasured.
  • Timer was used and the ingredients were placed in the pan incorrectly.
  • Water was too high and the yeast was killed.
  • Too much salt was used and the yeast was killed.
  • Too much sugar was used and the yeast was killed.

Mushroom Top
  • Usually indicates that the ingredients were out of proportion. Too much yeast, sugar, flour, liquid or a combination may result in the dough exceeding the capacity of the pan.
  • Bread pan was too small for the amount of dough.
  • Too many sugary ingredients were used.
  • No salt or too much salt was used.

Sunken Top

  • Ingredients amount were out of proportion.
  • Salt was ommited.
  • The bread pan was too small.
  • The dough rose to the top of the machine and interfered with proper baking and cooling.
  • Bread machine was opened during the baking cycle.
  • Warm weather, high humidity or overheated liquids all speed up yeast action, which may cause the dough to rise too fast and the bread to collapse before or right after baking begins. To help avoid this, baking during the coolest part of the day and use cool or cold liquids.
  • Too much liquid in the dough. It was too soft to keep its shape when baking began.

Gummy Areas

  • Too much wet or rich ingredients like applesauce, eggs, fat, etc.
  • Too much sugar.
  • The room that the bread machine was in was too cold and it affected the baking temperature and so the loaf didn’t get baked enough.
  • In rare cases the thermostat of your machine is defective and the loaf didn’t bake properly. If this happens repeatedly this is probably the case.

Coarse/Holey Texture

  • Too much water.
  • Too much yeast was used, or yeast action was accelerated by hot, humid weather or over heated ingredients.
  • Salt was omitted.
  • Drain fruit and vegetables well and pat dry before addingt to the bread dough.

Heavy/Dense
  • Not enough water.
  • Not enough sugar.
  • Not enough yeast.
  • Too much flour.
  • Be sure salt was added.
  • Too much whole-grain flour or whole grains were used. Substitute half bread flour.
  • Too much dried fruits or other added ingredients were used.

Other things to check

  • Make sure your yeast is fresh. If you don’t store the yeast in the freezer make sure you keep an eye on the expiration date. If you do store your yeast in the freezer (the best place to store it) you can disregard the expiration date. Freezing yeast allows it to remain fresh well beyond the expiration date. To store it in the freezer remove it from its container and place is a tight lidded moisture proof container. Use the yeast right from the freezer there is no need to warm it first.
  • If you don’t know if you yeast is good or not, place 1 tsp. of yeast in a glass bowl with 1/2 cup of warm water and 1 tsp. white sugar. Mix well and allow to site for 15 minutes. If the yeast is good it will bubble and become foaming. If it doesn’t replace your yeast it is dead.
  • If you store you flour, sugar, etc. in the refrigerator or freezer warm it before using it. You can either let it come to room temperature naturally or you can warm it in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds. You don’t want it to get hot however.
  • Make sure your recipe doesn’t call for more than 1/4 cup of sweetener. More than this amount and it will affect the yeast. Too much sweetener be it sugar, honey, etc. is bad for your yeast. If you want to use more than the 1/4 cup use special yeast called “Brown Yeast” it is designed for high sugar and high acid dough’s. You can order this yeast from King Arthur Baker’s Catalog.

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  • I am grateful for the tips on this site, but I have just encountered something not apparently covered in your advice.

    My most recent whole wheat loaf came out of the bucket of the small second-hand Panasonic Bread Bakery machine that I am gradually learning to use, IN THE FORM OF CRUMBS. Quite literally, it began disintegrating into crumbs as it hit the board, and the lightest touch made it fall to pieces further. Now, I tried to follow a recipe, and previous loaves in this little machine have been tasty although aesthetically lacking, so I am at a loss to explain the excessive friability of this particular loaf. )The crumbs, by the way, promise to make elegant meatball mix, when ground beef next goes on sale.)

    I used fresh yeast, all the sugar, and salt called for, and cool water. There had clearly been rising going on, but of what alien sort, I cannot say. Nor was it the first time I had subsituted a bit of flax seed meal and wheat germ for a portion of the whole wheat flour.

    Thoughts from more experienced bakers??

    Thanks!

    cindy and ben May 10th, 2008 at 7:23 am

  • Hi

    I hope you can help me. I have recently been given (not new but as good as) a Prima model ABM12 bread maker.
    I used the reccommended brand ingredients, followed the instructions and used the reccommended programme and despite several tries the ingredients don’t even mix, let alone rise or look like a loaf - any advice would be greatly appreciated.
    regards
    Charlotte

    Charlotte Tate June 4th, 2008 at 9:48 am

  • @Charlotte - If it is not even mixing then you may have a defective bread machine. Is the paddle securely attached at the bottom of the pan? Is the motor kicking on and the machine heating up?

    BMD June 4th, 2008 at 11:39 am

  • Cindy - If you used cool water, that could be part of the problem. I’ve always been instructed to use “room temperature” water, which to me means you can just barely feel some warmth in the water if you stick your finger in it. We know yeast needs warmth to rise and using cold water could kill the yeast before the machine has had a chance to warm up.

    Here’s on more thing for breadmakers: you may need to change the amount of certain ingredients if you live in a high altitude area! That’s anything over 3500 ft. I live at 4600 ft so have to be careful to check the recipes!
    Margo in Arizona

    He

    Margo June 4th, 2008 at 3:57 pm

  • I have been making my own Pizza Dough and am looking for advice on WHEN to flatten/roll the dough.
    Last night I cut the dough into 2 portions and tried to shape the first half having great difficulty right out of the Maker.
    The second half was much easier but both STUCK to the Pizza Stone which I did nothing to this time.
    What pointers help can you give?
    Thanks

    Don Donalson June 28th, 2008 at 1:11 pm

  • I love to make pizza dough, too, and have found that I need to use either olive oil or flour to make the dough cooperate. When I’m making a stromboli on an oblong metal pan, I prefer the oil — I drizzle it onto the dough in the pan, then help it soak down the edges by running a skinny spatula around the edge and bottom. Then I dump the dough onto the pan and shape as needed. When I’m making pizza on a pizza stone, I prefer to use flour, since the oil soaks into the stone, and that builds up over time. I sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour on the dough in the pan and help it coat the dough by running the spatula around the sides and bottom. This helps the dough pop out onto the pizza stone, where I flatten it either by hand or with a rolling pin (I am completely incompetant when it comes to hand tossing pizza dough!). I have found that initially, the dough will spring back and not want to retain the rolled shape. But if I let the dough rest awhile, it does better on a second try. My chef friend, who can hand toss, lays down a light sprinkling of corn meal onto the pizza stone to keep it from sticking, then uses a wooden paddle to slide the formed dough onto the heated pizza stone already in the oven. Hope these tips help.

    A Hager July 26th, 2008 at 12:36 pm

  • I used my breadmachine for 5 months, everything worked fine. The problem started last week, after kneadling the bread dough, there was some grey stuff found inside at the bottom of the pan, around the shaft. The paddle look fine to me, no scratch. I didn’t cook the dough which had touched the gray stuff. I didn’t use my breadmachine since then. What is wrong with it, can I fix it without buying a new one? Please advice. Thanks.

    Frances

    Frances August 10th, 2008 at 7:12 am

  • I love your pictures of various bread problem. For a beginner like me,it really helps to see and identify the problem. I live in a high altitude area and my bread always comes out with a “sunken top”. Some people tells me my flour is too dry and the bread is rising too fast, so I add 50% more liquids and 25% more salt, but it still comes sunken. I’m going to try your remedy. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks.

    handysimon September 5th, 2008 at 12:17 am

  • I just bought a 2nd hand bread machine, and am hoping to be able to make spelt bread. I have a wheat sensitivity. I have made two loaves of bread now, and both have been dismal failures. The first loaf, I got from a different website and the recipe specified white spelt flour. I think I tried to make a 2 lb loaf in a 1 1/2 lb machine. It was sunken and dense. For the second loaf, I used your first loaf recipe, subbing spelt for wheat flour 1:1. Even more sunken than the first loaf, it’s not even done cooking but it’s a huge failure. Do you have any suggestions for using spelt instead of wheat? There are very few spelt recipes out there, and I’m getting frustrated trying to figure out how to replace the wheat with spelt.

    Jenny October 2nd, 2008 at 9:12 pm

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