I love cooking, I'm pretty good at it, so I decided to get into baking. I want to make good, simple, homemade bread.

I've been trying this recipe on a recommendation from a friend. Recipe

I follow everything exactly, but the bread always comes out dense. My second rise barely clears the top of the loaf pan.

I think my problem is over-proofing the first rise. I'm using rapid-rise yeast and I let it go almost an hour. It more than doubled in size but I figured it was fine.

I punch it down and form it into two long loaves and place it in the loaf pans. Put it in a warm spot covered with oiled plastic wrap. After 45 mins-1 hour, barely poking over the top.

This happens every time, I've tried 5 times.

My friend sent pics of his and its 3" over the pan.

Should I go to the second rise earlier? Knead for awhile after the first rise to distribute yeast? Give up and buy bread from the old lady in town?

The problem is likely either over-proofing or using rapid-rise yeast. The solution is to not proof it as long, or leave the time the same and switch to instant or active dry yeast. Next time switch one of the variables and see what happens.

I'm going to shorten the first rise next time and see. Also going to use HEB flour instead of my good Barton Springs Mill stuff until I figure it out.

dahouse said:

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I'm going to shorten the first rise next time and see. Also going to use HEB flour instead of my good Barton Springs Mill stuff until I figure it out.

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No, change one variable first. Otherwise you won't know if it's the yeast or the flour. Then you'll end up chasing your tail trying to fix it. Personally, I would change the yeast first.

Just curious - why are you using rapid rise yeast?

And are you following the notes about yeast substitution at the bottom? It seems to address your issue

Yeast: to substitute Instant or Rapid Rise yeast, skip the "proofing" of the dough in the first step and add the yeast to the bowl with step 2. Allow the dough to complete its first rise, and then roll and shape into loaves and rise again (rise times will be much faster with instant yeast).

I wanted regular yeast but it was sold out so I bought the little jar of rapid rise. I'll go to normal active yeast once I'm done with this little jar.

I've tried both ways, same result.

I'm going to figure this out eventually.

The most likely answer is over proofing, and the yeast has nothing left to eat for the second rise.

First of all, if you're serious about getting into bread baking, I STRONGLY encourage you to get a pack of instant yeast. SAF brand is available on Amazon. Keep it in the fridge. You might not use all of it (I don't; I buy a pack every other year or so and use maybe half to 2/3s). But that's OK. Yeast packets are hit or miss in my experience. With that said, pay particular attention to measurements.

Instant yeast, SAF in particular, is superior in every way to yeast packets of any kind. You can add it directly to your mix without putting it in water first. You can even add it next to the salt, although for absolute peace of mind, I usually separate them. Your bread baking experience will improve.

Second, in my experience, dense bread means one or both of 2 things: either the dough isn't hydrated enough or you haven't let it rise sufficiently. Different breads call for different hydration factors but when I pull my dough out of the mixer (KA with spiral hook; you can easily use a bread machine but take it out prior to baking inside), I want it "wet" enough to be a little sticky. I'm going to put a little oil on it before putting it in the bowl to rise, anyway.

If you have a KA or similar mixer with the traditional "C" (or is it "D"??) shaped dough hook, there are aftermarket spiral hooks out there. Find one as it works WAY better. I was using a bread machine for years even though I had my KA. I thought I was getting dense dough because the KA wasn't kneading it well enough. With the included dough hook, it probably wasn't. But my hydration ratio was off, too. For the last year and a half or so, the spiral hook has negated any "knead" for the bread machine! My wife might have given mine away.

Look around for dough hydration and familiarize yourself with that. Your bread will come out better.

91AggieLawyer: Howdy, You Sir are Correct!!!! SAF is the BEST!! I use it in a Zorjurushi Bread Machine, it NEVER fails!