More help tips on the why your bread has issues!

1. Help! There's a hole in my baked bread!!

Just this week, I cut into a loaf of bread and there in its full glory was a hole in the center of the loaf! I considered taking a pic to let you know it happens to all of us even those who have been making bread for over 30 years!! Don't despair in making bread. So why the hole? There are three culprits causing the hole.

• The first is not 'slapping' your bread to get the air pockets out of the formed loaf. I always give my dough a good 'spanking' to tighten the dough. This slap will make the gluten of the dough tighten and keep air pockets from forming.
• The second is letting your bread rise too high and fast. Sometimes I have had my bread in a warm spot and it rose really fast with an almost airy look. The end result is usually a hole in the center. 
• The third is not kneading your bread dough enough. Sometimes when I add extra vital wheat gluten to my whole wheat bread recipe, I need to knead the dough a little longer (1-2 minutes) just to let the gluten thoroughly work. Just remember, if you are not using a Bosch Universal Mixer, you will need to knead your bread dough for about 20 minutes!!

Both of these were the case for the bread that I cut into this week. I had let it rise too much outside the oven AND I had not bothered to slap my dough nor press it firmly into the bread pan. Sometimes haste in baking is not a good thing. :)

Don't throw the bread away!! You can make it into croutons or blend the bread in your Bosch Blender to make bread crumbs.


2. I have too many loaves rising and they won't fit in my oven at the same time. Help!!

You can form the extra dough into pizza crust or other bread delectable OR you can form them into a loaf in the bread pan but put the dough in the fridge. This will slow the rising and allow the other bread to bake. When your oven has room, remove the slowly rising bread dough from the the fridge and let it rise till ready for the oven. I always try to make as much bread as possible since I already have all the ingredients out. 

Don't let a small oven inhibit your bread making endeavors.