Yeast

[Sicilian]

I've started to get into bread making, dough making, etc. And, i'm having trouble making my bread rise, I dont know if i'm using to little yeast, or not waiting enough to let it rise. Can somebody tell me how to get it to rise, and stay light. Or share a recipe with me. (Italian bread/Cinnamon Raisin).

Also, maybe it's not good to use normal flour, and I should buy bread flour? And, is it possible to make fresh yeast. (Not a sourdough starter.)

 

[Gretchen]

No, you don't make fresh yeast. Yes, use bread flour. Proof your yeast when you soften it in warm water by adding just a little sugar, let sit and see if a line of bubbles forms on top. If it does, then the yeast is active.
Are you using a recipe and following it. Without the recipe you are using it would be difficult to answer your other questions.
Good bread/yeast bread books are Peter Reinhart's Bread Bakers Apprentice and Julia Child's Baking with Julia.

 

[kadesma]

Chicago,
I've never heard of making fresh yeast. I just buy it from the store and keep it tightly closed in the refrigerator.I proof my yeast before proceeding with my recipe..some things that cause the dough not to rise
1-you forgot to add the yeast
2-yeast was inactive or it was killed by liquid that was too hot.
3low gluten flour/too high a percentage of whole grain flour/ old flour/too much flour
3- ingredients were cold, so the dough made with them was cold
4- dough was risen in an area that was too cool where it takes2-3 times the usual amount of time to rise.I sometimes do a slow rise, 3-4 hours, in a cool place or overnight in the fridg.You will find that this long rise gives a more intense flavor to the bread, and it frees you up to do other things as you wait.
I have the Bread Bakers Apprentice, great book, but if you've just begun to bake or have bake for some time like me, it's very detailed, but I've also got 2 other books that that I love and that really guide you along as you go. They are Beth Hensperger's Bread Made Easy and Beth Hensperger's The Bread Bible. I'm using the recipe for sourdough starter from the latter .
Now, what I do with proofing my yeast, is just, pour-warm water (105/115) in small bowl the amount being what is given in the recipe,sprinkle on the yeast, and sugar, amounts will be given with each recipe.whisk to dissoulve and let stand at room temp 10 min. it should become foamy.
That's about all I can think of. If you have any other questions, just ask, I'm sure one of us can help a little or steer you to someone who can.

Oh, and Welcome to DC...Hope you enjoy visiting here as much as I do.

kadesma

 

[kyles]

Kadesma and Gretchen have said it all, but definitely check both your temparatuer of your kitchen, and your rising time, and also your kneading technique.

Breadmaking is fantastic when it goes well, and potentially frustrating when it doesn't. It takes practice to get to know your flours, kitchen, oven etc. I can't even make bread at all in winter. My kitchen is built on the outside of the house (it used to be the garden!!) and is not heated at all. I haven't got a hope of kneading or rising dough, so roll on spring!!

 

[kadesma]

Kadesma and Gretchen have said it all, but definitely check both your temparatuer of your kitchen, and your rising time, and also your kneading technique.

Breadmaking is fantastic when it goes well, and potentially frustrating when it doesn't. It takes practice to get to know your flours, kitchen, oven etc. I can't even make bread at all in winter. My kitchen is built on the outside of the house (it used to be the garden!!) and is not heated at all. I haven't got a hope of kneading or rising dough, so roll on spring!!

Kyles, have you tried the long rise method? It can even be done in the refrigerator over night. I made one of Jaques Pepin long rise, it took 5 hours and the bread was fantastic...

kadesma

 

[subfuscpersona]

I've started to get into bread making, dough making, etc. And, i'm having trouble making my bread rise, I dont know if i'm using to little yeast, or not waiting enough to let it rise. Can somebody tell me how to get it to rise, and stay light. Or share a recipe with me. (Italian bread/Cinnamon Raisin).

Also, maybe it's not good to use normal flour, and I should buy bread flour? And, is it possible to make fresh yeast. (Not a sourdough starter.)

There are 2 basic kinds of yeast for the home baker - active dry yeast and instant yeast. Active dry yeast should be dissolved in a little water prior to use; instant yeast should be added to dry ingredients. For more info on yeast see On yeast

Make sure your dough is well kneaded so it can trap the carbon dioxide given off by the multiplying yeast. How are you kneading your dough - bread machine / stand mixer / by hand? If by hand, a common mistake is to add too much flour beyond that called for in the recipe during the kneading. A better approach is to remove a small amount of flour from the original flour amount prior to combining the ingredients and then use this "reserve" for hand kneading.

If you are using a standard white bread recipe that bakes in a loaf pan, you can try substituting bread flour for all or part of the all-purpose (AP) flour. I had similar problems with heavy bread when I first started bread baking. The recipes I used at that time all called for AP flour - I had better success when I switched to bread flour. I also, at that time, wasn't kneading enough and/or was adding too much flour to the dough when kneading (by hand).

You may be letting the bread rise too long during its final rise before baking. Bread dough typically has several rises - at least one rise "in the bowl" and a last rise "in the pan" (or, if not using a pan, at least in its final shape). You have flexibility in all but the final rise. When it is rising "in the bowl" this is when you can put it in the 'frig during all or part of the time. However, once it is shaped, it has a final rise at room temperature (usually until "doubled in bulk") and is then baked. If you let the dough rise too long (or too little) during this final rise the bread can turn out heavy.

There is a recipe for baguettes posted by pancake on 02-18-2005, 11:03 AM in this DC bread baking thread (seems to be on page 5 of that thread - scroll down). There are *lots* of excellent bread recipes posted on DC so try doing a search.

If you post your recipe plus info about temperature, rising times and equipment, we can help you more. Be as specfic and detailed as possible.

Good luck with your baking.

PS You could try the recipe for rustic Italian bread on www.amysbread.com/news_cucinaaug01.htm# It is similar to the recipe posted by pancake.