134: SIX Reasons why your bread dough DIDN'T PUFF UP Properly - Bake with Jack

Isn't it frustrating when your Bread Dough doesn't puff up and you don't know WHY!? I feel your pain, here are six things it could be.
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[@nildaweiss4287]

You’re awesome. My bread dough didn’t puff up & you provided the exact reasons why. Thank you so much. Also, you’re a joy to listen to & make me smile when I just wanted to cry. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@linuxgreybeard9945]

This is what I love about Jack, such a fountain of knowledge. No matter how much you think you know about bread making, he always brings more useful tips to the table.

[@fliss8443]

You sir, are a total gem. Bless you and your forthright, desperately needed honesty. You are the man.

[@rlwalker2]

Great info. I had bread that appeared not to rise so I put it in the oven, turned the electric light on and went to bed. In the morning I had over-proofed the dough. Prior to going to bed I should have put it in the refrigerator and then simply taken it out and let it continue after getting up in the morning. So many ways to make mistakes with just 4 ingredients. lol

[@mattydominic4219]

#4 Great point. I'm a lot less anxious "waiting" for the dough to rise if I'm not waiting for the dough to rise. ;)

[@royksk]

Thanks Jack, this is a gem because it nails a lot of problems that can be encountered by newbies. I've followed all sorts of recipes and scientific formulae in the past while trying to get my bread right. Unfortunately you are too young to have helped me then but I’ve picked up some ideas on the way - then discarded 90% of them. One idea I picked up: if you need to add water to an already mixed dough , first mix it with a little flour to a wet paste. This will mix in more easily. So if you forgot the yeast, mix it with a little water then add some flour to a paste - it won’t be quite as slippery. I've found there can be a significant difference between bread flours, especially organic, stone-milled and supermarket types which have all sorts of additives such as flour improvers. The organic seems to need more and takes longer to rise and prove. When I first made bread I kept on adding flour to stop the stickiness and ended up with a stiff dough. Like Jack says, just keep working it. The other biggy from wor Jack: do it all at room temperature. Forget airing cupboards and proving drawers unless you’re baking in a very cold room, which would still work but very slowly.

[@mariefabelina3669]

Thanks for the tips! Yes I find that I follow a recipe from a person baking in a warm climate island and in my area right now it’s winter so I do feel that there is a difference on the rising of the dough

[@teitylching8876]

I was watching this video while having my homemade focaccia made two days ago with a cup of tea. 😋 Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience so generously. “Common sense is not common!” Have a good week, till next Thursday!

[@StarlightStream]

Thanks for the video. Number 4 of your reasons really hit home for me.

[@akshatamukunds]

Based off of your other videos I started experimenting with swapping out a part of the flour and braced myself for the results... and it was exactly as I expected. All the things I expected to be different were different. Crossing fingers for a second trail tomorrow. Can't say it enough...thank you so much for the confidence in this learning process!!!

[@adrianarroyo5215]

Jack, thank you for taking the time to do this

[@veggiek8boud234]

Always a pleasure to see you! Looking forward to some whole-grain’s videos

[@sandraroberts626]

Another helpful video. Thank you. I'm guilty of beint impatient and popping in the oven too soon and have also tried to replace 200g strong white with whole wheat. I"m back to following your recipe to the tee.

[@markthorndycraft6533]

Yet another great video, I've recently built a proofing cabinet that has improved my "puffing" tremendously, PS I signed up for your bulletin last week, haven't received one yet, was looking forward to it this morning☹️

[@italiana626sc]

Love the advice to not throw the dough away if it doesn't rise. Re-purposing it as flatbread or tortillas is brilliant! Love all of your advice, actually.

[@danman9017]

i make bread with all purpose flour and come out great just need to wait more longer to puff up.thank jack

[@Kal_3P]

I love your positive energy. Just subscribed.

[@Annekebr52]

Thank you for all your lessons!! I enjoy your video's

[@rdgreeley]

Thank you! My dough was a struggle today, and now I know why! I changed to a new flour and kept “dusting.” New day tomorrow!

[@pisgah2715]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.... I love getting this info it helps me so much.

[@AotearoaChef]

Great video! I think my kitchen is really cold so it seems to take forever, I feel like I’m not quite getting the volume change I want. Bread still comes out tasting great but could be a little lighter and more air pockets etc, today i let it rise putting it in oven with light on around 20-30 degrees and sure enough it already seems to have helped. Let’s see tomorrow when i bake!

[@vincentchan1173]

I love your videos Jack!!! Keep them coming!

[@leonardchang1948]

Great pep talk. Thanks 🙏🙏🙏

[@granjmy]

You are such a sweetie! This grandma has been worrying over my LUMP of dough...WAITING for it to puff up...waiting...waiting...sigh. So I came looking for help, Jack. On my way to this video, I stopped by your website to buy 2 dough scrapers. So, with that done (Amazon US had NOTHING like yours), here I am. Waiting, but reassured. Thank you, Jack. I appreciate your help. It is rather cold here, so I'll try patience. And more waiting. 😁😁

[@01IveR01]

I learned to warm my kitchen in the winter months before I bake, as to make sure my yeast does what it's supposed to do & like it should when I make bread. Plus it makes the kitchen nice & toasty.

[@brucetominello325]

Great puffing video Jack. Sticky can be fun!

[@pauljohnagustin237]

Great advice for newbies jack... Hoped I had found your channel 2 years ago 😁 Ive got enough experience in the past two years so I got that working for me...I made a lot of error in those past years tho

[@bigjimbo121]

You are so good at teaching

[@rosieb9]

I am so glad I watched your video. I let my dough sit and hour longer for the second rise and it was perfect. 😃😃😃 I was defiantly frustrated cause it was rising as much as I wanted to.

[@blicorice2696]

this helped a lot . thanks

[@padiwari62]

Best explanations I've ever heard so far ! Not even a friend of mine who's a baker could tell me ... 😄 😎 I now know what went wrong with my breads 😎 probably will tell my friend ...

[@BA-ng9bx]

I just love the way you say "puff up". It's so cute.

[@emilyg6764]

Loving the energy!!

[@powderriverfarrier]

Jack's Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt not dust while kneading. We might as well admit it to ourselves ... Jack seems to know everything.

[@pauljohnagustin237]

Guilty before but now I enjoy working that lump of sticky mess..it seems newbies doesnt want to dabble in that sticky mess..

[@mariacosme1440]

Commandment Twelve: Thou shalt not bake without a pencil.

[@forgottensoul4616]

Yeah I'm guilty as well, lesson learned, now I always made rise perfectly and made my own recipe after some time of experimenting

[@nikeliajohnson7140]

I dusted too🤦‍♀️

[@rednecktek2873]

So how do you fix it if you dusted before you watched this video? Wait longer or a second kneading?

[@Magnu5R11s]

I just started to have some sourdough bread succes! Largely thanks to your videos. I mainly learned to take it easy and give it time (I have a cold kitchen). Also trying out the scrapings method has really helped. No more tears over discarced sourdough starter! I feel way more motivated to bake bread now. I do cheat a bit. I use water that is slightly warmer (28-30 degrees) for my starter and loafs. It seems to help get the fermentation started earlier. By the way, any thoughts on experimenting with different water types? My tap water breads are OK, but I have an idea that softer water types might change the texture of the bread.

[@costaricandoll4278]

Love from the Caribbean. Very informative video

[@aneesaosman3459]

Amazing points .

[@DryFastWithMe]

That’s exactly what I was doing wrong...constantly adding flower ...🙈thank you so much for this video. 👍👍👍

[@wanakook-scilzz7243]

Thank you, thank you! Love the emphasis on patience, i shall try this =)!

[@trumankong7053]

point 3 and 6 are my problems ... you are genius. i need to do it again ...

[@erinlight5020]

Thanks for this. Your the only one who could answer the poor second rise.

[@Bakewithjack]

Classic Erin, happy to help 🤗

[@amandacrowe732]

I wait so patiently every Thursday morning. I love that they're waiting when I wake up. I got it early this morning though! Love it! Thanks for everything!

[@amandabyrd6171]

*Happy Ending Below* I was having so many problems with my sourdough since moving to my new house that I stopped making bread for a long time. "No bread?" my family would complain on holidays. At my old house it took about 12 hours of levain time and 4 hours of dough rising time to make a good sourdough loaf. At my new house,

[@jeannorris1510]

I have the same problem. 🤔 I will let time take care of it now. 👍

[@amandabyrd6171]

@@jeannorris1510 Time is definitely your friend with sourdough! Tbh it's harder to over-ferment than it is to under-ferment.

[@mellima4226]

This will help me a lot. Thank you for sharing 🙌🏻

[@markcarver9070]

I read to put your starter in the oven with the oven light on. It keeps it at a good temp. I do that with my resting dough as well.

[@rayomondc]

Your saying fajita and burrito at 8:15.... I'm a Texan, the state that invented burritos (migrant workers needed a hearty meal easily carried, tex mex style), and believe you me I couldn't get enough if the inflections and accent there. Must have watched at least 6 times. Love it. Love your channel also.

[@WhimsiesWorld]

I'd virtually given up on baking bread before I found #130 & then #101 - which was an utter revelation! Completely made sense of all that had been going wrong and I can honestly say that I now get consistent results when I stick to the Gospel According to Jack. My variable results only come when I vary elements of the 'gospel'. .....Good 'onya Jack!! Thank you SO MUCH for making the making these videos!!

[@chrismedland1193]

'surprise fajita night'. Top advice & earned a subscription. Cheers, fella.

[@richardportelli1983]

Love your viedos mate, been doing a lot of sourdough and getting better each time! Would love to see more recipes especially sweet ones and other methods apart from yeast or sourdough.

[@granjmy]

Chain Baker is great. He has something you might like- Preferments Explained | Poolish, Biga, Sponge, Pâte Fermentée Vito Iacopelli can teach you how to make your own fresh yeast from dry yeast. Culinary Exploration has some amazing videos.

[@warrenalexander5285]

My kitchen is quite cold so it takes quite some time for the dough to puff up properly, but last week, I had a pot of soup simmering away so it was very much warmer in the kitchen and the dough rose in a fraction of the usual time.

[@niharikaawasthy9224]

M frm India.....I was making same mistakes u told in this video....many thanks....loved ur accent n passion.....

[@kathleenwassum7712]

Thanks so much! My yeast rolls for Thanksgiving were a failure because they didn’t rise. However, the dough is elastic and very tasty. I’m going to use some of your tips to try and salvage it, and perhaps we can have lovely leftover sliders with our yeast rolls! Looking forward to more wonderful tips! ❤️amateur home “chef”

[@granjmy]

How did they turn out, Kathleen?

[@laurelinwainwright8650]

Your videos are my daily meditation 😍

[@badgebadge8946]

Great baking advice, given to you in the voice of a Guy Ritchie movie gangster. Love it! Subscribed

[@mogain9258]

Thanks Jack!

[@janetsummers7362]

Jack you never mentioned a room temperature. I have made bread for years and then stopped when i started working. Came back to it in my retirement and moved to a new house with vaulted ceilings and lots of windows. i can not get it to rise even giving extra time. so watching your videos it could be me on a few of your points. I will be more diligent. i use the proofing option on my oven or the light in the oven. Hoping what i learned today will help. Trying not to give up on it. I did subscribe to your weekly newsletters for encouragement.

[@emilynewton9757]

I feel personally attacked in Jack's videos (but insanely grateful he shares his wisdom!)

[@humnaali5759]

IKR right, had the same feeling lol

[@01IveR01]

Yes, I too was like uh but than relieved that I could save my dough from going in the trash.😂🥰🍞🥐🥖🥯

[@rosasaeidizand8438]

If you find it difficult to wait for the dough to puff up, you could start kneading another simple dough in the interval and if you still have time, work lots of butter in the second dough, so by the time you are done with the second dough, the first one has hopefully puffed up enough, and when you are busy with the first one, the second will puff up....

[@kathychester517]

Hi jack! I really enjoy watching your videos, and I have learned a lot by doing so. I have a question though. Recently we bought several bags of flour and stored part of it in the freezer. My question is will the frozen flour have any negative affects to my starter when I feed it? I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone address this topic before, so thanks in advance for your reply. Keep the good stuff coming! 😁

[@seemakrodrigues168]

Hi. Ur videos are awesome and we get to learn a lot. My request is to make an video using kitchen aid mixer. Due to some health reasons I am unable to knead using hands.

[@hw9888]

You should write your own book talking about this stuff. I would buy it in an instant! Your own personal experience, knowledge and personal recipes and differences with flour types/yeast types. That would be an amazing purchase to me. Thanks for your hard work Jack!

[@Bakewithjack]

Hmmmm wouldn’t that be a good idea… 🤔

[@martinbyrne5626]

Great bread wisdom as usual. I think you could give skincare tips too - your face is lovely!

[@CG_Hali]

LOL to your sponsor alert WINK ; ) Thanks, my Thursdays have been nicer since watching you :D

[@michelledenise5096]

I use my oven with the oven light on as my proving station. It has helped give me a consistent “room temperature” for my sourdough levains and doughs, even overnight.

[@ChristopherMerriman]

Me too, I've resorted to the oven with its light on to obtain a 21-23 deg C temp when the kitchen has been shivery cold. I know it contravenes Jack's "just wait longer" principle but I don't always have that amount of time with a slow ferment like sourdough.

[@varsam]

@@ChristopherMerriman Well in situations like that i put it in the fridge. In the morning or when i want i pull it out for an hour and bake it. Longer fermentation bring more aroma and taste.

[@fatimamiguel657]

It happened to me,the yeast was very slow the-yeast had passed date butI did fried bread delish thanks for all the tips keep on

[@blayne2029]

Thanks, Jack. Do you have a 100% whole wheat bread recipe for sandwiches? Most seem to include AP flour. I'm a longtime fan and love your videos!

[@ivylee42069]

Just use the same amount of flour that you would AP but add more water because whole wheat needs more water

[@marin4311]

Hey Jack, how did you manage to see me struggling in my kitchen ?

[@charlesmathews5840]

Oh Jack, you nailed it!! I remember some years ago when I was making bread in a bread making machine I threw all the ingredients in and left out the yeast!!! Oh gosh, when I opened the lid, there was this nicely baked brick in the bottom 😞 Was I disappointed!! I immediately thought it was the yeast that had expired, then I did that simple test and the yeasted water rose to the occasion 😂

[@barbaraprayer9720]

I have been each person you described, all I could do was laugh. Thank you for alllll of the correction lol

[@Sylvie_B]

Thank you

[@pasadiko401]

Jack you’re simply AAAAAwesome!

[@sg3935]

I love your show. Please keep going.

[@Bakewithjack]

Ok 🤗

[@user-qz7zx2sd4v]

Thank you ☺️

[@HolahkuTaigiTWFormosanDiplomat]

I'm using starter and it didn't puff well but went over-fermentation (32C here), still getting to know more about it.

[@daisymapa1217]

Yes,thats it I'm so excited and impatient waiting for the dough... Hahaha its funny I like your green eyes !!!

[@malcnsuea6787]

Hmmm. I’ve managed to do all of those at some point...‘splains ALOT. Great video!

[@alexandrahullquist4008]

Oh, my goodness, did you talk to my exact issues. I've made bread for all my life, and I never would have thought that using warm water for the bread to proof the first time will impede the second time's rise. Your sense of humor was just what I needed for hope in baking success. I use recipe and it works perfectly for a few months, then it goes bonkers and won't rise right. I try another recipe with success for a few months, and then it goes wonky, even though I use the same wheat, same water, yeast, and other ingredients, weighed for accuracy. Maybe the water temperature is the deal breaker. Back to the drawing board. I so want to have consistent results.

[@TheRealMissingLink]

Bro Jack, you gotta do more videos. You're killing me!

[@chory4eva]

Great video! 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@ruyiasianrecipes]

Haha love your video and I understand your pain. When I first started baking, I thought cake flour was plain flour cos I figured plain flour was flour to make cake. 😁

[@ChrisRichardson-Global]

Hey Jack, do you have some sort of handy "volume calculator"? My baking tins don't have a size label (e.g., your First Simple Loaf Recipe says a 2lb tin, and then gives the dimensions). I'm trying to figure out if I have a rising problem, or if I just need to adjust my recipes for my tins. Is it as straightforward as saying yours is 1,967.625 cm^3, and mine is XYZ cm^3, and then multiplying the recipe accordingly?

[@clericneokun]

Just to add: Enriched doughs also take a longer time to puff compared to a non-enriched dough. Depending on the recipe, it could take you up to an additional hour of waiting before an enriched dough reaches the same volume you'd expect from a non-enriched dough.

[@rebeccafoo]

Thanks for your sharing, I prove the dough in the pan to 90% full then I put it into the pre heated oven at 180 degree Celsius, it didn't puff up to 100 % or much higher than my bread pan that I saw hthe chef did for his bread ! I wonder what was wrong. Thanks

[@joelletay]

Tks so much for the video. I’m an amateur baker. I did my bulk fermentation in the fridge overnight. My dough did not rise at all in the fridge is that normal?

[@jenefisher5434]

There are so many variables. Sometimes your bread doesn’t turn out they way it should be. Depending on climate, temperature, the kind flour, your oven, etc. It’s all trial and error. Just have to figure out what works best for you. Florida and The UK is a completely different climate and humidity. What Jack does for his sourdough perfect for where he is in the UK, whereas in Florida can be so different. Trial and error is the best education.

[@Bakewithjack]

Exactly ☺️👌🏻

[@granjmy]

But I don't LIKE trial and error. 😁

[@Vanessa-pe1fo]

Your a hoot... I'm going to subscribe. good job well done...

[@JSTpacek]

good advice when talking about being patient and not waiting for dough to puff but instead do other things. because otherwise you have a feeling bread making is really time consuming.

[@everseeking60]

Hi Jake... in one of your videos you said adding potato to your dough helps texture and taste...I was wondering if you could you use modified potato starch? Would it produce same results? I have learnt so many useful things from you..thankuuu

[@Pauu16]

Great tips and I love your accent too 😄 Keep it up!

[@rose-mariedekoning8471]

Since I tried to make bread with yeast that was way past the expiration date, that was probably my problem. *adds a new packet to dough* Let's see if this salvages the situation. I did also use regular flour from the grocery store, so we'll see what happens.

[@abc-wv4in]

We love White Lily flour for cakes and light biscuits, but King Arthur is better for yeast bread. Soft wheat vs hard flour does make a difference!

[@CST1992]

This was informative! However, please share tips on what to do when I'm kneading and it's too sticky and it sticks to my hands. I'd like to admit - I DID dust it.

[@fitrinatalia7007]

Hi Jack, (almost all of) my loaf breads are a bit dense in the bottom part, what do you think caused it ?

[@sternits]

I’ve just started watching your videos but I can’t find one in which you address knead versus no-knead methods. What’s your take on the difference?

[@brendadodd1075]

So Chef,,,how would you get a good rise with fresh milled flour?

[@CST1992]

No adverts?! That's it - I'm subscribing.

[@georgefletcher3852]

Meg Australia Hi Jack love your videos keep up the good work My problem is after I put my bread in the oven after 3- 5 minutes it drops about an inch The dough had risen great and the oven was preheated Can you please explain to me why . Meg

[@mysideofthemountain5563]

I am one of those people Jack, I followed your recipe to a tee and guess what ? My bread came out better than ever.

[@APKable]

Any tips on what to do when working with home milled wheat flour? It puffs up a bit, but is still denser. Leave it to rest any longer and it starts turning sour. I use yeast 2% of flour.

[@Unconventional_Investor]

Thanks I did all six things wrong.... sooo I guess Ill just keep trying and see if I can figure it out.

[@friedmule5403]

Great video with a lot of great info!! :-) May I please ask you why do we knead two times? First knead then let the dough puff up for 30 minutes, then knead again where you knead most of the air out and the first 30 min seems wasted then do you cut it out to maybe buns and then let it puff up all over again. Why not knead once and cut out and let it puff up and then in the oven? :-)

[@wesfree]

I noticed your "teasers" of forthcoming tuition concerning whole grain doughs... I've recently been experimenting with 100% whole grain dough. I'm applying the identical processes I use in my standard 20%/80 (whole grain:white bread) flour mix and obtaining fantastic results: oven spring, crust and taste are terrific with identical baking times. BUT. The only thing that is different is the "crumb" cell openings are not as random or large. The finished bread still has a wonderfully light texture and crusty crust. While only taste and texture really govern for me personally, others seem to prefer and demand the big "nooks and crannies". Many who like to spread "stuff" on bread slices enjoy being able to cram that stuff (mayo, preserves, mustard etc.) right into the crumb. Suffice to say I'm keen to see your examination of 100% whole grain doughs, especially if you address this issue of the crumb "openness". My gut is telling me to add one or two additional hours of "stretch and folds". Next, I'm going to try to increase the hydration rate in 5% increments to compensate for the extra "thirstiness" of whole grains. Overnight cold retard did not improve the outcome. Thanks for your enthusiasm! @wesfree

[@c00p3rm4n]

For a "normal" loaf (whatever that is!) I don't understand the attraction of the large random air pockets. Yes, they're "required" for baguettes, ciabatta, etc., but if one wants to make a sarnie big holes are a big pain. Personally I'm very happy to produce a light even crumb in a "sandwich" bread.

[@brucerussell893]

I recently made similar using 60/40 strong white to whole meal and got great result. Followed the #130 recipe, the dough puffed up great, the crust was crunchy, the bread was soft & springy plus it tasted superb. As said as well the air bubbles were very small which was a bonus for spreading butter/marg. hope it’s helps a little.

[@wesfree]

@@brucerussell893 I think you misunderstand ... I'm looking to make a bread with 100% whole grain. My previous standard loaf was 20/80 but I have particular reasons for wanting to use 100% whole meal, while also obtaining an open crumb to suit my friends' tastes.

[@ChristopherMerriman]

I would be interested to hear your recipe (though baking with 100% wholemeal is not practical during lockdown shortages!). I have had some success with 100% wholemeal rolls but loaves have always turned out too heavy for my liking. The recipe for the rolls involved low yeast quantity, a levain, and lots of time. Hence why I’m very interested in your secret for good 100% wholemeal without changing the times.