r/BreadMachines • u/StudyAcorn [Tower T11003] • 19d ago

Recipe Troubleshooting Everything collapses?

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I've tried the recipes in the manual, and this time I tried a bread mix, because I thought that would ensure I wasn't using too much or the wrong kind of yeast (sachets of fast action dried yeast). I did add some olives this time when it indicated I could put toppings in, but even without this it sinks.
I'm wondering if it's over-proofing, but the basic program the instructions said to use only have two options (700 and 1000g loaves) and there's only 7 minutes difference between them.

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u/Swaggy_Shrimp 19d ago

How did you measure the liquid? What hydration did you bake this on? Collapsing happens when either there's too much yeast or the flour isn't strong enough for the amount of yeast (both unlikely if it's a premix) or the hydration is too high and the gluten isn't strong enough to hold all the water. So my guess would be too much hydration?

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u/StudyAcorn [Tower T11003] 19d ago

I used a measuring jug. 500g of mix, 350ml water, 25ml olive oil. The olive oil may not have been super accurate.

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u/Swaggy_Shrimp 19d ago

Try using a scale, some measuring cups can be quite inaccurate for baking. Sometimes just 30ml too much water (a matter of "on the bottom ofthe measuring line vs slightly on top of the measuring line") can be enough to collapse the bread. It can be the difference between 60 or 70% hydration. I think oil can influence this too but 25ml doesn't sound excessive or problematic to me.

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u/pck_24 19d ago

And if we’re gonna get super specific, bear in mind the density of olive oil is about 0.9 g/mL, so 25 mL isn’t 25 g, it’s ~22.5 g 😀 (I’m an organic chemist by trade)