I got some help here about a month ago with my low carb bread. I have worked out the recipe and it tastes perfect and its texture is the best I’ve ever made. The one problem I’m having is that the sides collapse in as soon as it starts to cool. When finished I take it out of the bread machine pan and put it on a rack. The top doesn’t sink. It’s texture is very soft on the inside with a fairly soft crust. At the bottom of the bread it is about 5 inches wide, but by half way up it narrows to 3 inches once cooled. It’s fully cooked and the top isn’t any more firm then the sides , but it only sinks in on the sides. Anybody have any ideas?
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Two things to try…
1: not proofing as long.
2: allowing the bread to cool more slowly by leaving it in the oven with the door cracked open a bit for 10-15 minutes before removing completely.
Otherwise very nice looking loaf.
That looks fantastic! Soft and airy. Congrats!
Smaller amount of dough might take care of the collapsing too.
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I will try once I finish this loaf. Thanks
@tc4all I know this may sound like a crazy suggestion, but have you considered laying your loaf of bread on its side on the cooling rack. Your loaf is gloriously tall and quite an accomplishment, I might add. However, simply the height and resulting weight of that wonderful bread tower might be the cause of the listing to one side.
I could be totally off-base but I’m married to a retired civil engineer for almost 48 years who specialized in bridges and highways. I think I learned a little bit about structures from him via osmosis! 
Laying the bread on its side is worth a try!
Blessings,
Leah
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I did lay it on its side last time which I think is why it leans. But I didn’t do it immediately. I started to see the sinking in of the sides and then put it on its side. Just a little more specificity which might ring a bell for you. The timer goes off and it says the bread is done. I go and take the pan out of the bread machine and immediately take the bread out of the pan and put it on a rack so it can cool evenly from. Top, bottom, and sides. The house is about 70 degrees. The bread once out of the pan immediately starts sinking in on the sides when it’s placed normally.
So it’s done in a bread machine in which case cooling slowly won’t be an option. I think in this case drop the hydration a bit and reduce the proofing too. It might need more structure and less height to stand up. You’re almost there just needs a little tweaking. Great crumb though.
@tc4all The only thing I can think of is to just place the loaf on its side immediately after removing it from the bread machine pan instead of trying to stand the bread upright. That may help keep it from collapsing in on those sides. The weight will be more evenly distributed when it’s still hot, possibly allowing it to cool without collapsing.
Not knowing how your bread machine operates (they’re all different and mine is almost 30 years old) if you feel your crust is too soft to be able to hold up the bread, you might try adjusting the crust setting to be a little more baked, if your machine has a crust setting. That would make the crust a bit thicker and firmer. It could help hold up the bread better. It’s just a thought I had. My bread machine is quite old. The pan is round. The machine itself looks a bit like R2D2 from Star Wars. I guess that’s why I named it that!
Blessings,
Leah
I’ve been having a look for you for a possible cause and answer. Turns out the most likely cause is the size of the dough for the pan and rising too much so it doesn’t have the support. As it cools the unsupported overly risen dough shrinks and you get the hourglass effect. So it’s not hydration per se (you’ll be pleased to know you can keep the hydration) but a stronger dough (so in a way the hydration could have played a part but only because a lower hydration dough will support itself better) which isn’t overly risen and the pan being filled correctly.
Try filling the pan more and proofing a bit less.
Will try next week. Thanks.
Do you mean there should be more do in the pan?
It can stay on warm in the machine rather than taking it out immediately and putting it on a rack.
I use a Zojirushi bread machine, so everything is adjustable except temperature. Number of times the dough Rises, how long the rise is, how long it bakes, Etc. If that helps anybody with the suggestion let me know. I really appreciate all this help.
Not in a bread machine where it should be taken out asap or itll steam itself and become soggy. I thought you were baking in an oven where you can take the loaf out the pan and carry on baking for a nice all over crust.
Yes, fill the pan a bit more for more support and proof a bit less. Apparently this happens when there isnt enough dough and its risen to much so the bread buckles.
Thank you, that sounds very logical. Excuse my ignorance here but are you talkin about proofing the yeast or the dough? With a machine, the yeast is simply put on top of the dry ingredients, never getting wet. If you’re talking about proofing as in the final rise I can totally adjust that amount of time. I could also reduce the amount of yeast.
Very difficult for me to say. Since I do everything by hand and watch the dough can’t advise how to exactly approach doing this in a machine.
Try changing one thing at a time. Changing too much at once won’t pinpoint where it’s going wrong. How about a bit more dough for now. Bake when it has a nice dome and it’s just cresting the top.
To get a good idea of how much dough is needed have a look at the recipes that come with the machines manual. A good starting point. See also the recommended amount of yeast and settings. Always good to build your own recipes around theirs.
See how it goes and take it from there.
Thanks, next week’s bake.
I finally got to work on my loaf of bread again. I was trying to convert my small loaf recipe to a larger loaf recipe. I think that’s going to take some work. If anybody has any hints about that I’d be appreciative. The one question I do have is this. The bread came out very well and did not cave in. I added one teaspoon of sunflower lecithin. It appears that may have done the trick. So now my bread doesn’t cave in and the crumb is very good. I used liquid lecithin. Everything was perfect except it’s a touch too moist. It’s not dense, so how do I reduce that moisture. I’m thinking it’s because of the lecithin and that with the addition of that I should cut back on the oil. Does that make sense?
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Really glad you’ve managed to sort the issue out. As for the lecithin I can’t help you because I don’t use it. For converting the size of a loaf while keeping the same ratio here is a formula…
New Weight / Old Weight. Then multiply each ingredient by that answer
For example…
- 500g flour
- 300g water
- 10g salt
- 7g yeast
Total = 817g
Now let’s say you want a 950g loaf. So…
950 / 817 = 1.16279
500g flour x 1.16279 = 581.4g
300g water x 1.16279 = 348.8g
10g salt x 1.16279 = 11.6g
7g yeast x 1.16279 = 8.1g
So your new recipe is:
- 581g flour
- 349g water
- 12g salt
- 8g yeast
Total = 950g
If you have a scale that can measure yeast or salt really accurately, then even better. If not then rounding to the nearest whole number is fine.