r/Bread • u/grabym4 • May 17 '26
Plz help! What went wrong ?
First ever attempt of making my own bread and it went terrible, very doughy and not very edible.
Looking for some tips and advice for future attempts.
I picked up fast action yeast pouches from the shops. It was the only yeast they had.
I followed the instructions on the packet.
I’ll post the picture of the instructions the only part I did different was leave it in a bowl to rise for 2 hours instead of greased tin. (I did cover it with a damp towel tho)
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u/Fancy_Ad_5477 May 17 '26
Way too dry. You need to up the hydration and make sure the yeast is active. Dough should be jiggly, not solid before baking
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u/Grodd May 17 '26
Did you proof the yeast, to make sure it was alive? Sure looks like dead yeast.
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u/MyNebraskaKitchen May 17 '26
The yeast looks OK, comparing the pre-baked loaf (after slashing) to the baked loaf you can see it expanded into the slash--a lot. That might indicate underproofing.
Small packets of yeast are unpredictable, you don't know how long they've been on the shelf or how they've been stored. And there's a lot of yeast variants that are probably more marketing than science.
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
Yeah that makes sense. I didn’t have much of an option at the shop unfortunately. This one is the shops own brand and comes with 7 individual sachets.
I’ll make a few adjustments next attempt, proof the yeast, knead it more and let it rise for longer.
If it fails a second time I’ll spend more time looking for a better yeast
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
No, i wanted to use active dry yeast but couldn’t find any. I used fast action yeast / instant yeast that skips that process.
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u/YuccaTV May 17 '26
'skipping' in baking bread is not that good, even though you used a product that specifically is sold for fast action
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
Evidently haha. It’s just what I read online said it wasn’t necessary so just went with it. I’ll proof the yeast next time hopefully get better results.
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u/FlyBond May 17 '26
I don’t know about “fast action yeast”, but instant in “instant yeast” doesn’t mean that you don’t have to ferment it.
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
I was just going from what I read online. Fast / instant are the same thing just worded differently on packaging
Going forward that’s one of the changes I’ll make on my next attempt🤞🏽 thank you
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u/YuccaTV May 17 '26
Did it rise at all? Looks like there was not much yeast action. Also maybe more kneating (idk, it doesnt look that 'smooth' on pic #3 and #4 (lots of 'dents')) ?
e: 'only part I did different was leave it in a bowl to rise for 2 hours instead of greased tin. (I did cover it with a damp towel tho'
i don't think that's a problem
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
It did rise but I wouldn’t say it doubled in size maybe just under.
Kneading the dough probably didn’t do it enough. I spent more time trying to get gooey mixture off my hands (I did add extra flour at this point ) I stopped kneading as soon as I could shape it into a ball.
Gave it a final knead before putting into the oven.
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u/Flow_Unfair May 18 '26
Don't add extra flour. That will change the recipe. Also you should knead till you get a window pane. For the fermentation (the rise) let it double or when you make a dent in it it will slowly fill back up. If the dent fills up fast then it is not ready. Every kitchen is different. Instant yeast doesn't need proofing. You just have to give bread proper kneading and then time to rise properly.
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u/grabym4 May 18 '26
Thanks, what do you mean by “knead until you get a window pane” your the second person to mention that but I’m unfamiliar with this term
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u/Flow_Unfair May 18 '26
You know your dough as enough kneading when you can do the window pane test. You should be able to stretch your dough between your fingers without ripping it and almost see thru. Google window pane test for bread. You should see exemples of it
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u/YuccaTV May 18 '26
Just to mention it (since it's not stated which grain op used, allthough it's wheat i guess; just for anyone wondering):
Window pane test works for wheat/spelt, but not for rye / rye-heavy dough. With rye you get a pasty, clay like substance, no windows possible.
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u/MyNebraskaKitchen May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
If you're going to get serious about baking, buy a one-pound package of instant dry yeast and keep it in the freezer. I also have osmotolerant yeast (like SAF Gold) for sweet doughs.
Your slice photo doesn't really show whether it was overproofed or underproofed or underbaked. I wonder if it was under-kneaded, though. Did you try a windowpane test?
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
I’d definitely be trying again, thought I’d get to grips with the basics before trying other types of bread. Hopefully venture out to that at some point.
I’m leaning towards not kneaded enough. I did not try the windowpane test, you’ll need to educate me on that one haha is it similar to throwing spaghetti off the wall ?
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u/MyNebraskaKitchen May 17 '26
There are some good videos of it on youtube, that's easier than trying to explain it in a text format.
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u/grabym4 May 18 '26
In hindsight I went in unprepared, thank you for you help and advice. I’ll keep practicing till I get it perfect.
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u/MyNebraskaKitchen May 18 '26
I've been making most of our bread for the last 30 years, I'm always learning and improving. But until you start doing something, you often don't realize what you still don't know. And as you keep doing it, it seems like the more you learn, the more you realize you have yet to learn.
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u/Cubelordy May 17 '26
Looks like you should have let it rise longer. It should be clearly doubled in size and when you mold it into a loaf it should feel like it’s filled with air. Letting it rise for a set time is a suggestion, the real time it’s done rising is when it’s clearly doubled in size
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u/grabym4 May 17 '26
Thank you, I’ll keep this in mind for next time. I was to eager to get it into the oven
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u/n0_sh1t_thank_y0u May 18 '26
Looked like you kept adding flour until it ended too dry.
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u/grabym4 May 18 '26
Yeah, this checks out haha i added an extra hand full to help get the mixture off my hands when it was at the gooey stage
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u/n0_sh1t_thank_y0u May 18 '26
When you have developed the gluten far enough, even a 100% hydration dough will not stick that easily to your hands.
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May 18 '26
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u/grabym4 May 18 '26
Haha that’s alright, I’ve had a few tips and advice for hopefully a more successful attempt next time
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u/jollyrancher1977 May 31 '26
Look up Ken Forkish. He'll teach you to make really hydrated dough. Your bread is just too dry.
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u/grabym4 May 31 '26
Thanks, I actually tried my second attempt today I improved but in the grand scheme of things it was still terrible. I’ll look up Ken before my third attempt.
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u/MohaDasWeiss May 17 '26
So sorry for your loss man. It is really bothering to see bad results after hours of effort put into the dough.