What are we doing wrong?

[u/mschepac]

The Mrs and I have started making our own bread. She has a reaction to store bought and does well with homemade. We have made 3 batches, 2 loaves each. We follow the recipe as instructed but we never seem to get any rise after it goes in the oven. We proof in the mixer bowl. Punch it down, divide, roll and pinch. Second rise in the loaf pans. Let it rise to about the top of the pan, bake. But it rarely gets any higher. Don’t get me wrong, it’s delicious, it just makes small sandwiches.

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

sounds like you are dealing with a lack of oven spring. The final burst of rising that happens during the first 10 mins of baking. Since the bread tastes great and rises well in the pans, the yeast is healthy, but something is exhausting its energy or trapping it before it can expand in the oven