Troubleshooting baked breads

Low Volume

• Use of hot pans
• Improper mixing
• Excessive salt
• Excessive shortening
• Excessive milk
• Slack dough
• Old dough
• Under proofed
• Over mixing
• Insufficient yeast
• Wrong flour used (weak)
• Temp. in oven too high
• Not enough dough in pan

Too much volume

• Insufficient salt
• Too much dough in pan
• Oven too cool
• Overage dough
• Wrong flour use
• Improper molding
• Over proofing

Holes In Bread

(Some of the common causes of holes in bread)

• Old flour
• Old dough
• Cold oven
• High dough temp
• Excessive moisture in proofer
• Stiff dough
• Mixing in too high of speed
• Over proofing
• Excessive pan grease
• Use of hot pans
• Irregular flow of dusting flour
• Cool proof box temp

Poor texture

• Improper mixing
• Slack dough
• Temp in proof box too high
• Old dough
• Weak flour
• Over proofing
• Dough temp too high
• Oven temp too low
• Lack of shortening

Crust color too dark

• Excessive sugar
• Oven temp too high
• Dough taken too young
• Too much top heat
• High milk content

Crust color too light

• Use of soft water
• Dough is old
• Oven temp too low
• Insufficient sugar or malt
• Temp of dough too high during fermentation
• Dough allowed to crust
• Lack of humidity in proof box
• Product under baked

Crust blisters

• Condensation of steam in oven
• Too much top heat in oven
• Dough to slack
• Rough handling with pan at oven
• Improper mixing
• Careless molding
• Young dough
• Over proofing

Poor keeping qualities

• Improper absorption
• Over proofing
• Improper mixing
• Insufficient milk, malt or shortening
• Low sugar content
• Too high of dough temp
• Over bake
• Proof box temp too high
• Low oven temp
• Poor quality ingredients
• Under fermented dough
• Dough too old-young dough

Poor taste and flavor

• Poor quality ingredients
• Old dough
• Improper storage conditions
• Uncleanliness in bakery
• Dough temp too high
• Insufficient salt
• Improperly balanced formula

Gray crumb color

• Dough too slack
• Excessive salt
• Overproofed
• Too much malt
• Poor quality flour

Coarse grain

• Dough too slack
• Oven temp too low
• Use of hot pan
• Over proofing
• Dough too old
• Young dough