7 common mistakes to avoid when baking bread with yeast

When you started baking bread at home, you possibly were imagining that first warm slice slathered with butter. What you might not have expected was a dense, underbaked brick that really didn’t match the picture on the recipe. The good news is that changing that outcome can be a matter of a few easy-to-fix mistakes made along the way.

Read on for 7 common mistakes to avoid when baking bread with yeast, and how to make sure your dough rises to the occasion every single time, or watch the video below.

1. Using Water That’s Too Hot

Yeast is a living thing, and just like us, it needs the right conditions to thrive and produce the gas that rises you dough. In a warmer environment, yeast will work more quickly to rise your dough. So some recipes may state ‘tepid water’ or ‘warm water’ to add to your bread dough. However, you shouldn’t be adding any water that’s hotter than your hand.

If you mix your dough with water that’s too hot, you risk killing the yeast before it ever gets the chance to do its job. Think comfortably warm bath, not scalding shower.

2. Forgetting to Check if Your Yeast Is Still Active

You had all the good intentions when you bought the yeast and flour to bake bread at home. But here you are, a few months later and finally having the chance to give baking a go. 

If that’s the case, then the first thing you’ll need to do is check that your dried yeast in the packet is still active. To do this, stir a little yeast into warm water with a pinch of sugar. Within 10 – 15 minutes, you should see bubbles forming on the surface. No bubbles? Time for new yeast. 

3. Letting the Dough Over-Prove

Yes you have long periods where you don’t actually do anything during bread baking. Instead, you just wait for your dough to rise. But wait too long and this can result in baking a brick.

If your dough rises too much, the yeast runs out of food and stops producing gas. Instead of rising, your dough begins to collapse. Bake this dough and you may end up with a heavy, dense loaf instead of the light, airy bread you hoped for. So keep an eye on your dough and when it has doubled in size, it’s time to move on to the next step in the recipe.

4. Not Giving the Dough Enough Time to Rise

That dream of the freshly baked loaf, ready to slice and eat with a thick scrape of butter, may mean that you try to rush through the steps. And this can be just as big a mistake as waiting too long. 

Your yeast need time to fill out your dough with gas, creating those microscopic pockets that create a light, airy final structure. So have patience and give the yeast time to work. You’ll certainly reap the rewards when your bread turns out just as you imagined. 

5. Inconsistent Process from One Bake to the Next

You finally mastered the perfect, light fluffy loaf, congrats! But then the next time you bake, it just doesn’t work at all. Keeping a consistent approach can help avoid this rollercoaster through bread baking.

Being consistent in your process doesn’t mean you never change anything. Instead, try keeping a bread journal and write down key parts such as the temperature, how long the dough took to rise and what type or brand of flour you used. You may need to adapt your recipe each time, for example if you bake on a very cold day.

Keeping a consistent approach and trying to only change one thing at a time will help you start to see patterns and learn what works best when baking bread in your own kitchen (and not just following the recipe to the letter!).

6. Using Too Much Yeast

You’re worried that your dough isn’t rising fast enough and so it seems like the best step is to add more yeast. More yeast means more gas to rise your dough, correct? Possibly, but adding too much yeast can give your final loaf an overpowering ‘yeasty’ flavour that may not be pleasant.

Plus, whilst more yeast does mean that more gas is produced, it may also mean that your dough rises too quickly (see above for why this also isn’t great for your final loaf). so read the recipe and stick to the amounts suggested when baking your loaf.

7. Struggling with Slow Rising in Cold Weather

Remember that yeast will work more quickly in warmer temperatures (up to a point!). On a chilly day, your dough may take longer to rise as the yeast slow down. This is totally normal and something to take into account on your bake day, especially when baking bread in the winter months. Otherwise, your dough may not be ready for shaping or baking in the time you usually leave.

To help, you could use tepid water, no hotter than your hand, in the dough. You could also place your dough somewhere a little warmer to rise, for example under your hob lights on the stovetop, or in the oven with just the oven light on. However, your dough will rise in the cooler temperatures, just a little more slowly.

Final Thoughts

Bread baking doesn’t have to feel like a gamble. Avoid these 7 common mistakes when baking bread with yeast at home and enjoy baking light, airy loaves that are a delight to share.

Time to get baking some delicious bread at home!