Urgent bread help please!

[Dancergirl]

Have been making bread with dd3 this afternoon. I have the dough in my airing cupboard as directed on the recipe - it should be in there for an hour and it should double in size.

I have just checked (it's been in about 45 mins) and the b dough hasn't risen at all! So I doubt it's going to rise in the next 15 mins.

So what did I do wrong? It's possible I didn't add enough yeast (although I'm sure I did - 7g). Can yeast go off?

Can I still proceed even if it hasn't risen or will it be horrible?

Arrgghh!

Yeast can go off, but unlikely if younger the little sachets.

The only time I have had an epic fail is when I have added too much salt.

Yeast does go off yep - I normally have a tub of Doves Farm on the go and I do notice it rising less as I get toward the end. You can still cook and eat it, but it'll be a bit denser than you wanted/expected.

Thanks - made it anyway, turned out v nice! The dds liked them a lot.

Thank goodness for that - I had real dough rage earlier!

Must buy some more yeast!

If the flour is past its sell by date or has been open for over a month it can lose its ability to form the rising dough and the bread will not rise. If the airing cupboard is hot that will kill the yeast and again the bread will not rise. It isn't absolutely necessary to put it in an airing cupboard, a warm kitchen or windowsill is fine in the summer months. You have to be patient - you can't hurry a good loaf. Glad to hear it turned out right in the end.

Oh and another thing don't let the yeast come into contact with the salt when you first mix the dough because salt inhibits the action of the yeast.

If it's a bit sluggish, try giving it about 15secs in a microwave on defrost or lower.

The starting temperature of a bread dough should be about 35C from memory. Went on a couple of courses at the village bakery in Melmerby and they used temperature probes in the flour to check the temperature the water needed to be to get the dough at the right temperature when starting fermentation.

You needn't worry about getting too technical in measuring the temperature of your dough. 1/3 boiling water to 2/3 cold tap water should produce the right temperature. Unless your kitchen is very cold, you should be OK with that as the dough will start easily enough and will then generate some of its own heat as the yeast starts working.

Don't be too hide-bound about timings either. The important thing is that the dough doubles in size. In fact, if it takes longer, it will taste better.