I’m so sorry.
Not necessarily. Could be stale yeast (did you test it? Put a tsp. in lukewarm water with a tsp. of sugar, and wait 5-10 minutes; if it’s not foamy, buy new yeast), a cold kitchen (try putting the dough, not in the bread maker, in a warm spot), ingredients with insufficient gluten (if using rye or whole wheat flour, you need to add more high-gluten flour or some vital wheat gluten – ask for xiao3mai4 dan4bai2 and add 1-2 Tbsp.), etc., as others have noted, or more than one of these factors in combination.
Another possibility is that you’ve made the dough too dry, which slows rise time. Dough should (depending on the recipe) often retain a slight tackiness or even stickiness after the first mixing. Good recipes indicate this, and adjustment is often required. One common cause is shoving a measuring scoop into the flour, which compacts the flour significantly, resulting in too much flour, thus inadequate hydration levels (dry dough). Scoop your flour using a spoon, then dump this into your measureing cup, then level it with a knife, horizontally, without compacting the flour. Better yet, switch to recipes that go by weight, and get yourself a small scale.
Not using a bread machine gives one the flexibility to time the punch-down, shaping, baking etc. according to the behavior of the dough rather than according to a dumb, preset timer. This is one of the reasons I advise people to just bake without a bread machine.
[quote] Even in the dough cycle I noticed the the bread isn’t rising as much as it did. Does the bread machine use the heating element during dough cycle?
- If that is the case, would taking it out of the bread machine after the first needing cycle stops and placing the dough in a glass bowl covered by a warm towel right way instead of waiting for the completion of the dough cycle?[/quote]
Yeah, try that, but a warm towel won’t contain enough heat or keep it warm long enough; try doing that atop or near a warm item like a heater, hot pad, etc. or in an oven warmed to 35 C, but watch to be sure it doesn’t overheat.
Also, your recipe called for slightly warm water. If you dip a finger in, it will be slightly warm, just barely warmer than body temp, and not hot. That won’t kill your yeast, but as I say, you should proof the yeast IN the water, with the sugar if any, and you’ll see for yourself if it’s active (foaming after 5-10 min.).
I like the IY (instant yeast, e.g. “SAF” brand) in the big foil packs from DIY baking supply shops more than the ADY (Active Dry Yeast) in the little bottles at supermarkets, by the way. Try it; be sure to store it in the fridge after opening it, and keep it in an airtight container; use within a year or so. You can reduce the amount about 20-25% if you use IY, and you can mix it straight into the dough without the proofing step for all but the driest doughs. You’ll save $ in the long run, and results are more consistent, in my experience.
