Regarding Grace's comments about humidity and the ABM--
I live in Central PA, and it is very humid here (I would say just as
humid as it is in south Georgia, where I came from). We're right in a
valley and summer is hazy, hot, and humid. But the funny thing is, my
bread rises like crazy in this weather. Sometimes I do cut back a
little on the fluids in the recipe, because the dough seems to pick up a
lot of humidity from the air, but all summer I get loaves that rise up
and stick to the inside of the lid of the machine (and I'm talking about
a 2 lb. Panasonic here). Last fall, when the weather got cool, I had a
hard time because my bread quit rising so much. I had to fiddle with
the liquid content as well as the temperature of the ingredients to get
it to reach the top of the pan.
I don't have AC or fans in the kitchen so it gets pretty warm in there.
I have found that dough rises better than it does in winter when it's
cold. Grace, maybe your dough is rising too much, too fast? And then
falling before it can bake. Maybe if you decrease the liquid a little
bit, or use cold ingredients instead of warm/room temp, or maybe bake on
a faster cycle, the dough will bake before it has a chance to fall.
Good luck!
Susie Milner Speak softly, drive a Sherman tank;
Penn State University Laugh hard, it's a long way to the bank.
SXM20@psuvm.psu.edu --TMBG