To chalon@Venus:
Gee , stuck here in the house during the tail end of Hurricane Bertha
gives me an opportunity to answer a lot of questions:)
I had several Dak machines, a deluxe Well Built ,
and now a Toastmaster and never had problems with
heat and humidity in the summer in my hot kitchen.My kitchen is the hottest
room in the summer and I had to open sky lights and put on the ceiling fan (
no a.c. ) But my bread in winter and summer are always consistent.
Here are my thoughts:
Most breadmakers have an internal controlled temperature environment but:
Somehow if your kitchen was sweltering , Id expect perhaps the bread to first
overrise and then collapse. what happens during the cycles as you peer
through the glass dome? this could give you the most direct clue! Maybe you
have had to add more water and or flour to the recipe.?.Btw, are you using
reg or rapid baking cycles?
1.since you said the dough quality was fine ( btw, flour
can absorb up to 25 times its weight in moisture and so the amount of liquid
added can readily change in a recipe) However since you
said the dough was fine thats probably not the factor.
Im assuming your dough quality:
should be a pliable ball slightly tacky and no dough
stuck on your finger when touched.
2. Temp of the water is most important . If too hot ( yeast over feeds, over
stretches and collapses ) If to cold ( it grows poorly ). so I suggest to
take a thermometer
temp reading of the water you put in the machine. temp should be 80
to 100 degrees for the water for bread machine.
3. You did say the yeast was fresh, but have you considered trying another
additional tsp to see if that makes any differece.You might try one of the
instant active yeasts which are more powerful in rising and I believe have
ascobic acid ( vit c ) added. SAF is one bread. Red star supposedly is
higher rising than Fleischmans. Maybe a switch is order.
4. additives like gluten flour, vitamin c help breads rise higher. Try
adding
them in a recipe.And " always use bread flour " for the recipes. Im assuming
you are.
5. anyway the puzzlement is why if you have had consistent breads in the
fall and winter, now in heat and humity you have poor small loaves ( egads,
3 inch high loaves !!! ) I wonder since you have the ac on the room is too
cold!!! as well as the ingredients? Ingredients should always be room temp (
70+ degrees or so ).
I hope I helped some. I never had problems with the Dak Welbuit or
Toastmaster. My breads only collapse if the water temp was to hot or the recipe
contained to much water or sugar ( overfeeds yeast ) or the dough was to wet
and moist initially. We all have flukes sometimes, but something is not
right in your kitchen. Your going to have to be a detective and watch your
bread through the stages in the dome and go from there; Good Luck!
Im sure other people will give you lots of suggestions too! dont give up as
wellbuilt is a good quality machine.
3. You said the ac was on. could it be that if your ingredients got to cold
( flour etc ) if they are stored in your kitchen
Joan,"Flour Power"
`[1;30;43mRainbow V 1.18.3 for Delphi - Registered