Bread Came Out Really Bad? What Did I Do Wrong?

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

So this is my second time making bread with this recipe: http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/11/04/homemade-bread-cheap-delicious-healthy-and-easier-than-you-think/
The first time I made bread with this recipe it turned out well after two tries. Anyway, today I was making bread with this recipe and I did everthing I was suppose to do. The back of the yeast packet says, "Add 1/4 cup of water and 1 teaspoon of sugar" which I did. I ended up mixing all of the ingredients in a bowl (as the recipe says to do) and before I added the flour I started mixing the ingredients together and I noticed little clumps in it (almost like butter...) So I continued mixing and squished as many clumps as I could then I added the flower. It became VERY crumby and so I added a little bit of water. It worked and allowed me to continue. I continued making it and started to notice that it wasn't rising as I remembered my first batch rising. I still continued and when I took it out of the oven it didn't rise much at all! It came out pretty small/bad. Do you guys know where I could have gone wrong?

 

[TrystInn]

How fresh/old are your flour and yeast? When they get stale, they tend not to rise.

Also, if your kitchen is too cold, the loaves won't rise. The kitchen should be room temperature.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
The kitchen wasn't cold, it was comfortable. And the yeast isn't old, as it has an expire date of April 2013. I don't think the flour was old either. I bought it a couple months ago, so it shouldn't be.

Thank You for your input though. I appriciate it.

EDIT: Do you think that it could have been the butter? Would that be why there where clumps while I was mixing it? I did put the butter in the microwave to melt it though. So it shouldn't be.

 

[caspernc]

I do bake alot of bread.....sometimes yeast is bad (or slow) even if its not out of date but not handled in the right manner. Do you allow the yeast to start to bubble in the sugar water before you add anythng else? Ad the salt almost last as it can slow the yeast. Yeast needs to feed on the sugar for about 10 minutes in some room temp warmish water or milk and get all foamy, then I add my eggs and butter then start my flour and with the second addition of flour I have my salt in it, but I have forgotten the salt and really didn't miss it. But I use salted butter so maybe that makes up for it. ALWAYS knead your bread in the same direction. It does make a differance. I let my bread rise on the stove top with the oven on and a damp towel over it with ceran wrap loosly over that.

 

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

Quote:
I do let my yeast sit for 10 minutes with the sugar and the warm water added to it. The recipe doesn't call for eggs. What recipe do you use?

 

[caspernc]

I add one egg for rolls (sometimes two

) and three eggs for cinnimon rolls. 1/2 cup sugar for rolls and 3/4 to a whole cup of sugar for anything sweet, like raisen bread or cinnimon rolls. Only do the cinnimon rolls for holidays. Just too fattening!!!!!

 

[BettyR]

If you use instant yeast you can add it with the dry ingredients. The only reason for the bread not to rise is that the yeast was not alive. Even a batter with absolutely no gluten development will rise if the yeast is alive and kicking. It won't hold together but it will rise. Most new bakers run into trouble with the yeast. If the yeast comes into direct contact with a small amount of water and then either direct contact with salt or even sugar outside of a solution it will kill the yeast. If you use instant yeast and add it with your flour then you don't have to worry about that.

 

[kesali]

I bake a lot of bread, but use a bread machine!!

Comes out perfect every time! But, then, what do you expect from a guy who isn't into that whole "kneading" thing?

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
A man after my own heart!! I use a bread machine to do the mixing and kneading but I bake in the oven. I make enough bread at one time to last us the week so the machine will knead it but if I tried to bake it in the machine it would look like an old I Love Lucy re-run.

 

[Yonaton]

Quote:
A man after my own heart!! I use a bread machine to do the mixing and kneading but I bake in the oven. I make enough bread at one time to last us the week so the machine will knead it but if I tried to bake it in the machine it would look like an old I Love Lucy re-run.

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww88/TheChickenLady/StepsforHoneyWheatBread024.jpg

http://i708.photobucket.com/albums/ww88/TheChickenLady/StepsforHoneyWheatBread004-1.jpg

Oh, Miss betty! Do you have a twin sister I can marry?! I love fresh bread. I think Pavlov would have been proud of me and my reaction to home baked bread! I'd sell a kidney to have someone cook me up a good home-made meal like in those pictures of yours (and in some of your recipes, like the gumbos...and I can't stand vegetables! lol).

I think I'll just go cry now and dream and tomorrow try and be happy with my nice, plain, simple bacon and eggs for breakfast...at least cooked in an iron skillet, lol.