My first attempt at making bread.... what happened???

[funnybirds]

Looks like it just didnt rise, which is either bad yeast or a cool kitchen. Did you have in in a warm place during the hour wait? Sometimes it can take significantly longer if the yeast is tired or cool.
Stick with it! Home made bread is totally worth the effort. (And super easy once you iron out the wrinkles!)
I've never had any real luck with boxed bread mixes either...

 

[Muggsmagee]

This is my specialty. I'm from a LONG line of bakers.

The question begs to be asked...what was the bread mix you used?

If you had a packet of yeast...chances are it was heat sealed which kills more than 1/2 of the yeast before you start. I buy yeast in 1lb bags that are vacuum sealed and I store them in my freezer after I open them. The reason you proof (like other posters mentioned) is to "prove" the yeast is working. My method is to fill a bowl with 1/2 cup of HOT tap water (or part of what the recipe calls for), then I add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. By the time the sugar is dissolved, the water is still warm, but cool enough to add the yeast. And like another poster mentioned using buttermilk (love it), I use whole milk in my recipes. Milk gives it great texture/flavor but also the proteins in it help to give your bread a longer shelf life!

Oh the variables you may face...

Where you live...above or below sea level can play into the equation. How humid it is outside (rainy days especially) can alter your bread. You said the dough was sticky...so my thinking is you could have used a bit more flour when you kneeded the dough. Unless it is a french bread which can be sticky and slack, your bread likely had too much moisture from the start. However, that will not necessarrily affect the rising.

While I can agree with another poster about giving your yeast bread dough a warm and comfy environment to rise, you can rise dough in the refrigerator just fine. It merely takes longer but you will end up with better flavor. It won't affect the yeast...just the time to rise. Depending on what time frame I am working with, I tend to turn my oven on to 225 and set my bowl of dough on the cooktop above it to rise. That is an efficient way to speed things along.

Also, if you continue to bake with yeast, your breads can improve over time. The yeast can live for a while in the air and help your next batch of bread. (Often times people who make beer at home, have terrific bread because the yeasts "mingle", and vise versa.)

Okay...questions. Did you give it adequate time to rise? Did the dough double in size? Did you let it rise a bit in the pan before putting it in the oven?

Also, I'm a flour snob and will use nothing but King Arthur Flour. It's more expensive, but sooo worth it. IMO. Whatever you do...DON'T give up. It takes a bit of practice to get the feel of it. If you want a simple "starter" recipe, inbox me. You can add all the variations you want to make it different every time! I have taught several of my friends how to bake bread...it is one of life's luxuries and is therapeutic when you zone out kneeding. When you do double and triple batches it can work out your muscles too!

 

[kla37]

Get a bread machine! It's Christmas! We use ours at least 3 X a week.

 

[Muggsmagee]

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Good call!

Bread machines have their place too!

It's not cheating, you can still call it homemade bread. (Zojirushi makes a few good models.) I personally like the kneading part by hand and free forming my loaves.

 

[kla37]

Zojirushi is the brand we have, and it's awesome. We make fresh jam every week from the berries stored in the deep freeze too. The kids like all the different kinds of bread we can make, and they hate "store" bread. Also have the Zojirushi rice cooker, and we love rice porridge for breakfast. (the chickens like it too.)

 

[Muggsmagee]

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Mmmm...rice porridge. Nothing beats homemade bread...nothing. My kids won't eat the crust off of store bought bread...but on homemade it is the first thing to be eaten! The only bread I regret making...peanut butter with chocolate chip for some of my friends...it was supposed to be yummy and sweet...but stayed doughy in the center after baking.

That was over 14 years ago...almost half of my life and I will never do that again. Guh-ROSS!

After going through this thread...I feel like baking something!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

If you want an easy beginning bread, try making beer bread! It's super easy because the yeast comes from the beer and it tastes great. I use a porter in mine. Let me know if you'd like a recipe.

 

[Judy]

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The "sit for an hour" was the proofing, but it's interesting they said an hour, it usually takes 5 or 10 minutes. That's the problem with mixes for yeast bread: after about 10 minutes I would have tossed the yeast mixture and gotten out some more yeast.

Sticky = needs more flour (sometimes a lot; varies with the flour, humidity, probably other factors) though some breads are designed to stay a little sticky.

I don't have and don't want a bread machine. That's what the Kitchenaid is for, along with a lot of other uses, of course. My sister had 3 or 4 bread machines; she would start them then leave, and they would walk themselves off the counter and break.

 

[Muggsmagee]

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The "sit for an hour" was the proofing, but it's interesting they said an hour, it usually takes 5 or 10 minutes. That's the problem with mixes for yeast bread: after about 10 minutes I would have tossed the yeast mixture and gotten out some more yeast.

Sticky = needs more flour (sometimes a lot; varies with the flour, humidity, probably other factors) though some breads are designed to stay a little sticky.

I don't have and don't want a bread machine. That's what the Kitchenaid is for, along with a lot of other uses, of course. My sister had 3 or 4 bread machines; she would start them then leave, and they would walk themselves off the counter and break.

Whoops! I can see that happening. But it could happen with a stand mixer too. Mine almost did with a double batch of cookie dough. I currently don't use a bread mixer...just my big ole' spoon and my hands for kneading. I must say, though, if you ever found yourself with a gift of a quality bread machine in your lap...don't turn your nose at it. Truly, there is a place for them. We had a test kitchen that had 8 Zo's going at once. It was magic and the aromas...heaven! There are some bread machine bread mixes that are fool proof and taste divine.

Edited for typo...it bothered me.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

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I mixed the yeast water and bread and put it in that pan and let it sit in my room temperature kitchen on the counter with a towel over it for over an hour... It raised (rised)? a little bit but definitely did not double in size.


I really want to learn how to make bread without a machine, but as Muggsmagee suggested if one plops in my lap I won't turn it down!