How to avoid shrinking bread loaf after baking?
I'm having a hard time making bread loaf at home. My breads after coming out of the oven always shrink. Here's the recipe I used:
320g flour (because I didn't have bread flour so I replaced with 315g all-purpose flour 11.5% + 6g gluten)
160g water
40g heavy cream
20g sugar
5g salt
5g instant yeast
30g unsalted butter
I baked in a pullman loaf pan 2.5 liters, 175°C 30 minutes. I tried to raise the temperature or bake longer, but in both cases, the bread crust was too thick and it still shrinked a bit at the side.
Can everyone share tips to avoid shrinking bread loaf after baking?
Edit: Here's the recent bread I made. It shrinks at the top, one side and a bit at the bottom
Best Answer
Looking at your method and recipe, a number of factors could be at play here. I have baked many loaves without the butter and cream in an open top bread tin, and have never experienced shrinkage, quite the opposite in fact.
First of all, the dairy components will lead to a much softer "Milk bread" consistency in comparison to a "Traditional" loaf. This will mean the texture is much lighter and more delicate, so when all the steam has evaporated from the bread, as it cools it will naturally shrink as it is not as rigid as traditional bread. Secondly, the bread is partially steamed being inside an enclosed Pullman tin. This will have a major influence on the texture and density as well.
What you want to achieve is for the bread to "Set" as quickly as possible, yet maintaining the delicate soft texture. In a commercial environment, this is done using flour improvers etc. You haven't mentioned how you prepared the dough, hand kneeding and using a food mixer will also have different impacts on the end result. Pre-rise time will also have an affect, as will using a pre-fermented poolish etc. All of these will affect the crumb size and texture to some degree though.
You could try removing the lid 5-10 minutes before taking the bread out the oven to let some of the steam to escape. I'd also be tempted to use full fat milk rather than heavy cream, as this may contributing to the shrinkage.
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Quick Answer about "How to avoid shrinking bread loaf after baking?"
#1 Reduce the water in the recipe Quickly made loaves generally prefer dryer doughs to avoid shrinkage. If your dough is too wet, lower the amount of water in the recipe next time. Baking for a little longer can also help solve the problem.What is the cause of shrinking dough?
When flour combines with liquid, proteins in it form elastic strands of gluten. The more you mix, the stronger and stretchier those strands become, causing tough, shrinking pastry. For light, crumbly pastry, handle the dough gently.Why does my bread collapse after proving?
Bread commonly collapses because it has overproofed. This means that the yeast has consumed all of the available sugars and starches in the dough and therefore can't continue to produce carbon dioxide. Without this continuous gas production, the dough will collapse.Why does my bread shrink after baking?
The reason for this is that the yeast in your bread has exhausted itself and does not have any more energy after you put it in the oven. Also, your bread dough has expanded too much and when you put it in the oven your dough cannot rise anymore because the yeast cannot produce any more gasses and it then collapses.Why does my bread sink in the middle after baking?
Baking temperature Some ovens run hotter than its settings, some cooler. If the oven is too hot the loaf will be brown and crispy on the outside but doughy in the middle and may collapse as it cools. When bread is baked at too low a temperature it will not rise enough in the oven resulting in a dense and sunken loaf.159: When your LOAF is STUCK in it's Tin. How to get it out! - Bake with Jack
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Answer 2
No, there is no way to prevent it from shrinking. It is one of the basic laws of physics - a spongy material filled with air/steam, both at almost 100°C, has larger volume than the same material at room temperature. Your bread will shrink, and that is absolutely normal.
If your bread is for some reason collapsing into a solid inedible mass, that's another thing, but it doesn't sound that this is what happens in your case.
Update: Now that you posted your picture, this is a very normal look for the style of bread you are making. I have had this loaf shape many times from professional bakeries. A sunken bread in need of action looks like this:
If you go for recipes which don't produce that look, you will also end up with a different texture both of crumb and crust, and especially the crust will have to be thicker and sturdier than now - which you state you don't want.
Answer 3
Maybe not a complete answer, but a hack ?
You could do the same technique that Panettone bakers have.
When the Panettone is removed from the oven, they turn it upside down to let them cool and let them keep their shape.
For example (Chef John's Panettone video)
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