Why Is My Bread Collapsing Or Shrinking After Baking?
As a bread baker, you want to make sure that all your hard work is worth it. If you’re not aware of all the pitfalls, bread can easily collapse or shrink after it’s baked. These defects can be a negligible slight dimple to a giant crater! Either way, if there’s a way to avoid it, you’ll want to know how to prevent your bread collapsing or shrinking! So why does this happen? Well, first, let’s look at the overlying reasons for bread to collapse:
Bread collapses after baking due to moisture remaining in the crumb. As bread cools, moisture escapes causing the bread to shrink. As it is released from the crumb, water latches onto the crust, making it heavier. The crust is pulled down by gravity, and if the crumb structure isn’t strong, the crumb contracts. This leads to the crust collapsing or wrinkle lines appearing on the surface.
There are several reasons this could happen. The cause could be down to one single issue, but most likely, it’ll be a combination of small faults. Fixing collapsing bread may take a handful of test batches. Expect to be patient and keep tweaking, even if you don’t succeed at first!
Causes of bread collapsing after baking
There are seven things you should consider when fixing bread that is collapsing after baking. Cooling and shaping are important for any type of bread. But, depending on the bread being made, there are two main avenues to focus on.
For quickly made bread, a low-hydrated dough, plenty of kneading, and high-protein flour are important.
For longer-proofed artisan bread, give the dough plenty of time to ferment and master the baking temperature and duration.
Let’s look at these solutions in more detail. We’ll cover the reason for wrinkles in the crust afterwards, as they are semi-related.
#1 Reduce the water in the recipe
A strong gluten network is reliant on well-hydrated flour. If the dough has too much moisture, it can cause the crumb to contract as it cools. 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.
#2 Bake for longer
To make a dough structure less moist in an open crumb structure, instead of lowering the hydration of the dough, bake it for longer. Use my guide on the ideal oven temperature for bread to see the perfect solution. A loaf with a crisp, set crust is more resistant to caving in as it cools.
#3 Extend the fermentation time
An artisan loaf needs plenty of time for water to soak the gluten. Awarding the dough more time to rest or adding an autolyse step allows the gluten to relax and re-bond (into a robust structure), which reduces the time required to knead the dough to reach 100% gluten development. There will also be benefits from the increased amounts of organic acids and ethanol found in extended fermentation. This will strengthen the gluten and make the bread less resistant to collapse.
#4 Reduce the yeast/ more kneading
Bread can collapse if there is too much gas in a dough that is not mature enough. A weak gluten structure can create big irregular pockets of air through the crumb, sometimes called tunnelling. These are often found near the crust area, which can cause the crust to sink as it cools. Reduce the amount of yeast used and increase the rise time, or knead for longer to fix the problem.
#5 Switch the flour
A weak crust causes bread to collapse. A common dilemma if commercially baking is when a new batch of flour arrives. The new flour makes the dough behave differently and can lead to more shrinkage or the bread collapsing. The type of flour used is also a key contributor to the chewiness of a loaf.
A strong crust comes from a well-developed dough. To achieve this, flour with high-protein bread flour and kneading your dough well are essential.
Lowering the water in the recipe can prevent recurrences, as can adding vital gluten powder.
#6 Work on your shaping
To control the rise of bread, shaping has a major impact. Stretching the outer membrane to create tension will help a lot. This provides support for the dough as it rises. Poor shaping is especially prevalent in bread machines. Here, the bread often collapses as the dough is not shaped. To find out more about shaping, see my shaping and preshaping guide.
#7 The importance of cooling
As the bread cools, it needs to expel moisture from the crumb. It’s an important step in baking that is often not taken as seriously as it should. Moisture clings onto the starch particles on the outside edges of the crust as it exits the core of the cooling bread. This allows the starch to harden and burst, which contributes to making the crust crispy.
If the bread can’t escape from the edges because, say, the bread remains in the tin after baking or cooling loaves are lined up next to each other, we will have a problem!
As moisture can’t escape from the sides, it tries to force itself up through the weakest points on the top of the bread. This creates irregular patches of moisture which can lead to random craters on the surface of the bread or the loaf collapsing.
Further reading: How long to cool bread
Why does my bread wrinkle on the surface?
It’s common to see bread, particularly soft rolls wrinkling once cool. All bread shrinks as it cools, but it’s more noticeable in soft types of bread. Soft bread contains more moisture, so as it cools, the crust absorbs lots of water. This weighs down the crust which collapses as the bread shrinks to create wrinkles. Wrinkles are not easy to prevent.
To make soft and fluffy bread, we use high amounts of yeast alongside fast mixing. These accelerate the proofing time and retain moisture in the crumb. They are baked quickly, again to keep a moist crumb. The wrinkling issue occurs after baking when the rigid gluten structure allows moisture to escape upwards. The crust absorbs some of the escaping water, and as its weight increases, it contracts. This pulls the crust down and reveals wrinkles on the surface.
How to stop my soft rolls from wrinkling after baking?
The best solution to prevent wrinkle lines on your bread is to give the tray a hard bang on the table as they leave the oven. This sets the crumb and prevents wrinkles from appearing. You can also try using high-protein flour or baking for a longer time.
Should I cover the bread with a towel?
Covering the bread with a tea towel or similar during cooling is a popular way of softening bread. It works well for this purpose, but if you are finding wrinkles on the surface, you might prefer to let the bread cool for a bit before adding the tea towel.
Other causes of wrinkles include high humidity, high proofing temperature, too much fat, too much sugar or over-proofing.
Why do my cinnamon rolls shrink after baking?
The most common reason for shrinkage is that the dough was chilled before shaping. This will cause the butter to be too cold and stiff, which can lead to a denser dough that doesn’t rise as well. Ensure your buns are at room temperature when you shape them so they don’t get too dense or tight.
Another possible culprit is over-kneading the dough. This could produce an elastic dough that’s more suitable for bread. Firm doughs contract more as they cool, so that you will end up with shrinking buns. Try and aim for a light and fluffy cake batter texture when you make cinnamon buns.
No-knead bread collapses after baking?
This is likely due to a lack of gluten development, as the dough was not kneaded. To prevent this from occurring, place the dough in the fridge overnight. This will allow the gluten to develop in a compact network that doesn’t collapse after baking.
Why does baked bread sink in the middle?
If there is too much moisture in the bread after baking, or the bread is underbaked in the centre, it may collapse as it cools. Bake for longer, lowering the temperature of the oven if the crust browns before the middle is cooked through.
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Hi, I’m Gareth Busby, a baking coach, head baker and bread-baking fanatic! My aim is to use science, techniques and 15 years of baking experience to help you become a better baker.
Table of Contents
- Causes of bread collapsing after baking
- #1 Reduce the water in the recipe
- #2 Bake for longer
- #3 Extend the fermentation time
- #4 Reduce the yeast/ more kneading
- #5 Switch the flour
- #6 Work on your shaping
- #7 The importance of cooling
- Why does my bread wrinkle on the surface?
- How to stop my soft rolls from wrinkling after baking?
- Should I cover the bread with a towel?
- Why do my cinnamon rolls shrink after baking?
- No-knead bread collapses after baking?
- Why does baked bread sink in the middle?
I really enjoyed reading your very informative posts. I to am having the same issues as the others ( collapsed bread) but not every time. I am making a Keto type bread with:
INGREDIENTS:
DRY:
1-1/2 cups of vital wheat gluten,
2/3 cup ground flax seed,
1/2 cup oat fibre
1/2 tsp. Xanthan gum
4 Tbsp. Sweetener
1 tsp. Salt
INGREDIENTS:
WET:
1 cup water
2-1/4 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. Honey
2 eggs ( room temp)
2 Tbsp. Soft butter
Bake 325*C for 25-30 minutes.
I use my mixer to knead it for 7 minutes!
Any help would be appreciated.
It’s hard to give the best advice without trying out your recipe. It’s very rich in protein! You might find more consistent results if you make it quite a firm dough by reducing the water a little and increase the xantham gum slightly. I’m looking to eat a more keto-influenced diet, so I might give this recipe a go soon!
Really enjoyed this post, thanks!
I have used this recipe before with great results. It does have weights in grams listed so that is how I have been measuring.
It might be as you said the yeast is running out of sugars. The recipe calls for AP flour I was going to try again today with bread flour. I have proofed the yeast, I have used two different yeasts to make sure they were not the problem. I used a proofing box at 82 degrees.
I made another loaf (so 3 yesterday) and it turned out the same, when I took it out of the proofing box and before I got the lid on I saw that it shrank an inch. So all three loaves now have the same problem. I did use malt on this last loaf. I think it must be the flour. I will try bread flour this morning. If that doesn’t work I will try the egg. Thanks for your reply.
Good plan
I have had an odd problem in that my bread is shrinking while baking. I am making pullman loafs. Today I made two because the first one didn’t fill the pan and had a roundish top. The second one was almost even with the top of the pan when I put the lid on and baked it. It shrank even more than the first loaf being a good 1.5 inches shorter.
I am using a gas stove from the 40’s and it has a very good oven that heats up well and retains the heat. I have made a lot of bread in it without problems. I just can’t figure this out.
Yeah, that is an odd problem! I doubt it’s the oven. I’d say it could be either:
– The gluten is weak and collapsing
– The yeast is running out of sugars
Without seeing the bread it’s hard to know exactly, but this is my thought process for fixing it:
1- Is the dough kneaded properly? Does it pass the windowpane and feel strong at the end of mixing? If not, review how much you are kneading it and/or if you are using a stand mixer try kneading by hand.
2- Is the flour you are using high in protein? Pan bread prefers high-protein bread flour. If you don’t have any, you could use an egg in your dough (deduct some water from the recipe) to give a protein boost or vital wheat gluten.
3- Is the dough over-fermenting and running out of food? To fix this, decrease the first rise time (if doing so) or remove it completely, and/or add sugar or activated malt flour to the dough.
If you’ve tried these things, or don’t think they will fix it, send me some photos to the email address I have messaged you from and I’ll take a better look. It could be something else that’s more complex, but hopefully working through these steps will fix your shrinking bread!
Hi Gareth,
I am from Nigeria. I just started a Bread Bakery with a locally fabricated Oven. The Oven does not have a Temperature Gauge to monitor the Heat. The last two batches of my Production collapsed at both sides. The first set I baked got burnt please advise me on what to do.
Hi Stanley! Sounds like your temperature is too hot and the bread was not baked long enough. Maybe get an infrared thermometer so you can tell the temperature. You can also tell by dusting flour into the oven and timing how long it takes to burn (I’m unsure what results should be but aware of the practice).
Hi Gareth, im from Malaysia making brochie bun, i using 3kg high protein flour, 1.8L water and 31g yeast, and then i baked at 200°C for 15-20min. My problem is the wrinkles not came out on the spot. But after packaging and sealed, tomorrow i found out the top bun wrinkles. Should i reduce the water or the temperature too high??
Hi Razi, yeah you could try that. Wrinkles are quite likely in Malaysia as humidity is high. You could do what you suggest, also try cooling a bit longer before packing. It will take a bit of experimentation. See the steps Edel took above.
Hi Mamie! Most breadmakers won’t let you adjust the settings. You are best using the recipes provided with the machine and tweaking them to make them work for you. There is often a dough setting where you can use it for kneading and transfer the dough to proof and bake elsewhere.
If it’s collapsing then I suggest:
– Use slightly less water
– Use a higher protein flour, or add a little vital wheat gluten
– If collapsing before it bakes, reduce the yeast a little
Happy to help further if you wish.
Hi Gareth I’ve Just bought a bread maker my bread is awful 6 attempt so far . The last attempt wasn’t too bad but collasped in the middle please help
Reading the instructions
The bread maker is already set for a 2lb loaf
Does that mean I don’t have to adJust the controls. X
So I changed the flour to a higher protein content ,lowered the baking temperatur and increased the baking time . When they come out I still give it two good whacks and voila the soft burger buns are perfect. I am baking for a restaurant, not only they have to taste good but also look perfect.
Fantastic, thanks for letting me know 🙂
Thank you for all the tips and I will follow them until I get it right . I am baking soft burger buns and they always where perfect and lately the crust shrinks when cooling. I live in the tropics and the changing humidity may be an issue . I lowered the baking temp and increase the time and I will give it a good whack when taking them out from the oven.
Soft rolls and humidity is a very challenging combination, good luck!
I use a no knead recipe that typically works well. It’s very cold outside today (-3F) and my kitchen can be drafty. So I put the bread in the oven to rise (using only the heat from the lightbulb). It rose nicely, but when I took the bread out of the oven to pre-heat the oven, part of the loaf fell. I’m guessing this is from the cooler air in the kitchen. Can you offer any suggestions for successful bread baking on a cold day? Thank you!
Hi Marissa, wow that’s cold -ouch! A difference in temperature shouldn’t make the dough collapse, it’ll have most likely collapsed as it is overproofed by the time the oven warms up.
I’m not sure what type of bread you are making but I would use the oven with the light on again and take the bread out at 1/2 or 3/4’s proof height. The yeast will keep rising the bread for a while anyway. If this doesn’t work you’ll need to strengthen the gluten a little by adding more stretch and folds/kneading to build up strength
My white sandwich loaves always collapse on the sides. It looks like it sucked in. Never the crust. What could be the problem? I use 13″ pullman pans without lid. Tried kneading and baking longer. Added Gluten as well with no change.
Hi Neil, are you removing the loaves from the tins as soon as they come out of the oven? If not, you should.
Aside from this, there are a few things you can try, not knowing the recipe that you are following I’ll just list a few other options to consider:
– Reducing the water in the dough should help
– Add more salt perhaps? Aim for 2-2.2% to the weight of the flour
– It could be that the tin isn’t great at transferring heat to the sides of the bread in the oven. If you are not using a baking stone you’ll find that this will help. Sometimes it’s worth tipping the bread out of the tin and putting back in the oven for a few minutes to crispen up.
Does it collapse straight away or after it cools?
Hi,
I’m baking a filipino style brioche, my problem is some of the brioche collapse after baking and some don’t. It’s all the same batch.
What seems to be the problem?
Probably heat spots in the oven and cool areas resulting in some loaves being underbaked. You should identify where the oven the bread is cool and move your loaves around during the last 5-10 minutes of baking. You’ll likely find that you will need to extend the baking time a little to ensure they are all fully baked. Using a probe to temperature check the loaves have come up to temp may be useful.
Also, are you weighing your dough pieces when dividing? If not this could be a cause?
After baking, loaf looks perfect…I add melted butter to top crust after removing from pan, then wrap in plastic…sounds like I may be wrapping much too soon while bread is still warm??? It deflates a bit but tastes awesome..just want the high top crust…could this be my problem??? wrapping while too warm???
Hi Jeannie, yes it could be the problem. I’m not sure what you mean by high top crust but the crumb structure continues to form as the bread cools so it’s best to wait for it to cool before wrapping.
Awesome, let me know how you get on Greg.
Legend
I’m off to try less water and yeast
As I have been adding more
The bread looks amazing then a big hollow appears in the top
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed! Very useful info, specifically the last part 🙂 Thank you and good luck.