Any recipe from the UK will give the quantities by weight rather than cups - we don't really use cups in baking. I used to have similar problems to you, and I realised that it was because I wasn't leaving the dough to rise long enough. There wasn't really anywhere warm in my house to put it, and I'm impatient, so I kept baking it before it was ready. It doesn't sound like that's your problem though, so I'm not sure what's going wrong for you. How old is your yeast? If it's past its best then that could be the issue. I now have a breadmaker and while I don't like using it to actually bake the bread as it never comes out very well, I just use it on the dough setting and then bake it in the oven and every single thing I've made has worked really well. I put the ingredients in and switch on the dough setting, which is 90 minutes, then my machine will keep it warm for another hour if you leave it in there. I've had the best results by leaving it in for the extra hour, then shaping it into a loaf/rolls, leaving it to rise again for about an hour, then baking it. I also prefer to use the quick kind of yeast that you just mix straight into the flour rather than the stuff that has to be mixed and left to froth - I'm sure traditionalists out there will say it's not as good, but I find it much more reliable. I've had a lot of success with a basic recipe that can be adapted for larger or smaller quantities, and you can use it for a loaf or rolls - the recipe in my book for a small loaf is as follows: 180ml/6.5fl oz milk at room temperature 60ml/2fl oz water 20g/0.75oz butter 375g/13oz strong white bread flour 7.5ml/1.5tsp salt 10ml/2 tsp sugar 2.5ml/0.5tsp fast action dried yeast
If you're making the dough in a bread maker then just put in the ingredients in the order above and switch on the dough setting. If you're doing it by hand or with an electric mixer then put the dry ingredients in first. I've only used this recipe in the breadmaker so I'm not sure about timings if you do it by hand, but I'd guess a first rise of about an hour, then knock it back, shape it and give it another hour. If it still hasn't risen as much as you wanted, give it another hour. Bake at 200C/400F for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden and you get the hollow sound when you knock the base.
I used to have similar problems to you, and I realised that it was because I wasn't leaving the dough to rise long enough. There wasn't really anywhere warm in my house to put it, and I'm impatient, so I kept baking it before it was ready. It doesn't sound like that's your problem though, so I'm not sure what's going wrong for you. How old is your yeast? If it's past its best then that could be the issue.
I now have a breadmaker and while I don't like using it to actually bake the bread as it never comes out very well, I just use it on the dough setting and then bake it in the oven and every single thing I've made has worked really well. I put the ingredients in and switch on the dough setting, which is 90 minutes, then my machine will keep it warm for another hour if you leave it in there. I've had the best results by leaving it in for the extra hour, then shaping it into a loaf/rolls, leaving it to rise again for about an hour, then baking it. I also prefer to use the quick kind of yeast that you just mix straight into the flour rather than the stuff that has to be mixed and left to froth - I'm sure traditionalists out there will say it's not as good, but I find it much more reliable.
I've had a lot of success with a basic recipe that can be adapted for larger or smaller quantities, and you can use it for a loaf or rolls - the recipe in my book for a small loaf is as follows:
180ml/6.5fl oz milk at room temperature
60ml/2fl oz water
20g/0.75oz butter
375g/13oz strong white bread flour
7.5ml/1.5tsp salt
10ml/2 tsp sugar
2.5ml/0.5tsp fast action dried yeast
If you're making the dough in a bread maker then just put in the ingredients in the order above and switch on the dough setting. If you're doing it by hand or with an electric mixer then put the dry ingredients in first. I've only used this recipe in the breadmaker so I'm not sure about timings if you do it by hand, but I'd guess a first rise of about an hour, then knock it back, shape it and give it another hour. If it still hasn't risen as much as you wanted, give it another hour.
Bake at 200C/400F for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden and you get the hollow sound when you knock the base.
Good luck, I hope that helps!
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