Bread question: What am I doing wrong?!
Whenever I make bread (normal white or "Italian" bread), it fails to rise the second time. After thoroughly kneading, I put it in a Pyrex bowl and cover it with a cotton cloth and leave it on the stove to rise for about two hours or so. It rises just beautifully. Occasionally, a recipe or two will tell me to punch the dough down once and then let it rise again. It does so. Then, as per most recipes I've been using, I transfer the dough into greased bread pans, cover, and wait for it to rise again. It doesn't. Without fail, it NEVER RISES AGAIN. So I get this dense, puny loaf with a hard-as-nails crust.
What the hell am I doing wrong? It's heartbreaking. And infuriating. If the bread didn't rise at ALL I'd assume my yeast was bad or the water wasn't warm enough or SOMETHING. But it does rise at first. And then it doesn't rise again. Should I skip the step of letting it rise in the baking dish and just let it rise in the bread pan? But then it gets all out of shape.
I'm so frustrated. Gah!
What the hell am I doing wrong? It's heartbreaking. And infuriating. If the bread didn't rise at ALL I'd assume my yeast was bad or the water wasn't warm enough or SOMETHING. But it does rise at first. And then it doesn't rise again. Should I skip the step of letting it rise in the baking dish and just let it rise in the bread pan? But then it gets all out of shape.
I'm so frustrated. Gah!