What's Cooking?
music83lover2001
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Cardamom bread recipe take two
Okay, I made it to the point where it was supposed to rise. Granted, I have another 15-20 minutes to go, but I peeked at the dough and it hasn't gotten even a little bigger. I would imagine that I should toss the big ball of dough if it doesn't rise or should I just try baking it anyway?
Re: Cardamom bread recipe take two
How warm is your kitchen? The dough will rise faster if it's warm, slower if it's cool. If it doesn't look like it's expanded in size in the time the recipe recommends, you can always let it rise longer. Sometimes if it's really cold in my kitchen, I turn the oven on (to pre-heat) and set the bowl on top of the warm oven to rise...
Even if it doesn't rise as much as you think it should, it's worth a shot to try baking it. I'd rather bake it, and THEN toss it if it comes out a hard, flat brick, than just toss it without even trying!
Thanks for the advice. I just turned on my oven and put the bowl with the dough inside on top. I will see what happens.
I kinda though it would at least be worth a try to bake it. I am feeling rather disheartened with my attempts in the kitchen lately. I made some Margarita cupcakes that didn't turn out (heavy and lumpy) and now this isn't looking good. I won't be able to show my face in Williams Sonoma and will have to turn in my KA stand mixer if I keep this up.
LOL
I wonder if you might be overmixing? That might explain both the lack of rising and the heavy/dense cupcakes? I'm not a baking expert by any means though... maybe someone else will have some suggestions.
Good luck and hang in there!
It is possible that I overmixed the bread and maybe the cupcakes, but I made a couple other things (some muffins and other cupcakes) and they turned out light and fluffy.
Thanks. I will try.
When you made the dough, do you proof the yeast first (mix it with warm water/milk and let it sit for 5-15 minutes)? Or does it get mixed right into the dough? If you proofed it, did it get foamy while proofing? If your liquid is too hot, you might have killed the yeast. No warmer than 110* for proofing (if the yeast gets mixed directly in with the flour, and then the liquid gets added to that, it can be a touch hotter, but not much).
How old is your yeast? If it has been sitting around for a while, it might have died.
Otherwise, just give it another half hour or so to see if it rises more.
I didn't proof it, or at least not all the way. I checked the temperature of the warm water and milk, according to my recipe, but I didn't let it sit for that long. It got a bit foamy, but not a lot.
I just bought the yeast about a month or month and a half ago. Is that too long? The date on the package indicated it would be fine until sometime in July.
I let it rise for quite a while. After not seeing much progress, I divided it and finished making it according to the recipe. It is in the oven now and seems to be baking ok. I guess we will see what it is like when it is done.
ETA: I baked it and it rose quite a bit in the oven as it was baking. It turned out ok, though not as good as when one of my Grandma's friends would bring us her homemade cardamom bread. She has since died and I never got the recipe or get any tips or secrets of how she made it. It was incredible, though! Next time, I will add more cardamom and sugar, I think. I also need to get better at braiding, but for my first time it wasn't too bad.
I made 3 loaves and would like to freeze at least one. How long can I freeze it and how do I wrap it up to keep it from getting frost burn?