Recipe & Video Garlic & Scallions Cheese Bread

mjd said:
I found this online...



I did wonder if I let it rise enough because it didn't have a visible difference. I'm going to try again today.
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Yes, I'd say it didn't rise properly and that's the trouble.

What type of yeast did you use? "Dry yeast" could be interpreted as "active dry yeast" or "instant yeast" (sometimes labeled as rapid rise yeast, fast yeast, or bread machine yeast). Sometimes, you can get away with using them interchangeably, but sometimes, depending on other factors, not so much.

Also, is the place you let the dough rise fairly cold? Dough won't rise in the normally-allotted time in my kitchen, for example, because in the winter, it's about 60F in there at best. It'll rise, but it takes forever. I usually move it to a smaller room and put a space heater on it in the winter.

The trick with rising dough is, the time given is just a guideline. If the dough is supposed to rise, and it hasn't risen, then it's not ready.

Let me know what type of dried yeast you used, and that's probably the issue.
 
TastyReuben, I put it on top of the stove while the oven was hot (was making something else) and we are not allowed to turn off our heat in the winter months to prevent pipes from bursting so my kitchen is hot. Well, everywhere is hot to me. LOL

I didn't think it looked right after an hour so I let it sit another 15 minutes. Sounds like that wasn't enough time for it. How long do I wait for it to know that the yeast isn't working?

I used Red Star...
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Ok, that's active dry yeast. Usually, it's recommended to proof ADY separately - note in the original recipe, how the yeast is added dry directly to the flour, etc? That's usually how instant/rapid rise/fast yeast is used, no need to proof. ADY, you improve your chances if you proof it first, in a little warm water and sugar.

I'd try this:

Take the milk, put it in a cup and get it warm in the microwave. You want it about 110F or so, not over 120F. I just stick my finger in it to gauge it. Fairly warm but not hot. Take a teaspoon of that sugar and stir it in, and the yeast.

Let that sit 5-10 minutes and it should start to bubble and foam a bit. That means it's alive and doing its job.

Pour that into the dry mix (flour, remainder of sugar, salt) then whisk your egg and melted butter, pour that in, and proceed as usual.

Use the rising time as a guide, but let the dough take as long as it needs to double. A good test is to poke the dough with your finger - if the indentation stays, the dough is likely ready.

Good luck!
 
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TastyReuben said:
Ok, that's active dry yeast. Usually, it's recommended to proof ADY separately - note in the original recipe, how the yeast is added dry directly to the flour, etc? That's usually how instant/rapid rise/fast yeast is used, no need to proof. ADY, you improve your chances if you proof it first, in a little warm water and sugar.

I'd try this:

Take the milk, put it in a cup and get it warm in the microwave. You want it about 110F or so, not over 120F. I just stick my finger in it to gauge it. Fairly warm but not hot. Take a teaspoon of that sugar and stir it in, and the yeast.

Let that sit 5-10 minutes and it should start to bubble and foam a bit. That means it's alive and doing its job.

Pour that into the dry mix (flour, remainder of sugar, salt) then whisk your egg and melted butter, pour that in, and proceed as usual.

Use the rising time as a guide, but let the dough take as long as it needs to double. A good test is to poke the dough with your finger - if the indentation stays, the dough is likely ready.

Good luck!
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You are the bestest! Crossing my fingers and toes and will try again today. Thank you!
 
mjd said:
I bought the yeast just for this purpose so it was fresh. I added the yeast to the dry ingredients like in the video.


The second photo is after the egg wash. I should have put that in that post. Or, did you mean it looks greasy in the 1st photo?
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It looks as if you have cling film on top of the dough in the first photo. This might have inhibited rising. The cling film makes it hard to judge whether the dough is too 'greasy'.
 
mjd said:
OK. So, how should I cover it?
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You can leave it in the bowl and put the plastic wrap over it, or just a dish/tea towel, or turn the dough out on the board like you have it and set the bowl over it.
 
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TastyReuben said:
You can leave it in the bowl and put the plastic wrap over it, or just a dish/tea towel, or turn the dough out on the board like you have it and set the bowl over it.
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In the OP, he shows that he pressed out the dough BEFORE letting it rise. Do you think I should leave it as a ball and press it out AFTER rising?
 
mjd said:
In the OP, he shows that he pressed out the dough BEFORE letting it rise. Do you think I should leave it as a ball and press it out AFTER rising?
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Nope. I'd change one thing at a time. If that's how he has it, that's how I'd do it. The plastic wrap is ok as long as it's not tightly wrapped. You just want the dough to be able to rise. Just cover it loosely.
 
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mjd said:
OK. So, how should I cover it?
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I never cover a rising dough with gladwrap although I know it's a common solution; I place a cotton kitchen towel loosely on top of the bowl.

The temperature in my kitchen varies but that has never had a great impact in baking. I tend to keep the window closed (= draft free) and the bowl on top of the warming oven as you do - at least partly/for a while.

The yeast - whether fresh or dried - has never died of warmth in my experience although I warm the liquid by gut feeling - not with a thermometer - before adding yeast. Fresh yeast = body temp liquid, dry yeast/active yeast = slightly warmer but not hot liquid.

There might be site-, yeast brand-, flour- or handling-specific reasons for Hungry Man's recipe not to work out in your kitchen. You could try my Christmas Flatbread to experiment with working with dry yeast if you feel industrious. In that recipe, the dry yeast is mixed with just room temperature ingredients without warming. Soft flatbread forms after hours of rising. Thus, much more time is needed compared to Hungry Man's recipe. The Christmas flatbread recipe can be converted in to a savory cheese flatbread by reducing the amount of syrup, changing the blue or feta cheese into mozzarella, leaving some spices, seeds and herbs out and adding garlic and scallions instead. The dough is completely different: soft and sticky and has to be flattened with floury fingers - but at least the end result is soft.

Dry yeast/active yeast works best if you let it wake up and form bubbles for ~15 minutes by adding all of the liquid, (some sugar/syrup if included in the recipe) and half of the flour - or by following brand/active yeast specific instructions (with lesser ingredients mixed with the yeast for a start). Subsequently, add the rest of the ingredients and let the dough rise as a solid clump after kneading (if kneading is necessary/included in the recipe; the Christmas flatbread is left unkneaded) until the dough has doubled or tripled.

If gladwrap is used during rising, the wrap is supposed to be set on top of a large bowl, not in straight contact with the dough. Dough is mostly wrapped in plastic only if it's supposed to cool/set in the fridge. For a "normal" yeast bread: when the dough has doubled/tripled, remove excess bubbles by kneading lightly and form the bread/flatbread and let it rise for the second time for ~15-20 min in a lukewarm and draft free place on top of a baking tray with a light towel on top before baking.
 
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