Bread Troubleshooting: 20 Problems Solved

Bread baking has a steep learning curve, but most failures cluster around the same handful of causes: fermentation timing, temperature, and hydration. Once you can diagnose what went wrong, the fix is usually straightforward.

This guide covers the 20 most common bread problems. Each entry gives you the symptom, the likely cause, and the specific fix. Use it as a quick reference after a disappointing bake, or read it end to end to build diagnostic intuition.

The Master Troubleshooting Table

Fermentation Problems (1-3, 6, 9)

Fermentation issues account for the majority of bread failures. Too little fermentation and the bread is dense. Too much and it collapses. The window between them is what you’re learning to hit.

Problem 1: Dough Did Not Rise

Your yeast is dead or your environment is too cold. Commercial yeast begins dying at 116°F (47°C) and is fully killed by 140°F (60°C) — if your water was too hot, you killed it. Active dry yeast (unlike instant) must be dissolved in warm water (100-110°F) before use. Instant yeast can go directly into flour.

Quick test: Mix a teaspoon of yeast with warm water and a pinch of sugar. If it’s not foaming in 10 minutes, the yeast is dead.

For sourdough, a leaven that doesn’t pass the float test won’t raise bread. Drop a spoonful in water — if it sinks, give it more time. See how to make sourdough starter for building a reliable culture.

Problem 2: Dough Rose Then Collapsed

The dough over-fermented. Yeast exhausted the available sugars, CO2 production stopped, and the gluten network — weakened by extended protease activity and accumulated acid — gave way under its own weight.

Fix: Shape sooner. If using commercial yeast, reduce the quantity. If your bulk fermentation is temperature-dependent, note that yeast roughly doubles its activity with every 17°F (8°C) increase. A dough that rises in 2 hours at 70°F will rise in about 1 hour at 87°F.

Problem 3: Dense, Tight, Uniform Small Holes

The bread is under-fermented. The dough didn’t produce enough CO2 to inflate the crumb, and not enough time passed for flavor to develop. This is the opposite of problem 2.

Robertson’s target for his country bread is a 20-30% volume increase during bulk fermentation over 3-4 hours at 78-82°F. Forkish targets a triple for his Saturday White over about 5 hours. If your bulk was shorter or cooler, the dough may not have fermented enough.

Fix: Warmer environment, longer bulk, or verify that your yeast/starter is active. See our deep dive on why bread comes out dense.

Problem 6: Huge Tunnels, Collapsed Structure

Over-proofed. The gas cells expanded beyond what the gluten network could support, merged into tunnels, and then the structure collapsed. You’ll often see large voids at the top with a dense, compressed bottom.

Fix: Proof for less time, use less yeast, or proof in a cooler environment. The poke test is your best tool: press a floured finger half an inch into the dough. If it springs back slowly and partially, leaving a slight indent, bake now. If it doesn’t spring back at all, you’re over-proofed — bake immediately and expect compromised oven spring.

Problem 9: Good Crumb But Too Sour

The yeast and bacteria in your sourdough produced too much acetic acid. This happens when fermentation runs too long, the leaven was too old and acidic when you mixed it, or the bulk temperature was too cool (acetic acid bacteria favor cooler temperatures around 65-70°F).

Fix: Use a younger leaven — Robertson’s method of seeding with just 1 tablespoon of starter and using it before peak acidity produces bread with complex flavor without aggressive tang. Shorten the bulk fermentation or raise the temperature slightly (warmer conditions favor milder lactic acid). For the science behind this, see fermentation science.

Baking Problems (4, 10-13)

Problem 4: Dense, Gummy Interior

Two causes, in order of likelihood: you cut the bread too soon, or you under-baked it. After baking, the interior starch is still gelling. Cutting before full cooling compresses that gel into a gummy texture.

Minimum cooling times: 2 hours for wheat sourdough, 24-72 hours for rye (depending on percentage). Use an instant-read thermometer — the interior should reach 200-210°F before you pull the loaf.

For a complete deep dive, see why sourdough bread is gummy.

Problem 10: Crust Too Pale

Steam creates the conditions for browning. Without adequate steam in the first 10-15 minutes, the crust dries too quickly and Maillard browning is limited. A pale crust also means less flavor — the Maillard reaction produces hundreds of flavor compounds that develop only at higher surface temperatures.

Fix: More steam at loading (pour water into a preheated pan, or use a Dutch oven with the lid on). Verify your oven temperature with a thermometer — most home ovens run 25-50°F cooler than the dial says. A light egg wash or a teaspoon of diastatic malt in the dough (0.5% of flour weight) also boosts browning.

Problem 11: Crust Too Dark, Interior Still Undone

Your oven is too hot. The exterior reaches browning temperatures before the interior finishes baking.

Fix: Lower the oven temperature by 25-50°F and extend baking time. If using a Dutch oven, try lid on at 475°F for 20 minutes, then lid off at 425°F for 25-30 minutes. You can also move the loaf to a lower rack or place it directly on the oven rack (no stone) for the final 10 minutes.

Problem 12: Crust Too Soft

Steam was present for too long during the bake. Steam keeps the crust surface moist and extensible, which is desirable during oven spring (first 15 minutes) but counterproductive after that.

Fix: Remove the steam source or Dutch oven lid after 15-20 minutes. The remaining dry heat crisps and caramelizes the crust. For more on steam management, see baking with steam.

Problem 13: Crust Too Hard

The opposite problem — the entire bake happened in a dry oven. Without initial steam, the crust set too early and too thick. Or the bread baked too long.

Fix: Ensure steam for the first 15 minutes, then vent. Pull the bread when it reaches the target internal temperature rather than going by time alone.

Shaping and Scoring Problems (5, 7-8, 17-20)

Problem 5: Large Gaping Holes

The dough wasn’t degassed enough during shaping, or shaping didn’t create adequate surface tension. Large gas pockets from bulk fermentation survived into the final loaf.

Fix: During pre-shaping, gently press the dough to remove large bubbles. During final shaping, focus on building surface tension — cup your hands around the dough and drag it across an unfloured surface.

Problem 7: Flat Loaf, No Oven Spring

Either the dough is over-proofed (gluten exhausted, no spring left) or the leaven was dead. A properly proofed loaf should rise 20-30% in the first 10 minutes of baking.

Fix: Verify your leaven with the float test before mixing. Bake earlier in the proofing window rather than later. Cold retarding in the fridge overnight firms the dough and can improve oven spring — bake straight from the fridge without warming.

Problem 8: Bread Ripped on the Sides

The loaf was under-proofed, and the oven spring was so vigorous that the dough ripped through the weakest point — the side seam rather than the score marks. Under-proofed dough has too much residual energy, and if the scores aren’t deep enough to channel that expansion, the bread bursts sideways.

Fix: Proof longer, and score more deeply. Under-proofed bread needs deeper cuts because vigorous expansion is ahead.

Problem 17: Dough Too Sticky to Handle

This one gets its own deep dive: bread dough too sticky. The short version: high-hydration dough (72%+) is supposed to be sticky. If your dough is sticky at lower hydration, the cause is usually undermixing, high starch damage in the flour, or enzymatic breakdown during long fermentation. Don’t add flour — use wet hands and a bench scraper.

Problem 18: Dough Tears During Shaping

The gluten network is either underdeveloped (not enough mixing/folding) or overly tight (not enough bench rest). Gluten needs to relax between shaping steps.

Fix: After pre-shaping, rest the dough covered for 20-30 minutes. If the dough still resists, it needs more time. Additional stretch-and-fold sets during bulk fermentation build gluten strength that makes shaping easier.

Problem 19: Loaf Spreads Flat During Proofing

Three possible causes: weak shaping (not enough surface tension), over-proofing, or dough that’s too wet for freestanding proofing. A properly shaped loaf holds its form because surface tension resists gravity.

Fix: Shape more tightly. Use a floured banneton to support the loaf during proofing. If the dough is above 75% hydration, cold retarding in the fridge firms it for better structure.

Problem 20: Uneven Crumb — Dense Bottom, Open Top

Gas migrated upward during fermentation and wasn’t redistributed. The bottom of the dough is dense while the top has large holes.

Fix: More consistent folding during the first half of bulk fermentation. Each fold redistributes gas evenly. Robertson does 4 turns in the first 2 hours; Forkish does 2-4 folds in the first 1.5 hours. The key is folding during the early period when gas production is active.

Forkish’s 10-Question Diagnostic Checklist

When bread doesn’t come out right, work through these questions in order:

1. What was the dough temperature at end of mix?
2. Was bulk fermentation too long or too short?
3. Did the dough get enough folding?
4. Was room temperature colder or warmer than usual?
5. Condition of the pre-ferment: underdeveloped, overdeveloped, or right?
6. Did the dough feel right (strength and hydration)?
7. Was a measurement off? (Especially salt and yeast — small amounts need an accurate scale.)
8. Was the bread underproofed or overproofed?
9. Correct oven temperature? Right amount of steam? Adequate baking time?
10. New bag of flour, different brand, different harvest?

Work through these after every failed bake. You’ll usually find the answer by question 4.

Robertson’s Crumb Diagnostics

Robertson diagnoses from the crumb itself. Slice your loaf and read it:

Building Diagnostic Skill

Every bake is data. The bakers who improve fastest are the ones who record:

• Dough temperature after mixing (target 75-78°F for most lean breads)
• Bulk fermentation time and temperature
• Volume increase during bulk
• Proofing time and method (room temp vs. cold retard)
• Oven temperature (verified with thermometer)
• Total bake time

When something goes wrong, compare these numbers to your last successful bake. The difference is almost always your answer.