Bon soir Chris,

I'm a loaf of sheep herder bread on top of a wood stove. I was half-baked when my top collapsed. Now I have a headache.

Why did my crown collapse? I have yeast, and all the right ingredients. Was I too hot, was I not hot enough? Did the heat not penetrate fast enough because I'm so big?

Why did my top collapse?

-- Pactice Old Time Baking (collapse@bread.stove), February 15, 1999

Answers

Your bread probably collapsed because you let it rise too long before baking...only let it get to the top of the pan and it will generally rise some more in the oven. Some thirty years of home bread baking has taught me there is no BAD homemade bread...just some days you have better luck! Still tastes better than any store bought ever though of tasting. For the best bread recipes;especially whole wheat try the book From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens by Phyllis Pellman Good and Rachael Thomas Pellman.Available in many catalogs and probabily at Amazon and Barnes and Noble....many exccellent recipes for cooking with real food that you have on your shelf. Now is the time to practice bread baking skills if you plan to do something with all that stored wheat...new skills aren't learned overnite under stress.

-- MUTTI (windance @train.missouri.org), February 15, 1999.

Good advice from Mutti... Here is a very good website with all kinds of bread baking info. Http://countrylife.net/bread The Village Bakery Have fun!

-- Suzanne L (SuzanneL@Baking breadtoo.mmmm), February 15, 1999.

bread collapses because the bankers manipulate the money (bread) cycle.

-- duh (duh@duh.com), February 16, 1999.

Try adding additional salt to the recipe.

-- Franklin Journier (ready4y2k@yahoo.com), February 16, 1999.