Hi Friends,

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get serious about baking fantastic bread.

Quick clarification before we dive into this tricky topic:
I’m not talking about loaves that sink on top—that’s usually overproofing.

I’m talking about loaves that look fine out of the oven, then cave inward on the side as they cool. That kind of collapse almost always points to a structure problem, not fermentation. Here are the most common reasons.

• Salt was omitted or drastically reduced​
Salt strengthens gluten. Without it, dough rises but the side walls can’t support themselves.

• Dough was too wet​
Slack dough lacks sidewall strength. As steam escapes during cooling, the sides pull inward.

• Pan too small for the dough​
Forcing dough upward creates thin, weak sides that collapse as the loaf cools.

• Poor shaping or an unsealed seam​
A weak seam becomes a fault line. Collapse often happens exactly where tension was missing.

• Not enough surface tension​
Even sealed loaves need tension to support the sides—especially soft sandwich doughs.

• Weak gluten structure​
From insufficient kneading, whole-grain dough without enough hydration or rest, or flour that’s too low-protein (i.e. substituting all-purpose flour for bread flour) for a tall loaf.

• Oven not fully hot​
If the loaf expands before the sides set, the structure forms unevenly and fails during cooling.

• Sliced or unmolded too soon​
Bread continues setting as it cools. Cut early, and the crumb compresses inward—usually on the sides first.

Bottom line:​
Side collapse usually means the dough rose fine—but the gluten, shaping, or pan size wasn’t strong enough to hold the loaf as it cooled.
​This kind of collapse is about structure, not yeast.

If the loaf caves in, think strength.
If it splits open, think pressure.

We'll talk more about that next time.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year,

Paula Rhodes | Home Economist

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