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Hi Friends,

As promised, this is the follow-up to the email I sent a couple of weeks ago. Previously, we talked about why a loaf of bread collapses inward on the sides after it’s baked and removed from the pan. You can read it here.​

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Today, I’m exploring why the top of a home-baked loaf of bread lifts off—sometimes evenly, but more often just on one side, and sometimes quite dramatically.

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1. The crust set too early.​
If the outside firms up before the inside finishes expanding, trapped steam and gas force the loaf to break at its weakest point—often lifting the top like a lid. Was the loaf baked too high in the oven?

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2. The dough wasn’t shaped tightly enough—or was shaped too tightly.​
The sides and top won’t hold together under oven spring if the dough is rolled too loosely, so the loaf separates where tension was weakest. This is especially common in soft sandwich doughs. Shaping too tightly can also cause a split, particularly where the dough was stretched too thin.

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3. Seam placement was weak or poorly positioned.​
A seam on the side—or a poorly sealed bottom seam—becomes a built-in escape hatch.

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4. The dough was under-proofed.​
This is a big one. Under-proofed dough still has a lot of rising left to do. When it hits the oven, the crust can’t stretch fast enough. What looks like great oven spring goes awry when the loaf splits and you get a blowout.

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5. No score (or ineffective scoring).​
Scoring isn’t decoration—it’s pressure management. If the loaf isn’t scored, or the score is too shallow or poorly placed, the dough will create its own exit.

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Now it's your turn. What is your best analysis about why these loaves split? I realize that since you didn't actually make these loaves, you can only guess about the proofing, shaping and baking. See my analysis in the "p.s." below.

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How This Differs From Sides Collapsing Inward​
This kind of separation means:

• The gluten structure was strong
• Fermentation was still active
• Expansion happened too forcefully or unevenly

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In other words, this loaf had energy—not weakness. It just needed a better place to go.

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I hope you found this helpful. If this happens to you, send me a picture, and I’ll be glad to help you troubleshoot.

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Warmly,

Paula

Paula Rhodes | Home Economist

Food Worth Sharing

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p.s. Exhibit A: My best guess is that the crust started to lift off this otherwise lovely Bread Machine Buttermilk Bread because of ineffective scoring. If you click over to that recipe, you'll see a picture of a loaf from the same recipe with a deeper, longer slash that likely prevented the top from lifting off.

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Exhibit B: I see a couple of possibilities here. This Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread was possibly underproofed. All that saved-up energy caused a split in its britches. The bottom picture shows a very thin area between the spiral and the crust where the dough was able to "bust out." Maybe I stretched the dough to ensure the loaf wouldn't have holes in the cinnamon spiral. The best solution for that is to use a Pullman pan. (a bread pan with a removable flat lid).

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Do you agree with me or have a different idea?

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