Last Updated on February 21, 2021 – Originally Posted December 2010

It’s happened to all of us. Lovely aromas emanate from the bread machine. You open the bread machine expecting to see a perfectly formed loaf of bread.  Instead, you see a bread brick. The bread didn’t rise.

What happened? 

To help figure out the issue, inspect the loaf. Did it rise at all? 

Also, did you look into the machine when the dough was rising? That’s important because sometimes dough rises too much and then collapses. When the bread machine finishes, the loaf deceptively looks like dough didn’t rise at all. If this happens, try decreasing the yeast.

The Bread Brick – the bread rose a little, but not enough:

Not enough liquid – Try increasing water or milk by one to two tablespoons.

Too much salt – Try decreasing salt by ¼ teaspoon.

Not enough sugar – Try increasing sugar by ½ teaspoon.

Not enough yeast – Try increasing yeast by ¼ to ½ teaspoon. Remember that yeast can be tricky. If you use too little, your bread won’t rise. If you add too much, the dough could rise and then collapse during baking.

Yeast Type or Condition – The yeast might have been old or might have been the wrong type for the setting. See my article on yeast for more about this issue. 

Flour – The flour might have been old or not the right type.

The Uber Bread Brick – the bread didn’t rise at all:

Flour – The flour might have been old or not the right type

Yeast Type or Condition – The yeast might have been old or might have been the wrong type for the setting. See my article on yeast for more about this issue.  

No Yeast – Yep, I’ve forgotten to add yeast to the bread machine.

This is what it looked like when I forgot to add the yeast to the bread pan.

Too Much Yeast – Again, yeast can be tricky. If you add so much yeast that the bread rises and then collapses during baking, you may not know. It will look a lot like bread that didn’t rise at all. In order to figure this out, you’ll need to watch the dough as the machine goes through its cycles.