Easy Soups from Scratch with Quick Breads to Match

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Troubleshooting Breads

PROBLEM: “My bread/muffins are too dense.”

SOLUTION: How old is your leavening? Baking soda, baking powder, and yeast all have a shelf life. Dense bread can also be a sign of too much flour in the dough. When you are using more than 3 Tbsp of a dry ingredient, weigh it instead of using a measuring cup.

PROBLEM: “My muffins/biscuits are rubbery and tough.”

SOLUTION: Don’t overmix muffin, biscuit, scone, or bread batter. Stir gently until there are no traces of dry flour and the dry ingredients are just moistened. Overmixing yields tough bread.

PROBLEM: “My bread fell flat.”

SOLUTION: You may be opening the oven door too often to check your breads. This can cause the oven temperature to drop significantly, which may interfere with the rising of your breads. Unless you’re in the last few minutes of the suggested baking time, or need to rotate the baking pan, keep the oven door closed and look through the oven window; that’s what it’s for.

PROBLEM: “My muffins have sweaty bottoms.”

SOLUTION: Let muffins cool in the pan for no more than 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Over time, the steam has nowhere to go but the bottom of the baking tin, which causes condensation and soggy muffin bottoms.