cinnamon inhibits yeast growth. Always store Active Dry Yeast or any other yeast such as Instant yeast in fridge or freezer. Oly is correct about adding a pinch of sugar to bloom yeast make sure water isnt too hot . But i am sure it was the cinnamon.

A trick I use and shared on The Fresh Loaf , a bakers blog I joined many years ago is as follows. Take the dried fruit and mist with water place in microwave in a MW safe container for 30 sec. Toss with a cinnamon / sugar mix and set aside til ready to fold into bread. I always add a bit of sugar as the dried fruit holds onto the cinnamon and sugar and when baked you get these luscious pops of goodness ! Never ” soak” dried fruit drain and use.. worst way ever and lose all that yummy flavor. Also the warm fruit helps the dough rise from the warmth within after you knead in the fruit.

I have baked bread since the mid 70’s every week for my family. Ask away! Go visit The Fresh Loaf . Tons of ideas and lots of new bakers and old ones to .🙏

If there is any yeast growth, it will create a rise -- it's just a matter of timing. Trailrunner mentioned my earliest problem with yeast -- water that was too hot. Not a time where more is better. Just warm and room temp is better than too hot. May take a little longer to get going, but many say that develops better flavor.

Sugar in dough as well as cinnamon slow down yeast growth, so much so that you can now find gold or platinum yeast that is especially good for me enriched doughs.

As far as the age of the yeast, I doubt that a few months past the packet date would mean a significant drop off. I buy yeast in 1 or 2 pound bags, store it in a glass jar in the fridge and use it for a little years, probably 2-3 on average but at times when baking less or using sourdough more, I'm sure it has been longer. The only time I've had yeast fail me was when I bought little packets and I blamed that on the box possibly sitting in the back of a truck in the heat somewhere along the way to the store shelf.

You're doing great. Sometimes yeast just has a mind of its own -- even more true with sourdough. Just watch the dough more than a clock and keep playing!

Yes. Sounds like your yeast is barely 'active' anymore. I would not use it again. Your loaf looks dense but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. I keep my extra yeast in the freezer, and if you add a spoon of sugar when activating that helps a lot!

The yeast was not the problem. It was mixing the cinnamon into the dough. Enriched doughs , as @lascatx mentioned require more time/ more yeast but in recipes on line that is accounted for by the author if it is a reliable source. I rarely use yeast these past few years as i have several Sourdough starters as well as fruit Yeast Waters that i use. Its best to pick one reliable baker’s blog and bake the same loaf a number of times until you are very adept at that process. Move on from there with gradual increase in confidence and reliable outcome. Its like sewing …. you don’t start with attaching a button and then move on to making a skirt! 🙏 have fun Ida…

If it didn't bubble up at first, before mixing into the flour, then the yeast was likely past its prime.

I had a similar experience with some packets that were recently purchased and kept refrigerated. First thing I checked was the expiration date and it was well within that time frame. It was Wal-Mart's store brand. I got some Fleischmans and it was fine.

FWIW, I don't put cinnamon or other flavors into dough until the final rise, since adding it early on alters the flavor, IMPE. I didn't know cinnamon could affect the rise.

And I use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature of the liquid. It needs to be 110F or lower.

That loaf looks pretty good to me☺

Bread baking - or any baking really - is all about the science until you get to the part where you make it pretty. And I just learned a new bit of the science thanks to Trailrunner - did not know the rise inhibiting properties of cinnamon. I've made cinnamon rolls over the years but the bulk of the rising takes place before using the cinnamon and it's not mixed in the dough anyway. This is a 'Now I know' moment - thanks Trail!

What C said about the cinnamon is correct.

Was cinnamon in the recipe?

Cinnamon is often used as fungicide, yeast is a fungus.

Thank you all! Yes, cinnamon is in the recipe. I'm posting the recipe below, if anyone could tell me when the cinnamon should be added if different than the steps describe.

You could always roll out the bread after the first rise and sprinkle it with a cinnamon sugar mixture. Then roll it up, place in pan seam side down, let rise and bake.

I think the water temperature I used for blooming the yeast may have been too hot. It was just past "warm", more into the territory of "just a bit hot." I don't want to have to take the water temperature, but there is differing information online about whether it should be just barely warm or bumped up to slightly hot.

Hm… there are a few things about that formula that would prevent me from using it. I don’t like only one rise bakes and in the pan baking from cold . Also that’s a huge amount of yeast. I think given the small amount of shortening and sugar and that huge yeast amount that I revise my comment. Yeast was ” kaput “!

Go to King Arthur’s website. There are a lot of very successful easy bakes there. You want a mix it up knead rise deflate rise bake formula. No add ins. I will link a couple tried and true for you. c

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe perfect easy to reproduce bread formula. make it a few times exactly as written with the caution known to all bakers ” watch the dough not the clock”.

you have to have scales its just too difficult to get reliable outcomes with a wide disparity in products. So get a good gram scale

https://alexandracooks.com/2018/04/28/easy-no-knead-brioche-rolls-overnight-and-refrigerated-or-not/?ck_subscriber_id=384168399

Ali has tons of recipes and excellent videos and pictures and she responds if you message her!

Everyone's mentioned the factors I thought of too...water too hot, yeast too old. I didn't know about cinnamon, but I do know that whole wheat flour doesn't rise as well...the grains keep the glutens from forming that give it structure. That's why they add "vital wheat gluten" to grainy breads. That's why I make my own, so I don't add that. I agree about giving dough the second proofing. It gives a better flavor and texture.

Thanks so much! I'll take a look at those links.

Baking from a cold-start oven is necessary for the pottery bread bowl in which the loaf bakes. I haven't seen a two-rise method used for any of the recipes I've found for the bread bowl. This is also how bread is baked in the clay oven, such as the Romertopf. I've never baked by this method before, so maybe it'll just take some trial and error. I did just have a couple of pieces from the loaf I made last night, toasted with butter, and it tastes wonderful. 😋

ETA: So there are different kinds of yeast? What I had is "active dry yeast", or instant yeast. It says it can be used in bread machines.

Also, there was a video along with the recipe that showed the baker adding the 3T of brown sugar in with the yeast and warm water. Could that have been the wrong time to add that much sugar?

I didn’t realize you were using a clay bread baker. Yes they are a different sort of baking. But you can still make the dough, knead rise once and then deflate and shape and place in baker and finish as directed with the baker directions. I use Active Dry Yeast here is a good explanation of the difference https://www.google.com/search?q=is+active+dry+yeast+the+same+as+instant+yeast&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS676US676&oq=is+active+dry&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i512l4.6835j0j7&hl=en-US&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

The brioche buns from above link. Didn’t watch the dough! Risen a tad too much lol!

.

Yeah, I bought the pottery bowl thinking it would be fun to try for baking, or failing that, it's just a darn pretty bowl. 😁 Trail, that brioche dough is so pretty! I'll bet they taste amazing. Do you store your baked goods in a bread box?

I've been making yeast breads most of my life and this is the first time I learned about cinnamon interfering with yeast rising. I think the only time I've used cinnamon in yeast bread is sticky buns where it was just in the filling.

Ida, I don't see any kneading in your recipe. Did I miss something? Lately I've been making bagels, a rather firm dough, and it gets kneaded for 10 minutes by my KitchenAid mixer. I really don't enjoy hand kneading anymore. These bagels never fail.

And yes, an instant read thermometer takes the guesswork out of the temperature of the water for proofing your yeast. I aim for 110 degrees.

My 100% whole wheat bread rises just as well as white bread:

I baked a loaf yesterday, and it came out light and fluffy - I would have liked for it to be a bit denser, and I sometimes use a Pullman pan for that effect.

The only time I put cinnamon in bread is when I make cinnamon rolls, and the cinnamon is added at the very end with butter and sugar, rolled into a long cylinder, and then cut into discs for baking.

Ambient temperature is a major factor in how quickly bread dough rises, and so rising time can vary from one day to the next.

If you have somewhat old yeast but still not dead, you can make the bread dough the day before you bake it and store the dough in the fridge overnight, or even for two days. This does improve the flavor IMO.

The only bread I make that does not rise well is rye bread, and this is partly because of the rye flour and partly because I add caraway and/or fennel seeds to the dough. I do grind the seeds and soak them in warm water first, however, but they still seem to be able to cut through some of the gluten strands, such as rye bran can do.

Here's some rye bread that I baked in a Pullman pan:

It did not rise up enough to fill the upper corners of the pan, but it was still fine to eat. I like rye bread to be a bit dense anyway.

Here's a 100% whole wheat loaf baked in the same pan:

This pan forces the bread to be slightly denser than if it were baked without a lid.

I kneaded by hand just after mixing in the flour. Really got my fingers into it, making a mess of course. Could've mixed with my KA, I suppose, but I get really lazy about using it when I think of having to clean it afterward. 😉

Wow, Lars. Those loaves look incredible. Certainly would be my choice over any store-bought bread!

I love my Pullman pan! Lars your loaf is beautiful. I make so many kinds of breads over the decades.

first time with this brioche dough. very pleased!

Recent large pullman Rye bread

Challah

Multi grain sourdough boule

Enjoy the experience!!! It’s such a wonderful way to share.

Oh, Trail. Swoon and FAINT! Those all look incredible. 😍

I've been watching trailrunner bake since I redid my kitchen years ago. You are in good hands. I'm also still working on furniture and such, so not popping in often. Besides, I'm a renegade -- I don't use a thermometer for water temp 99.9% of the time and I will use either yeast.

Cinnamon won't prevent rising, just slow it. Salt also inhibits yeast, yet it is in nearly every bread dough. If you want to try the recipe again, I would use less yeast (2-2 1/2 tsp should work - it will multiply during your proofing), cooler water and adding the cinnamon and raisins after a first rise. That's 2 method changes (2 rises and adding ingredients after the first) but they work together. I can't help you with the clay baker or cold oven. I've tried cold oven methods with my sourdough and am not as happy with the results. Worth an experiment, but not my fav. In an open baker, watch for over darkening of the top of the bread. Ovens with exposed upper heating elements can broil that top before it has a chance to bake.

King Arthur is a great resource -- I often suggest this as a first recipe because you can literally dump everything in a bowl, mix it and have success. I tried it because of the potato in it because DH likes potato breads. I think I finally made it as a loaf, but I usually make a dozen rolls out of it, often adding a little whole wheat to the mix. Split, they work as buns or sandwich rolls too . They are my sons' favorite and our main Thanksgiving dinner roll (pumpkin or dark wheat added if we have more people).

OK, getting my sourdough starter out to feed, then getting back to the furniture. I've finished the little dresser, large writing table desk and 2 drawer units to go under it and am now working on a file cabinet and sewing machine cabinet my nephew tried to kill (stored with 50 year old vinyl seat upside down on top of the cabinet in the garage in the Texas heat -- working to restore it and put my grandmother's old black Singer back in it -- hope she still works!)

I’m so impressed by you bakers, wow!

Ida you know I adore that bowl!

Funny — Ida and I were talking about the seller, she sent me a link to her Etsy page … I was browsing and came across items I’d favorited a while back. Out of the gazillion sellers on Etsy, what are the odds we both found and liked the same one!

FWIW, it's summer now, so using lukewarm water shouldn't be much of a problem, as long as the dough has a warm place to rise. We have an attached garage, where it's pretty hot this time of year, and doughs rise quickly in there.

Except when they don't because the yeast is funky 😒

Trailrunner, your Challah looks different from mine; mine comes out in an odd/uneven shape:

I use it mainly for making French toast, but brioche is even better. I don't make Challah that often, and so I have to refer to my instructions to remember how to braid the six strands. It's fun to make, but the front end always ends up thicker than the back end.

I've not made brioche because I do not have a brioche pan, but I am planning to get one.

I recently bought new popover pans, but these are not a yeast bread and are therefore of lot easier to make:

These have to be reheated if not eaten right away, but that is easy enough in the toaster oven.

Your sourdough boule looks great! I've never made sourdough in that shape before.

Thank you Lars. Your 6 strand is gorgeous. I do a 3 strand for just us at home…that is what is pictured. I also don’t do sesame seeds usually as I can’t eat them. The boule rises in a banneton but I don’t score it. Thus the interesting self scoring! I love to see what it wants to be.

I have a proof setting for my oven that generally works great for the first rise. However, Carol's garage suggestion is great because mine is always a good 10 degrees warmer than my house during the day.

I used my garage yesterday, but it was only about 77°, which was warm enough. I have the thermostat in the house here set to 74° (sometimes up it to 75°). Normally there are some warm spots in the house, but I've been keeping windows open to let in cool breezes.

Lars, I'm impressed with your WW bread...mine never rises that much and I've even had it start to collapse after it rises, making when to bake it a tricky thing. I did try the proof setting on my oven but found it too hot and thought that may have been to blame for the collapse. I find it works well in my viking if I leave the oven off but the oven light on...adds a little warmth and keeps the drafts off.

CA is having some lovely weather. My sister called me from Santa Monica and said it's in the 70s there.

It's almost 90F today, with a heat index of 100, I think. Our garage is probably about 85F right now - or more...

I hadn't even thought about putting the dough out to rise in our attached garage. That probably would've really helped speed the process.

I don’t want a quick rise . I always retard my loaves in the fridge overnight. If I use any yeast it is a scant amount usually just sourdough alone but sometimes both. The flavor and gluten that strengthens the dough are developed by time not handling or speed. When the dough has completed its first rise I shape cover with a shower cap type cover and place in the fridge. I let it rise 12-18 hrs depending on when I get to it and bake direct from the fridge. All recipes can be modified to this system and benefit flavor and texture wise.

I agree the yeast was past its prime. Such a large amount of yeast is unusual. I love baking, and although bread is not my forte, I have had some successes over the past yesr:

Brioche came out well.

My ciabattas were a little missshapen but airy and delicious.

Wheat bread usually comes out better for me.

Rolls are my favorite kind of bread baking!

I love a blog called, improbably, Salad in a Jar. The author is a great baker and advocates using a machine for the mixing and first rise, then shaping by hand, rising on a pan and cooking in the oven.

I’m looking for a light, fluffy bread, good for sandwiches. Lars, care to share your recipe?

Here's my whole wheat bread recipe:

• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp powdered milk*
• 1/4 cup Vital Wheat Gluten
• 3-3/4 cups whole wheat flour (up to 4 cups, if needed)
• 2 tsp instant dry yeast

Dissolve the salt in the warm water in a large plastic bowl and add the honey. Add the egg, butter, and powdered milk, and whisk to combine.

Stir in 2-1/4 cups of the flour until combined.

Stir in an additional 1-1/2 cups flour with the yeast, until dough pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. Add additional flour as needed. This step can be done in a stand mixer with a dough hook, but I generally use a Danish dough whisk or my hands.

Cover the bowl with plastic and/or a kitchen towel and allow the flour to hydrate for 30 minutes.

Knead the hydrated dough on floured surface, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. This can also be done mostly in the mixer.

Place dough back in the large plastic bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Oil a 9x5-inch loaf pan with olive oil.

Punch down the dough and fold it over several times, and then shape it into a loaf.

Place in oiled pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F during the last half hour of rising.

Uncover dough, and put in oven. Reduce heat to 375°. Bake for 35 minutes, or until internal temperature is 200°. Remove from pan onto wire rack, and butter top and sides, for a softer crust.

*I use powdered milk because I never buy fresh milk, but if you want to substitute mile instead of powdered milk, use 1/2 cup milk and 3/4 cup water.

If you do not have Vital Wheat Gluten, you can use regular flour instead, but I like to use 1 tbsp of VWG for each cup of whole wheat flour I use, as whole wheat flour has less gluten than white flour.

In L.A., I make the entire dough in my Kitchenaid mixer, and the process is somewhat different than mixing by hand. I use 4 cups of whole wheat flour in L.A., but I use 3-3/4 cups in the desert because the flour is so dry and absorbs the liquid too quickly. The dough needs to be somewhat sticky so that it will stick together during the final process of forming the loaf.

Lars, thank you so much! I really appreciate your quick response and very clear and thorough recipe. I have some vital wheat gluten on hand, so there's that.

Ah, the vital wheat gluten explains it.

I'm not a bread baker, although I do love a good loaf of sourdough bread. Sadly, my hips do not. Bread is one of those things I try to limit, so I'd be in trouble if I started baking it. Boo!

But Tina, it can be made so as to be relatively low in calories! The cinnamon-raisin loaf I made has been delicious, and I figure there isn't much there calorie-wise to render it even the slightest bit naughty. 😉 That said, if one eats an entire loaf by oneself (slathered in sweet cream butter) in a span of a day or two, it could have undesirable consequences for the hips and rear, and that is totally something I would do.

Hahaha Ida! Yes, I would definitely slather it with butter. YUM! But it's the "white stuff" I really need to watch out for.

If I'm being honest, the real point of bread is to be a vehicle for butter.

No doubt, Bunny, there are a lot of fat delivery mechanisms including bread and potatoes.

I think it is easy to partake of more than a fair share when you haven't been baking bread -- the aroma and flavor are just so inviting. But like anything, after you have done it a number of times, there is less of a feeling that it is special, you haven't had this hardly ever get this and you have to dig in now. Like the summer I worked at a doughnut shop. Was totally over it within a week or two even at that age. LOL

@lascatx 😳 😂 after almost 50 years the first thing I do as I take the first of multiple loaves out of the oven is cut off a chunk and eat it!! I don’t put anything on it I just savor the fragrance and mouth feel. I always bake in bulk so 3 -4 loaves except Challah which are always two 2# loaves. We eat a lot of bread. Toast with honey and peanut butter and fruit with homemade yogurt in the morning . A sandwich and fruit at late lunch and then it depends on what we have or if we have a supper / evening meal. On weekends at least one night is wine , bread , fruit and cheese. We eat a lot of cheese too. I haven’t ever gotten used to having homemade bread❤️🙏

Truth be told, it may have more to do with the time of day I bake -- I have zero resistance if I am hungry. I have tried to adopt the wait for it to cool rule, but yeah, if you break in, warm bread with butter of cheese can make you weak at the knees and then bring you back again. (not sounding like I believe my own words here, am I?) I'm 1/2 Dutch and blame the cheese and chocolate on the genes, Gotta have 'em! But overall, we aren't eating as much as we were for awhile. I bake one or two loaves at a time -- it's just the two of us, and sometimes our youngest son. But that may change as our oldest and his GF will be staying with us for a while. I'll have to make not eof whether their enthusiasm wanes over time. I'm also secretly hoping to convince her to try bread making. We did naan the last time she was here -- it's a start. LOL

FWIW, my habit is to cut the heel - very generously - from the fresh weekly loaf I make and enjoy it plain as well. I use a lot of butter to grease the pan, so the crust is already buttered. If I didn't cut off that piece, it wouldn't fit in the storage bag - that's my excuse 😄

I do wait for it to cool completely, tho.

@lascatx it is just two of us as well😳. I blame … hmmmm… no one to blame . When grands are here they have to have a chunk too! @carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b the only pan I use and butter is the Pullman so most all my bakes are free- standing. By my definition on a round boule how much ever I cut off is the ” heel” LOL! Never have waited till it is cool 🤦‍♀️ . Nice there are so many bread bakers. Everyone loved the Brioche buns!

Now see -- I have no grands - near of far. I don't even have dogs now -- they loved fresh bread too. I agree with you on the heel of a boule, but doesn't that work for a loaf as well? Whatever you cut off IS the heel. Bread should be enjoyed -- making it, eating it and sharing it, whatever the quantity.

Carol, I can go with or without butter. Not sure if it is recipe, mood or whether I care to make a trip to the fridge. I do have one sourdough hybrid recipe that uses a fair amount of butter and tastes very buttery if made as written. I will often use half yogurt and half butter if I have them both, and even then I don't feel the need for butter. And all of this goes to show why bread is such a central part of every land's culture. It nourishes body and soul, has countless varieties, can be beginner basic or artisanal to the nth degree, and it's all great. Maybe if everyone were baking bread they would be happier. Could fresh baked bread be the key to world peace? Worth a try -- one loaf (or two or four) at a time!

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Sourdough is a good option. My 99 yr old diabetic Mom eats it.

"Generally, participants who ate the sourdough bread had lower blood sugar and insulin levels than those who ate the breads fermented with baker's yeast ( 3 , 21 , 22 , 23 ). Sourdough fermentation produces changes in the bread that may help control blood sugar better than bread made using traditional baker's yeast."