Problems with Stollen not rising

[DrPips]

Hi all,

Every Christmas I make stollen using a Paul Hollywood recipe https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/stollen_27553

When it works, it’s excellent, so I’d rather not try a different recipe, but I regularly get problems with it not wanting to rise. I’ve tried using instant yeast and the kind where you soak it in water first, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. The batch I have currently has been sat in the bowl for 4 days and hasn’t risen at all. Is there anything I could change to make it work better?

Thanks,
Dom

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum @DrPips! Problems with proving can have a number of reasons unfortunately, so it can be tricky to work out the source. Things to bear in mind;

• Even dried yeast needs to be fresh (I keep mine in the fridge and keep my eye on the use by date)
• If you're using warm liquid, make sure it's not too hot or it will kill the yeast
• If you over knead then the dough may be too tight to rise properly
• The dough should ideally be in a container in which you can tell how much it has risen
• The temperature will drastically affect how quickly dough rises
• Make sure you carefully measure the yeast and salt - too much salt will kill the yeast

To be honest, after four days the yeast may be exhausted. I don't necessarily wait for my dough to double, instead I do the poke test...

 

[DrPips]

Thanks for the reply. I had another go yesterday, again the dough didn’t seem to rise at all. The yeast was fine. I reactivated in Lukewarm milk and it got very frothy. It rose in the oven, but collapsed after. I’ve attached a couple of pics so you can see the collapse and the crumb. I used Allison dried active yeast.

 

[Becky]

Thanks for the photos! I think the issue may be that you're not using enough yeast. Dried active yeast is not the same as fast action yeast, and generally speaking you need twice the amount. There are three types of yeast used in bread making; fresh, dried active, and fast action. The recipe specifies 10g of fast action yeast, which equates to about 20g of dried active yeast or 40g of fresh yeast. Hope this helps!

 

[Albie_baking]

Omg I don't have the answers, but I can sympathize with the plight!

My issues seem to occur during the second rise.

 

[cindyvog]

all the fruit and spices slow the rise, keep it covered and let it go overnight if necessary. My problem with Paul Hollywood recipe is 375 for 1 hour! burnt to a crisp, checked it as it started looking too brown, only temping at 175. My Wolf is accurate. 350 maybe and not an hour!

 

[retired baker]

Thanks for the reply. I had another go yesterday, again the dough didn’t seem to rise at all. The yeast was fine. I reactivated in Lukewarm milk and it got very frothy. It rose in the oven, but collapsed after. I’ve attached a couple of pics so you can see the collapse and the crumb. I used Allison dried active yeast.

It's raw. Severe underbake going on there.