I've had many failures when it comes to baking yeast-based (and wheat flour) items! Over the years, here are some tips I've found to be helpful:
1) Ensure the yeast is fresh!
When you start a dough recipe, use warm water (not hot) and stir in yeast granules. Within a few minutes, they should become foamy. If they don't become foamy within about 10 minutes, toss it and buy fresh yeast before starting again.
2) Mix it, mix it real good.
I've been reading recently about how long a person should actually mix the dough. I used to mix until all of the ingredients were thoroughly combined, but I've been experimenting with mixing the dough for extended periods of time, like 10+ minutes. This is supposed to help with gluten development. If you're geeky like me, look into the "window pane" technique. The dough will be very smooth, will not be sticking to the sides of the bowl, but remains soft.
3) Warm is best!
Start with warm water and find a warm place for the dough to rise. My Kitchen Aid mixing bowl fits nicely into my microwave, so as I mix the dough, I heat up a mug of water to create steam inside the microwave. I put my mixing bowl, uncovered, into the nuker beside the steamy water, and set the timer for 45 minutes. At that point, I take the dough out, heat up the water again, and let the dough rise for another 15 minutes.
Also, when I make buns, I place oven-safe bowls full of steaming water in the bottom of the oven. This creates another warm, steamy area for the buns to rise for the second rising.
4) Give it time!
Don't rush! Take the time to let the yeast do its thing. Mix and knead thoroughly. Give it time to rise and if one hour isn't enough (assuming the yeast you used is fresh and active), give it another 30 minutes. Don't rush the second rise. Give the buns plenty of time to get fluffy. And take the buns out of the oven before preheating the oven!
When you start a dough recipe, use warm water (not hot) and stir in yeast granules. Within a few minutes, they should become foamy. If they don't become foamy within about 10 minutes, toss it and buy fresh yeast before starting again.
2) Mix it, mix it real good.
I've been reading recently about how long a person should actually mix the dough. I used to mix until all of the ingredients were thoroughly combined, but I've been experimenting with mixing the dough for extended periods of time, like 10+ minutes. This is supposed to help with gluten development. If you're geeky like me, look into the "window pane" technique. The dough will be very smooth, will not be sticking to the sides of the bowl, but remains soft.
3) Warm is best!
Start with warm water and find a warm place for the dough to rise. My Kitchen Aid mixing bowl fits nicely into my microwave, so as I mix the dough, I heat up a mug of water to create steam inside the microwave. I put my mixing bowl, uncovered, into the nuker beside the steamy water, and set the timer for 45 minutes. At that point, I take the dough out, heat up the water again, and let the dough rise for another 15 minutes.
Also, when I make buns, I place oven-safe bowls full of steaming water in the bottom of the oven. This creates another warm, steamy area for the buns to rise for the second rising.
4) Give it time!
Don't rush! Take the time to let the yeast do its thing. Mix and knead thoroughly. Give it time to rise and if one hour isn't enough (assuming the yeast you used is fresh and active), give it another 30 minutes. Don't rush the second rise. Give the buns plenty of time to get fluffy. And take the buns out of the oven before preheating the oven!
