Troubleshooting Tips

What went wrong? Our troubleshooting guide helps you to find out. Choose between the following topics: Cakes, Yeast Bread, Soda Bread and Pastry

Cakes

• Batter has overflowed the pan

  • Incorrect sized tin. The uncooked mixture should fill the pan two thirds full.

• Cake is dense and heavy

  • Eggs may be too small use large eggs when baking.
  • Not enough air was beaten into mixture.
  • Flour was not folded in gently. Always mix flour in mixture slowly.

• Top of the cake has dropped

  • Oven too hot or too cool.
  • Cake not baked long enough.
  • Not sufficient flour in the recipe.

• Batter curdles and separates

  • Ingredients not at room temperature.
  • Eggs added too quickly.

• Top of cake peaks and cracks

  • Oven too hot, causing outside of cake to bake and form a crack too quickly.
  • Too much flour added.

• Raisins, dried fruit and nuts sink to bottom of cake

  • Baking tin too small.
  • Batter/ Mixture over beaten or too wet.
  • Not enough flour.

• Cake sinks in the centre

  • Overmixing.
  • Too much fat/ sugar or the wrong sugar used.
  • Too much liquid.
  • Not enough flour.

• Cake didn’t rise

  • Overmixing.
  • Too much or too little fat.
  • Too little baking powder/ raising agents or they are out of date.
  • Oven too hot.
  • Wrong tin size.

• Top crust hard or dark

  • Baked at too low a temperature.
  • Too much sugar.

• Cake falls apart

  • Improper mixing.
  • Oven temperature too low.
  • Not enough liquid and fat/ eggs in the recipe.

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Yeast Bread

• Bread poorly risen or not at all

  • Not using the correct flour.
  • Too much salt, as this kills the yeast.
  • Oven temperature too low.

• Bread has a yeasty or sour taste

  • Too much yeast.
  • Dough rose too quickly or too slowly during first rising.
  • Insufficient kneading.

• Bread have and close textured

  • Too much liquid used.
  • Dough risen at too high a temperature.
  • Dough rising too high before baking.

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Soda Bread

• Bread has a very hard crust

  • Oven temperature too hot.
  • Mixture too dry, not enough liquid.
  • Oven too low and baking for too long.

  Have and close textured

  • Not enough raising agent.
  • Not enough plain flour.
  • Not enough liquid.

• Bread has a sour taste and a bad colour

  • Too much bread soda.

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Pastry

• Pastry tough and leathery

  • Dough handled too much.
  • Dough not allowed to 'rest' in fridge before baking.
  • Dough too dry.

• Pastry very heavy

  • Not enough fat in the recipe.
  • Not enough water.
  • Baked at too low a temperature.

• Pastry a bad colour after baking

  • Not enough fat in the recipe.
  • Not enough water.
  • Baked at too low a temperature.

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