The last few times I have used my bread machine it has turned out flat. It rises allnice and fluffy and then just before the cook cycle, it gives it a quick mix to knock out the air and then it will not rise properly again. Is that last mix always the case, as it used to be a nice and fluffy loaf, but no more. :-(

What is the problem??

hi
I had this trouble how i fixed it for me was have the bread maker in a warm room. this seemed to work fingers crossed it works for you. They dont seem to like the cold weather
cheers
carolyn

Hi LP.
Could you yeast be near or past it's expiry date or is your mixture a little too wet.
Bev

bread machines are def temperamental in the cold weather, I would go with the keeping it somewhere warm suggestion too

[wwwthinkingaboutfood.blogspot.com]

I have found that I have had to use water that is slightly warmer than usual as I found the cold weather affected the result too.

Also, with all the rain we've been having, it could be that your flour has absorbed a small amount of water during storage. You may need to use a tablespoon less of water than usual. It's amazing what a difference a tablespoon of either flour or water makes.

Or maybe I should measure the flour and water properly, rather than just throw them carelessly into the machine before I go out. lol

But why does it do a final knock down before it starts to bake. DO your machines do that??

Yes, most (if not all) do. When you make bread by hand the dough is left to rise in the bowl and then tipped out and formed into a loaf. This knocks down the dough. The knock down given by breadmakers is equivalent to this. The purpose is to prevent over-rising (which breaks the gluten strands resulting in a 'heavy' loaf) and give a finer crumb to the bread.

I was just wondering, is your cat sleeping next to the vent, (or the vents are blocked, obstructed) this happened to me, and my bread machine didn't work right, until I caught him at it. He was annoyed that I moved the machine so he couldn't snuggle up to it.

Have fun
Ruth

Have fun!
Ruth