could it be rising too much and hitting the top ot the machine? have you tried say a 1.5 lb. loaf? you did say it was a 2 lb loaf right?
does it seem to have a "hole" in it like it rose too much?
have you tried a different recipe?
do you peek? we all do but maybe with your machine it REALLY is a no, no
what about the yeast? is it fresh?
well now I'll get out my fail proof book ...
Heres what my electric bread book says about "mushroom" loafs:
There's too much yeast, it's blown it top....Are you useing the right amount of yeast or the right kind?...you may have too much sugar or other ing. with natural sugar like dried fruit. Older dried fruit has higher sugar content. ...another possibility is too much water. try decreaseing 1 tablespoon at a time .. occationally finely ground softer flours require less water or yeast than the harder heavyier flours... If you try all of this and still have prob. (take back machine!) try this replace 1/4 cup of the total flour with whole wheat flour or add 1/4 tea of fresh lemon juice to the recipe..."
i picked the mushroom loaf because you said the bread was still good that ruled out most of the rest of the problem breads! :)
let us know....
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