Measuring one or two tablespoons too much per cup (easy to do) can cause your bread to be dense. You may think that Grandma made excellent bread and never weighed anything. She was probably mixing by hand with lots of experience, too. However, using a machine (a stand mixer or a bread machine) is a different game. The amount of time required to knead dough by hand is about 25 minutes, and the amount of time required in a stand mixer is about 8 minutes. Adding 2 tablespoons of dry milk powder to each loaf will raise the bread and keep it soft. Furthermore, dry milk powder has a golden brown crust and provides increased nutrition. Bread dough typically contains a small amount of salt, usually about 1 teaspoon for every 4 cups of flour. Salt provides flavor and helps strengthen the gluten structure of the dough, resulting in a better texture and a more appealing flavor. The dough won't hold gases and there will also not be enough steam when baking so the dough will be more dense. Too much water and you have a batter that can't be worked with. Over working a dough isn't so much of a concern. It is possible to over knead but it is hard to do. Not enough liquid Not enough sugar or no salt added Wrong type of flour used Wrong type of yeast used Not enough yeast used . Solution — Try substituting bread flour for part of the stone ground or whole wheat flour Try adding more liquid, sugar or yeast Check to make sure bread flour, not all‐purpose flour, was used Use oven mitts to remove the lid from the Dutch oven. Lift the parchment paper with the dough and drop it into the pot with the parchment paper. Place the lid back on the Dutch Oven and close the oven door. Bake covered for 30 minutes, carefully remove the lid and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. .

not enough yeast in bread