Prevention

• Preventing a problem with your bread dough is usually better than trying to solve it after the dough is already mixed. Old yeast is one of the most common causes of bread dough that doesn't rise. Check the expiration date of your yeast before you bake and replace it if it is expired.

  Some Italian bread recipes call for proofing the yeast by dissolving it in warmed water or milk sweetened with a little sugar. This proves that the yeast is active before you use it. If the yeast does not foam up after about ten minutes in the liquid, discard it and use yeast from a new container.

Warm Rise

• If your yeast is active but your Italian bread dough still doesn't rise, your kitchen may be too cold. Heat your oven to its lowest setting for a minute or two, then turn it off. Put a shallow pan of simmering water on the floor of the oven to keep the oven warm and humid. Put your bread dough, covered with a clean dishtowel, in the middle of the oven and close the door. If room temperature was the problem, your dough should begin to rise in the warm oven.

Start Over

• If nothing else works, you may have no choice but to start over. Buy a fresh package of yeast and check the recipe carefully for notes on the amount of liquid and type of flour to use. Different types of flour have varying levels of protein. Some, such as cake flour, have very low protein levels that cannot support a long yeast rise. Too much liquid in the dough can also inhibit rising.

  You do not have to throw away bread dough that does not rise. Instead, make it into crackers. Roll out your bread dough and cut it into squares, then bake at 350 degrees F until it is crispy and golden brown. Bake times will vary depending on the amount of rise in the dough and how thin you roll it.

Take Notes

• Italian bread is a fairly simple bread, but this simplicity means that every variable from the specific ingredients to the temperature of the room can have a dramatic effect on the final outcome. Recipes developed in a test kitchen under ideal conditions may require some adjustment. Take careful notes in your cookbook or a separate notebook so you can recreate your successful Italian bread the next time you bake.