Gummy bread

What is causing it

In rough order of likelihood.

• It was cut while warm. The commonest cause by a distance. Starch is still setting as a loaf cools, and cutting into it before it has finished leaves a crumb that reads as gummy. This is not a baking fault at all.
• It is under-baked. The centre never reached the temperature at which the starch fully gelatinises and the crumb sets. Common in large loaves, enriched doughs and anything baked in a deep tin.
• It was under-proved. The gluten structure never developed enough gas cells, so the crumb is dense and the moisture has nowhere to go.
• Too much liquid for the flour. A very wet dough with weak flour gives a wet crumb however long it bakes.
• Rye or wholemeal without adjustment. Both absorb water differently and both give a denser, moister crumb by nature — a rye loaf is meant to be close-textured.

Telling which one it is

Look at the loaf rather than guessing.

1. Was it cut within an hour of coming out of the oven? If so, that is almost certainly the whole answer. Let the next one cool completely.
2. Look at the gummy area. Under-baking is worst in the centre and improves towards the crust. Under-proving is even throughout and the crumb is tight everywhere.
3. Look at the holes. Under-proved bread has few, small, uneven holes and a tight dense crumb. A properly proved loaf has an open irregular crumb even if it is under-baked.
4. Press the base. An under-baked loaf sounds dull rather than hollow and the base is pale and soft.
5. Check the rise. Did the dough roughly double before shaping, and did the shaped loaf feel airy and spring back slowly? If it barely moved, it was under-proved.

What to do with the loaf you have

None of this is a safety question — a gummy loaf is unpleasant, not unsafe.

• Put it back in the oven if it is under-baked and still warm. Twenty minutes at a moderate heat, out of the tin, directly on the shelf.
• Slice and toast it. Toasting drives off moisture and sets the starch, and gummy bread makes perfectly good toast.
• Cube and dry it into croutons or breadcrumbs, both of which are better made from imperfect bread anyway.
• Bread and butter pudding, panzanella or a soup thickener — all of them want bread that is not at its best.
• Do not slice the rest while warm. If part of the loaf is still uncut, leave it alone until it is completely cold.

What to change next time

Cool it completely

On a rack, with air underneath, for at least an hour and longer for a large loaf. This alone fixes most gummy bread.

Bake it longer, and check the base

Turn the loaf out and tap the bottom. A dull thud means it needs more time. A probe thermometer is the reliable answer if you have one.

Prove until it is genuinely ready

Not by the clock. A poked finger should leave a dent that fills back slowly and incompletely.

Weigh the flour and the water

Cup measures vary enormously, and a loaf that is too wet cannot be baked dry.

Give enriched doughs longer

Butter, egg and sugar all slow the bake and hold moisture. A brioche needs considerably more time than a plain white loaf.

Common questions