Bread Doesn't Rise

Last couple of times I made bread, the dough didn't rise at all and I got small tough loaves. Any ideas why?

[m brown]

So many reasons!
How old is your yeast?
Overproofed dough will land you a brick.
No proofing will land you a brick.
Flour with no gluten content could cause such a problem. ie pastry or cake flour.

give us some clues to your formula and method.


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bake first, ask questions later

My guess would be that your water was too warm and you killed your yeast. That is usually the biggest mistake people make.

[m brown]

Keep the water below 138 F. best temp for water in bread making is around 110 F.
In the hot humid summer I use cold water and still get a huge rise due to the flour temp and atmosphere temp.