While there are many reasons your bread dough won’t rise, I’m breaking them out into little posts all on their own.   Figuring out why bread doesn’t want to rise is like sorting out a complicated puzzle sometimes, so I figure a few tips to get you started might be in order.

For this first possibility, I am going to suggest a problem with the yeast – old or bad yeast.

I am not a big fan of active dry yeast, if only because I know it sits on the shelves of grocery stores, often for quite some time.  Yeast is a living organism and its life is fairly limited. So, if you’re using active dry yeast, one of the first stops is making sure the little imprinted expiration date is in order.

To be clear, any yeast can expire so it’s important to check the date on all yeast.  I have just noticed that whenever I see expired yeast as an issue, it’s usually grocery store active dry yeast.

If you want to make sure your yeast is in order before you dive into a weekend of bread making, I highly suggest activating the yeast first.  It’s easy to do, regardless of what kind of yeast you’re using, and it can sometimes save you from going through all the work of measuring and kneading, only to find a lumpy, dense loaf that refuses to ride.

Simply dissolve the yeast in warm (not too hot and not too cold) water, add a pinch of sugar, cover and let it sit in a warm spot for about ten minutes.  It should be bubbly, like the photo in this post.  In fact, a really active batch will have a sort of “head” on the top of the water, almost as if you poured a nice cold beer.

If the yeast is active, you’re one step closer to a nice rising loaf of bread.