Is there any use for bread dough that did not rise?

[Georgia Sommers]

I suppose there isn't much else to say! I'll pitch it if I should but thought I'd see if there are any ideas out there.

Thanks!

[amyzan]

We used to make Christmas ornaments out of unyeasted salt dough when I was a kid. I don't know the exact recipe, and I see that you've already made crackers, but I thought this idea might be good for um, posterity. I'd probably have to look up a recipe to see how much salt is kneaded into the dough (so that the baked ornaments keep, I think?) I have fond memories of painting them with food coloring and egg yolk before they went into the oven...

[Georgia Sommers]

Well, today they could actually be ornaments! The soft pieces are now hard and tough. I should have made them all thin so they'd be crispy, not heavy. Live and learn! There will be lots of happy birds around these parts for a few days. :)

I haven't thought of those homemade ornaments in ages. What a fun walk down memory lane.

[Georgia Sommers]

Well, hooray! I think they came out nicely and because I didn't roll them out so much it's kind of like eating pita or naan. They'll be great with tonight's lentil soup.
Many thanks to you all for helping me out, I was pretty sure I'd have to toss it. This has been fun. :)

I wish the pictures turned out brighter/better so they wouldn't look so boring, but really, they're good!

[chowser]

That sounds great and they look tasty. And, if you have leftover, they'll make great breadcrumbs.

[Georgia Sommers]

Oh, good idea!

[jmcarthur8]

They do look good. Did you bake them till they were dry like crackers, or do they have a little softness to them?
Now I'm wondering how they'd be with a little topping broiled on them, like tiny pizzas or some brie with a little jam on top...

[Georgia Sommers]

the center ones are softer, edge pieces crispy. The best of all worlds. Yes, toppings would be great! I love eating preserves with soup (sweet/salt thing) so i think jam on these will be delicious. Thanks again, jm, it was fun to do something completely new for me, and to salvage the dough so it wasn't wasted. I just love episodes like this one in the kitchen.

[jmcarthur8]

;-)

[goodhealthgourmet]

if it ever happens again, i'm thinking pretzels are in order...

[Georgia Sommers]

What a great idea! I'm not much of a baker so it certainly could happen again.

[ipsedixit]

Like others have said, you might give it another nudge and see if it rises.

If you're going to give up, might try the crouton route -- season with salt, chopped garlic, cut up and bake?

Or maybe make crackers, or a cracker like crust for pizza?

[Georgia Sommers]

Pizza crust! Didn't think of that, though I have ingredients to make a good one. This flop has turned into something very good for me. I really appreciate the ideas!

[kprange]

Ok, when I was a kid - 13 to be exact - I decided to surprise my parents and make homemade bread. The recipe i used called for 13 cups of flour. My mom knew something was up when I sent them to the store for more flour. I asked my dad how warm lukewarm milk should be - that is where the yeast was activated - he said just let it sit out for about 15 minutes. I did and my bread really didn't rise too much. Mom put it in a paper grocery bag and set it on the counter to be thrown out.

Hours later, I looked and sure enough, my dough had risen!!!! We went ahead and made bread. While the flavor was good, the bread was so heavy that we could have sold the recipe and method to the army for bombs.

I know my yeast didn't activate because my milk wasn't warm enough. I have fond memories of that baking day. I am sure there is flour somewhere hidden in that kitchen today - I had flour and milk everywhere. It took my mom hours to clean the kitchen.

[chowser]

It's too bad you didn't wait longer. If the bread was starting the rise, the yeast was fine. If you had waited, it would have taken a lot longer but you'd still have good bread. Warm milk helps activitate the yeast faster but it will still rise, given enough time.

But, what a sweet thing to do for your parents and what a great memory! I've baked bread that hadn't risen enough and couldn't get over how dense it was. You could break a toe if you dropped it on your foot!

[Georgia Sommers]

That's a cute story, kprange. My hat is always off to parents who allow kids in the kitchen, knowing the results might be frightening. ;)
My daughter used to believe she could bake without a recipe. One I'll never forget is an apple cake she made that tasted of nothing but salt. :) She was so proud and I told her it was delicious, though her brothers and sisters weren't so kind! I just wanted her to enjoy herself in the kitchen. Any effort at all was wonderful in my book.

[kprange]

Thanks. It always made for a great story when walking down memory lane.

[Kelli2006]

If you have fresh yeast you can attempt to restart it with just enough water to make a paste. Mix this mixture into the dough w/ enough flour to bring it back to proper consistency and start the fermentation timing again.

[Chowrin]

Let it sit until it does rise? There's yeast in the air, ya know? That said, I've actually eaten bread without yeast, and it was if not good, at least edible.

Did you forget the yeast? (I have, no shame in it)

[Georgia Sommers]

I didn't forget it (this time!) but suppose it must have been too old, no matter what the package says. I just rolled the dough out, cut into crackers, and sprinkled some with salt and some with garlic pepper, per jmcarthur8's suggestion. Didn't want to get too creative with seasonings because I really want to taste the cracker to see if it's good. 1st tray in the oven now, we'll see!

[jmcarthur8]

I am interested to see how they come out. I'm thinking saltine-ish? Garlic pepper sounds good.

[Sherri]

GS, do you know why the dough did not rise? Dead yeast is my first thought.

Troubleshooting the problem could yield some ideas. EX: if the yeast itself is moribund, mixing a new batch of active yeast and kneading it (along with some more flour) into the original dough might solve the problem.

I would be very tempted to add some sugar water to another batch of yeast and flour to see if there's any action. If not, the original yeast could be culprit and nothing will resurrect dead yeast. Bake the brick, give it to the dog and start over.

[Georgia Sommers]

Not sure why, haven't tested the yeast but that's a good idea. I may try to roll it out as jmmcarthur suggests, and see what happens. But yeah, a brick is what I've got. :)

[jmcarthur8]

Roll it out, cut into squares and make crackers? It's worth a try!

[Georgia Sommers]

Good idea! Thanks.