Diagnostic tool
Something went wrong. Let's find out why.
Pick what you were making and what it did. You get the likely causes sorted by where the problem actually lives, the fix for each, and a link to the article that explains the mechanism. A single symptom usually has candidate causes in more than one domain. Work down the list, change one variable at a time, and keep a bake log, because the fix that works is evidence and the fix that doesn't is also evidence.
Dense, heavy crumb Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueUnder-kneaded, so the gluten never developed enough to hold gas.
- techniqueUnder-proofed: the dough was baked before it had risen.
- formulaToo little yeast for the batch size or the time available.
- formulaToo much flour or too little water, giving a stiff low-hydration dough.
- formulaOld yeast that is no longer viable.
What to change
- Develop the gluten fully before shaping. Test with a windowpane rather than the clock.
- Proof until roughly doubled, confirmed with the poke test, not by time alone.
- Verify the yeast is alive before committing a batch to it.
- Raise the hydration.
- Scale by weight rather than volume. A cup of flour ranges from about 120 to 145 g depending on how it was scooped.
Gummy, undercooked interior Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueSliced while still hot. Cooling finishes the bake.
- techniqueUnderbaked.
- equipmentThe oven runs cooler than its dial claims.
What to change
- Bake to an internal temperature of 190 to 210 °F (88 to 99 °C).
- Cool completely before slicing. Lean loaves want one to two hours; dense ryes want a full day.
- Check the oven against a separate thermometer rather than trusting the dial.
Flat, spread loaf with little height Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-proofed, so the gluten is exhausted and cannot hold the shape.
- formulaSlack or over-hydrated dough.
- formulaFlour too weak for the style.
- techniqueShaped without enough surface tension.
What to change
- Shorten the proof.
- Lower the hydration, or move to a bread flour with more protein.
- Shape with real tension so the loaf has a skin to push against.
- Bake in a form or banneton if the dough is too slack to hold itself.
Collapses when scored or loaded into the oven Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueProofed too long.
- environmentProofed too warm, so it passed its peak faster than expected.
What to change
- Reduce the proofing time, the proofing temperature, or both.
- Bake at the first sign of readiness: a poke that springs back slowly rather than not at all.
Dense and tight, bursting at the side Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueInsufficient final proof, so the remaining gas forced its way out at the weakest point.
- environmentDough too cold, so fermentation ran slower than the schedule assumed.
What to change
- Proof longer, or warmer, until the rise is genuinely there.
- Check the finished dough temperature. Lean bread doughs are usually targeted at 75 to 78 °F (24 to 26 °C).
No oven spring Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-proofed, leaving no reserve gas for the oven.
- equipmentOven not fully preheated.
- techniqueNo steam, so the crust set before the loaf could expand.
- formulaDough too weak to hold the expansion.
What to change
- Proof slightly less so there is gas left in reserve.
- Preheat fully, and give the oven longer than the indicator light suggests.
- Add steam for the first 10 to 15 minutes, then vent.
- Strengthen the dough with a stronger flour or more development.
Pale crust Bread
Likely causes
- equipmentOven too cool.
- formulaToo little sugar available for browning.
- techniqueNo steam early, or dry heat throughout.
- techniqueOver-fermented, so the yeast consumed the sugars that would have coloured the crust.
What to change
- Raise the temperature and verify it independently.
- Steam early, then vent so the crust can dry and colour.
- Shorten the bulk ferment so some fermentable sugar survives to the bake.
Crust too dark Bread
Likely causes
- equipmentOven too hot.
- formulaToo much sugar or milk, both of which accelerate browning.
- equipmentRack positioned too close to an element.
What to change
- Lower the temperature.
- Reduce the enrichment, or accept the colour and shorten the bake.
- Tent with foil once the colour is where you want it.
- Move the rack to the centre and rotate part way through.
Big irregular holes, wildly open crumb Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueUnder-mixed.
- formulaOver-hydrated for the style you want.
- techniqueUnder-degassed before shaping.
What to change
- Mix or fold more to build a more even structure.
- Degas and shape firmly for a tighter crumb.
- Lower the hydration if you want an even crumb rather than an open one.
Tight, close crumb when you wanted open Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-degassed during shaping.
- formulaHydration too low.
- techniqueOver-worked at the shaping stage.
What to change
- Handle gently and preserve the gas you built during bulk.
- Raise the hydration.
- Shape with tension but without crushing the structure.
Sudden collapse in the oven Bread
Likely causes
- techniqueSevere over-proof.
- formulaToo much yeast, pushing fermentation past the dough's structural limit.
- formulaGluten too weak to survive the expansion.
What to change
- Cut the proof time, the yeast, or both.
- Move to a stronger flour.
- Bake earlier than feels comfortable and compare.
Sunken centre Cakes
Likely causes
- formulaToo much leavening: it rises faster than the structure can set, then falls.
- techniqueUnderbaked, so the centre never set.
- techniqueOven door opened before the structure had set.
- formulaToo much sugar or fat for the structure to carry.
- techniqueOver-mixed.
What to change
- Reduce the leavening. This is the most common single cause.
- Bake until genuinely set: springs back when pressed, tester comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Leave the door shut through the first two thirds of the bake.
- Rebalance so sugar and liquid do not exceed what the flour and egg can carry.
Domed or cracked top Cakes
Likely causes
- equipmentOven too hot: the top sets before the centre has finished rising, so it erupts.
- formulaToo much flour.
- equipmentPan too small, forcing the batter upward.
- techniqueOver-mixed, developing too much gluten.
What to change
- Lower the oven 15 to 25 °F (8 to 14 °C).
- Check the pan size against the recipe and scale the batter by area if it differs.
- Mix only until combined.
- Level the batter in the pan before it goes in.
Dry crumb Cakes
Likely causes
- techniqueOverbaked.
- formulaToo much flour, often from measuring by volume.
- formulaToo little fat, sugar, or liquid.
- equipmentOven running hot.
What to change
- Bake to doneness and no further: about 205 to 210 °F (96 to 99 °C) at the centre for butter cakes and sponges.
- Scale by weight.
- Raise the sugar, fat, or liquid, or replace part of the butter with oil.
- Soak lean sponges with flavoured syrup, which is what they are designed for.
Dense and heavy Cakes
Likely causes
- techniqueUnder-creamed, so too little air was beaten in to start with.
- formulaToo little leavening.
- techniqueOver-mixed after the flour went in.
- techniqueCold ingredients broke the emulsion.
What to change
- Cream the butter and sugar until genuinely light and fluffy. This is aeration, not just combining.
- Check the leavening is present and still active.
- Fold gently once the flour is in.
- Bring eggs and dairy to room temperature before mixing.
Tunnels: vertical holes through the crumb Cakes
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-mixing developed too much gluten, which channels the gas upward.
- equipmentOven too hot.
What to change
- Mix only until combined.
- Lower the temperature.
Coarse, open crumb Cakes
Likely causes
- techniqueInsufficient creaming, so the air cells started too large.
- formulaToo much leavening.
- formulaSugar crystals too coarse to cut fine air cells during creaming.
What to change
- Cream longer.
- Reduce the leavening.
- Use a finer sugar.
Overflowed the pan Cakes
Likely causes
- equipmentPan too small, or filled too full.
- formulaToo much leavening.
What to change
- Fill pans roughly one half to two thirds full.
- Use the pan the recipe specifies, or scale the batter by pan area.
- Reduce the leavening.
Stuck to the pan Cakes
Likely causes
- techniqueInadequate pan preparation.
- techniqueTurned out too soon, or left in too long.
What to change
- Grease and flour, or line with parchment.
- Cool about 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out.
- Note the exception: angel food and chiffon are baked in ungreased tube pans on purpose, because the batter has to grip the walls to climb, and they cool fully inverted.
Soapy, bitter, or metallic taste Cakes
Likely causes
- formulaExcess baking soda, or soda with no acid to neutralise it.
- formulaToo much baking powder.
What to change
- Reduce the soda.
- Make sure there is acid in the formula to neutralise the soda you are using.
- Measure leavening precisely. This is a place where volume measurement causes real damage.
Sour taste Cakes
Likely causes
- formulaToo much baking powder.
- techniqueUnderbaked.
What to change
- Reduce the baking powder.
- Bake fully.
Spread too much, came out thin Cookies
Likely causes
- techniqueButter too warm or partly melted going in.
- formulaToo little flour.
- formulaToo much sugar.
- equipmentDough portioned onto a hot pan from a previous batch.
- equipmentOven too cool, so the cookie spreads before it sets.
- techniqueOver-creamed.
What to change
- Chill the dough.
- Add flour.
- Portion onto cool pans. Let sheets come back to room temperature between batches.
- Verify the oven and raise it if it reads low.
- Reduce the sugar slightly.
Didn't spread, stayed mounded Cookies
Likely causes
- formulaToo much flour.
- formulaToo little sugar or fat.
- techniqueOver-chilled, so the dough was too cold to relax.
- formulaToo much leavening set the structure before it could spread.
What to change
- Reduce the flour.
- Rest the dough at room temperature before baking.
- Rebalance the sugar and fat upward.
Cakey when you wanted chewy Cookies
Likely causes
- formulaToo much flour or leavening.
- formulaToo much egg.
- formulaToo little sugar or fat.
What to change
- Cut the flour and the leavening.
- Reduce the egg, or use yolk in place of whole egg.
- Increase the brown sugar and the fat.
Tough Cookies
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-mixed after the flour went in, developing gluten.
- formulaToo much flour.
- formulaToo little fat or sugar, both of which tenderise.
What to change
- Mix minimally once the flour is in.
- Rebalance the fat and sugar upward.
- Move to a lower-protein flour.
Burnt or over-browned bottoms Cookies
Likely causes
- equipmentDark or thin pan absorbing and radiating too much heat.
- equipmentRack too low.
- equipmentOven too hot.
- formulaToo much sugar.
What to change
- Use heavy, light-coloured sheets. Dark pans brown noticeably faster, and the standard correction is about 25 °F (14 °C) lower.
- Double-pan by stacking two sheets.
- Move to the centre rack.
- Lower the temperature and rotate part way through.
Uneven baking or browning across the sheet Cookies
Likely causes
- equipmentOven hot spots.
- techniqueUneven portioning.
- techniqueSheet crowded.
What to change
- Rotate the sheet part way through the bake.
- Scoop uniform sizes.
- Space the cookies evenly and give them room.
Tough crust Pastry
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-worked dough, which develops gluten where you do not want it.
- formulaToo much water.
- formulaToo little fat.
- techniqueOver-rolled.
What to change
- Mix only to a shaggy mass.
- Use ice water sparingly, adding only enough to bring it together.
- Keep the fat cold and in visible flakes.
- Rest the dough before rolling and after.
Shrinks down the sides of the pan Pastry
Likely causes
- techniqueGluten over-developed, so the dough pulls back like elastic.
- techniqueDough stretched to fit the pan rather than eased in.
- techniqueInsufficient rest before baking.
What to change
- Rest and chill at least 30 minutes after rolling.
- Ease the dough into the pan without stretching it.
- Dock the base and use weights for a blind bake.
Soggy bottom Pastry
Likely causes
- techniqueBase underbaked.
- formulaFilling too wet.
- equipmentOven too cool.
- techniqueNo blind bake.
What to change
- Blind bake the shell before filling.
- Bake on a preheated stone or steel, or on the bottom rack.
- Use a metal pan. Glass and ceramic conduct poorly and bake the base slowly.
- Brush the shell with egg white to seal it.
- Thicken the filling.
Not flaky Pastry
Likely causes
- techniqueFat too warm, or blended in too thoroughly.
- formulaToo little fat.
- techniqueOver-mixed.
What to change
- Keep the butter cold and visible as flakes. Flakiness comes from discrete fat layers turning to steam.
- Use a fat that forms flakes rather than coating the flour.
- Laminate or fold to build layers.
- Chill between every step.
Cracks when rolled Pastry
Likely causes
- techniqueDough too cold straight from the fridge.
- formulaDough too dry, or unevenly hydrated.
- techniqueInsufficient rest.
What to change
- Let chilled dough temper briefly before rolling.
- Add water and let it hydrate evenly.
- Rest the dough before rolling.
Curdled or broken baked custard Custards
Likely causes
- techniqueOvercooked: the proteins tightened and squeezed out their moisture.
- equipmentOven too hot.
- techniqueNo water bath.
What to change
- Bake in a bain-marie. The surroundings cannot exceed 212 °F (100 °C), which buffers the custard.
- Pull at 170 to 175 °F (77 to 79 °C).
- Lower the oven temperature.
Scrambled stirred custard or crème anglaise Custards
Likely causes
- techniqueOverheated past about 180 °F (82 °C).
- techniqueDirect high heat.
What to change
- Cook gently to 175 to 180 °F (79 to 82 °C) and no further.
- Stir constantly.
- Temper the eggs with hot liquid before combining.
- Strain at the end as insurance.
Weeping or syneresis Custards
Likely causes
- techniqueOverbaked.
- formulaToo much liquid relative to the thickener.
- environmentStorage temperature swinging up and down.
What to change
- Reduce the bake time.
- Balance the thickener against the liquid.
- Cool and store at a steady temperature.
Didn't set Custards
Likely causes
- formulaToo little egg, starch, or gelatin.
- techniqueUndercooked.
- techniqueGelatin not bloomed, or not fully dissolved.
- formulaAcid or enzyme interference. Fresh pineapple, kiwi, papaya, fig, ginger, and mango carry proteolytic enzymes that digest gelatin so it never sets.
What to change
- Increase the setting agent.
- Cook to the endpoint rather than by time.
- Bloom gelatin in cold water, then dissolve it into a base at 122 to 140 °F (50 to 60 °C). Never boil it.
- Briefly boil enzymatic fruit or its juice first. Canned pineapple already works, because it has been heat treated.
Lumpy pastry cream Custards
Likely causes
- techniqueStarch not fully cooked, or unevenly dispersed.
- techniqueEggs scrambled during tempering.
What to change
- Temper the eggs gradually.
- Whisk constantly.
- Bring to a boil for one to two minutes to burst the starch granules.
- Strain.
Thin or runny pastry cream Custards
Likely causes
- techniqueStarch undercooked. Egg yolk carries alpha-amylase, an enzyme that thins cooked starch unless a full boil deactivates it.
- formulaToo little starch.
- formulaExcess sugar or acid weakening the gel.
What to change
- Boil for one to two full minutes. Under-boiling leaves both raw starch flavour and active amylase, which is why it goes soupy in the fridge.
- Adjust the starch upward.
- Balance the sugar.
Fat bloom: grey streaky film that smears when rubbed Chocolate
Likely causes
- techniqueUntempered or de-tempered chocolate.
- environmentWarm storage let the cocoa butter migrate and recrystallise into unstable forms.
What to change
- Re-temper to seed the stable form of cocoa butter crystal.
- Store cool and steady, around 60 to 65 °F (16 to 18 °C).
- Note the diagnostic: fat bloom smears under your thumb. Sugar bloom does not.
Sugar bloom: gritty dry surface that does not smear Chocolate
Likely causes
- environmentMoisture condensed on the surface, dissolved the sugar, then evaporated and left crystals behind.
- environmentRefrigeration followed by warming, or high humidity.
What to change
- Prevent the condensation in the first place: control storage humidity and wrap the chocolate.
- Bring chocolate to room temperature before unwrapping it.
- Accept that this one cannot be re-tempered away. Unlike fat bloom, it is not reversible.
Streaky, dull, or soft set Chocolate
Likely causes
- techniqueImproper temper, so the wrong crystal form dominates.
- environmentRoom too warm.
- techniqueInsufficient agitation while cooling.
What to change
- Re-temper, by seeding or by tabling.
- Set at 65 to 68 °F (18 to 20 °C) with low humidity.
- Agitate to build the crystal network.
Seized into a grainy stiff mass Chocolate
Likely causes
- techniqueA small amount of water or steam reached the melted chocolate.
- techniqueOverheated.
What to change
- Keep every trace of moisture away from melting chocolate.
- If it has already seized, go the other way: add more liquid deliberately and turn it into a fluid ganache.
- Melt gently. Dark chocolate should not go above about 120 °F (49 °C).
Too thick to coat Chocolate
Likely causes
- techniqueOverheated and thickened.
- formulaToo little cocoa butter.
- techniqueTrace moisture.
What to change
- Add cocoa butter, or a little warm cream if you are making ganache rather than a coating.
- Hold the correct working temperature.
- Avoid overheating in the first place.
Weeping: liquid under the meringue Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueWhites undercooked.
- environmentHumidity.
- techniqueSugar not fully dissolved.
What to change
- Use the Swiss or Italian method, both of which heat the whites and stabilise the foam.
- Add cornstarch.
- Bake fully.
- Avoid humid days for meringue work.
Beading: syrupy droplets on the surface Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueOvercooked.
- equipmentOven too hot.
- formulaExcess sugar.
What to change
- Lower the oven temperature.
- Reduce the sugar slightly.
- Bake low and slow.
Cracked macaron shells Meringue
Likely causes
- equipmentOven too hot.
- techniqueInsufficient resting, so no skin formed.
- techniqueOver-whipped or under-rested batter.
What to change
- Lower the temperature.
- Rest until the surface is touch-dry.
- Correct the macaronage.
No feet Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueBatter over-mixed or under-mixed.
- techniqueSkin did not form before baking.
- equipmentOven too cool.
- environmentToo much humidity.
What to change
- Get the macaronage right: the batter should flow like lava.
- Rest until a skin forms.
- Verify the oven temperature independently.
- Control the humidity in the room.
Hollow shells Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-whipped meringue.
- equipmentOven too hot, or fluctuating.
- techniqueBatter under-mixed.
What to change
- Whip to firm but not dry.
- Bake at a lower and steadier temperature.
- Mix to the correct consistency.
- Try a different rack position.
Deflated or flat meringue Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueFat or yolk contamination. Fat destroys egg-white foam.
- techniqueOver-whipped, breaking the foam.
- equipmentGrease on the bowl or whisk.
What to change
- Use a spotless, grease-free bowl.
- Separate the eggs cleanly. A trace of yolk is enough to stop the foam.
- Stop at stiff, glossy peaks.
Lumpy or grainy meringue Meringue
Likely causes
- techniqueOver-whipped, over-coagulating the proteins.
- techniqueUndissolved sugar.
What to change
- Stop whipping earlier.
- Add the sugar gradually.
- Slightly warm whites dissolve sugar more readily. Whites also whip to greater volume at around 70 °F (21 °C).
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The four domains
Every cause below is tagged with where it lives. When one symptom has candidates in more than one domain, that is the point: test one variable at a time rather than changing four things and learning nothing.
FormulaThe recipe itself: ratios, quantities, and ingredient choice.
TechniqueWhat you did: mixing, shaping, timing, handling.
EnvironmentThe room: temperature, humidity, altitude, storage.
EquipmentThe gear: oven calibration, pans, mixer, tools.
Adapted from the master symptom matrices in Environmental Variables & Troubleshooting. General sourcing across these tables: Figoni (2011); Gisslen (2016); Corriher (2008); McGee (2004); Modernist Bread (2017); King Arthur Baking technical guides; BAKERpedia. Full method and the environmental variables behind it: Environmental Variables & Troubleshooting.