| Fault | | Pasty texture /weak crumb /goes stale quickly | Too weak; poor gluten development
| Too little; lack of enzyme activity | High or low extremes; lack of enzyme activity | Too short; dough not matured | Too little; poor gluten development | Poor rise | Too little; makes dough too stiff | Good rise then collapse * | Excess; gives dough with poor gas retention | Large cavities | Too much | Too much | Too long | Too little
| Sour smell and taste | A glutinous smelly mess. | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Although none of the recipe instructions are critical, deviations from the norm eventually affect bread quality. It is useful to have reliable means to check volumes, temperatures and timings.
* Soft doughs are sensitive to mechanical disturbance during rising and proving.
Salt is unlikely to cause problems unless used in great excess, when it will kill the yeast.