Question

The bakery chef is testing out a variety of homemade breads by adding fruit to the dough. The final product has a cracked top. What is MOST likely the cause of this characteristic?

A) Overproofing the dough
B) Underproofing the dough
C) Too much fruit in the dough
D) Incorrect oven temperature

Answer 1

A cracked top on homemade breads is most likely caused by overproofing the dough, where excessive carbon dioxide from the yeast stretches the dough too much, leading to cracks.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most likely cause of a cracked top on homemade breads when fruit is added to the dough is A) Overproofing the dough. When dough is overproofed, the yeast produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, causing the dough to rise excessively. During the baking process, these gases expand even further, leading to overstretching and eventually cracking of the crust.

While each of the other options may affect the final product, they typically do not result in a cracked top: Underproofing the dough generally leads to dense bread, too much fruit in the dough can make the bread too wet or heavy, and an incorrect oven temperature usually affects the overall bake rather than causing cracks.