It is a little difficult to tell exactly what the loaf looks like from one photo - if I could see if from a couple of more angles, I think I might have a better picture of it.

It looks like it sort of split on top as it was baking, and it may have risen more than expected. If you otherwise like the loaf, perhaps you could make some tiny slashes on the top, the way you would for a French loaf, and that may even out the way the loaf spreads.

I bake a lot of bread, but I am still experimenting also, mostly with whole wheat and rye flours. I've never made oatmeal bread, but I might want to try if you get the kinks worked out. I don't mind slightly misshapen loaves, however. I used to get them in my bread machine, and I found that if I mixed the dry ingredients together first that the loaves came out more even, but this would not be the case for you.

Lars

Lars, I was thinking the same as you you were thinking. So this time I made a slash down the middle before sticking the loaf in the oven. Perhaps my slash wasn't deep enough, though. It was pretty shallow. And, perhaps, three shorter slashes rather than one long one would be more helpful.

My suggestions:
1) use a 9 x 5 pan (and because it's a bigger pan, you won't expect the dough to rise so far above the edge)
2) that "gently shape it into a loaf" direction -- are you following that instead of doing what I'm sure you do with other breads, that is, deflate gently and let rest before shaping the loaf in the usual way? Could be the problem.
2) pinch the seam of the dough really hard

What is the reason for cutting the salt and yeast in half? That is the problem, I believe.

Walnut, It's a health thing. I cut the salt because of my husband's sodium restrictions. Salt acts to regulate yeast activity, so when you decrease the amount of salt, you must do the same for the amount of yeast. Otherwise, the yeast, in essence, runs away with itself. Basically, whatever you do to the salt, you must do to the yeast.

Cloudy, I was worrying that I pinched the seam too much. I tried to be as gentle as I possibly could. But I did revert to shaping a rectangle of sorts and then rolling it up. Maybe that was too much activity.

I wonder if the dough was too soft, too much moisture, so it didn't have enough structure.

I agree with CC, bigger loaf pan, punch down the dough after the first rise, let the dough rest before shaping, firmly shape the dough into a loaf shape, put in the 9x5 pan and let rise until the dough just reaches the lip of the pan then Bake as directed.

FWIW, I would try the recipe again without the lethicin and Bread Improver. Also, I use 2 t. instant yeast for my two loaf recipes, so I think 2 t. instant yeast is too much for this recipe. You were right to decrease the yeast in relation to decreasing the salt. JMO

Teresa

I agree with Teresa and CC, use a bigger pan and shape the loaf firmly. I'd also skip the bread improver and reduce the yeast a bit more, like Teresa.

You can also sometimes get that split when the dough is under proofed, or not risen enough, and then you get a quick oven spring and it splits the loaf, so you might want to let it rise a bit more too.

Good luck, I'll bet it still tastes awesome...

Annie

Thanks Teresa & Annie. The bread is actually very tasty, so I know I'll want to make it again. I think next time I'll give a 9 x 5 pan a try. You may be right about dough improvers.

I've discovered that even though I'm very careful to make sure I lessen both salt & yeast in the same proportion, the lower sodium doughs seem to rise faster and would be prone to overproofing if I wasn't watching them so carefully. That's why I use active dry yeast most of the time. It takes longer to rise. Next time I'll cut back the yeast a bit more too.

Annie, I never realized that underproofing could lead to that sort of split. I always thought it was the result of overproofing. Learn something new every day, huh?

Thanks for your help.

Everyone gave good information and there are several possible reasons for the bread shredding on the side. A little shredding is acceptable, but not as much as shown in the picture. You had nice oven-spring and browning, on the positive side of things :-).

My first thought was the pan size, as many others have suggested. The best judge of the size of pan needed is the weight of the dough. If the weight is around 2-pounds (or about 4-cups of flour in the recipe), then a 9x5-inch pan is the best choice. An 8-1/2x4-1/2-inch pan for 1-1/2-pounds of dough (or about 3 c. of flour).

-The general rule-of-thumb for reducing salt in a yeast bread recipe is to reduce them by the same percentage - for example - if you reduce the salt by 50%, then you also reduce the amount of yeast by 50%.

-Be sure to rest your dough after punching down and before shaping - this is an important step that is often left out - including the good folks at King Arthur Flour per recipe instructions.

How to: After punching it down and scaling the dough (if necessary for determining pan size or if dividing into more than one loaf), place the dough on the oiled counter or Silpat and round the dough by pulling it down with your hands and turning it a quarter of a turn each time until you have a nice tight ball. This helps straighten the gluten strands and the tight surface of the dough ball will help hold in the gasses. Cover the dough (I flip a dough-rising bucket over it, but a bowl, sheet of plastic wrap, or a light cloth can also be used). Allow the dough to sit for 10-15 minutes before forming so the gluten has a chance to relax and makes the dough easier to shape properly.

-How was the dough shaped? Use a rolling pin or pat the dough out with lightly oiled hands, then roll it back up and pinch the seam shut - placing the seam side down - and turn the ends under the loaf.

Other possible reasons:

-Over-mixing can cause shredding. This can happen when using a stand mixer, but not as likely if you use a bread machine or make the dough by hand.

-Too much flour can cause shredding. Only add enough flour to make a nice soft dough. The amount suggested in the recipe is just a good (or bad) guess. It's better to err on the side of a slightly slack (or wet) dough than a stiff dough.

-The dough may have been under-proofed for the first rise and/or the last rise after it was panned. Use a dough rising bucket so you'll know when the dough has doubled in bulk so you don't under- or over-proof the dough. Personally, I never proof dough in the bread machine, if you used a bread machine. I always take the dough out after it finished kneading and place it in a dough-rising bucket. Dough rises according to the amount and strength of the yeast, the moisture and ambient temperature - not according to the timed rise in a bread machine. It would also be best to let the dough rise outside of the bread machine due to the salt/yeast adjustment.

A 2-quart plastic food storage container from a restaurant supply store will work for most recipes that make 1 or 2 loaves. Find one that is clear or opaque, round or square - your choice, and has a graduated measure on the side. You can also recycle a plastic ice cream bucket or a plastic canister with a lid - just make sure it has a straight side.

If the dough in the dough-rising bucket comes up to the 1-quart line, it will be "double" in bulk when it reaches the 2-quart line. If the container doesn't have graduated markings, use a ruler. Take the measure of the dough in the container, double that amount and mark where that will be on the side of the container (use an erasable marker, grease pen, post-it-note, piece of masking tape, etc. - but be sure to mark which edge of the post-it-note or tape is the marking).

A dough rising bucket takes all the guess-work out of proofing. With the lid on, it's the perfect environment providing it's own moisture, keeps drafts from hardening the dough surface, as well as being a straight-sided container which gives an accurate gauge for measuring. A slant-sided bowl leaves a lot of guess-work and is, at best, inaccurate and difficult to gauge "double". The "finger-tip test" is also an inaccurate test.

Yeast bread is one of the most humbling foods we make in the kitchen!!! Hope your next attempt at this recipe is perfect!

-Grainlady

Thanks, Grainlady, for your input. I did reduce both salt & yeast by the same percentage, so I did at least one thing right. However, I did not let the dough rest before shaping, so I'll remember to do that next time. I patted the dough into a rectangle before rolling it. Perhaps I didn't roll the dough tight enough. Is that preferred? I kneaded the dough in my machine and let it rise in it too. I've got a rising bucket that I mark with a purple rubber band, so I guess I should use that all the time when it comes to bread loaves. (I have found that dinner rolls or sandwich buns are very, very forgiving, and I don't have to fuss with them as much.)

I'm pretty sure the dough did not have too much flour in it. I check it about every five minutes during the first part of the kneading cycle. I use a spray bottle of water to add extra moisture if needed. (The spray keeps me from accidentally adding too much liquid at a time.)

I'll try to incorporate all these helpful hints the next time I tackle this recipe. Hope springs eternal, you know.