[Iarwain]

For yeast honestly I have had the best, most reliable, results with regular ol' Red Star. I don't use special yeast and have been baking whole wheat bread for over a decade. I know many people love SAF but it can, IME, rise too quickly if conditions are too optimal and that leaves holes in the loaf and Fleishmann's doesn't impress me (I have heard others say they didn't like Fleishmann's either so I don't think it's just me), though I have used it when that was all I could get. I know some people love the special types of yeast though. It just threw things off for me and didn't give me better results. Just thought I'd throw that experience out there.

Using a bigger batch in your pan is worth a try anyway. It may or may not turn out better. You might need to adjust baking time/temp.

Hey, you know what? I think it's cool talking bread mechanics. This is fun. I don't know anyone IRL who bakes regularly. The one friend I had that used to passed away a couple years ago. I let my baking slide the last couple years when life got complicated (still did it but not frequently) but I think I'm going to go start a batch now.