I’m on my 3rd loaf since we got here, and each one has been slow to rise, this latest being the worst. I opened fresh yeast for the first, and have just bought more yeast in sachets for the third thinking there was something wrong with the original. I’m using French flour, but have used this before & it worked then. It’s just weird how it’s so slow.
Could be altitude.
I haven’t found French supermarket yeast to be any good at all and now use Caputo from Amazon.
Also it’s fairly humid - might make a difference.
Thanks Karen. I brought Allinsons with me, but I think you’re right about the French supermarket stuff. The irony was that, of course having posted this it has now begun to rise, albeit slower than usual.
Altitude is about 400m.
Maybe we’ll not have to buy bread tomorrow. 
A key element is temperature and avoidance of draughts. Keep the dough nice and warm (24 to 26 deg C) and drape a clean tea towel over the bowl. Don’t allow it to become too hot though as excessive heat can kill the yeast.
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We find relative room humidity makes a huge difference, as does temperature, and altitude to a lessor degree.
We don’t use dried yeast tho’, but either wild yeast or fresh yeast cubes. The dried supermarkets packets we use in extremis and have never had a problem with them, just prefer fresh.
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You could give making your own sourdough bread a go: simply leave wholemeal flour (or any other cereal – I use oat flakes) to ferment in water at room temperature for a few days. Sourdough bread tastes much better and keeps for longer! Good bread needs to rise slowly
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Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Success was had in the end but instead of my usual roughly 3 hours and bake regime, this had more than 12 hours, gradually rising quicker as the yeast got going I think.
It’s cooling now, hopefully it will still be good for tomorrow lunch rather than today’s as intended.
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That looks very decent.
If you’re sure the room is warm enough and not too hunid, then Robert’s comment about it possibly being in a draught may be the answer
Thanks Karen. The room is around 23 degrees (a bit warmer than I usually have in the UK - typically 20-21) and the proofing takes place near the back of the room where there’s no doors or obvious places for a draft. Curious.
I had the same problem recently and put it down to the high temperature. I’m sure you know more about it than me but if in doubt about the yeast, I always activate the yeast separately before adding to the other ingredients