At a trade show last month, a big supplier told another baker he dilutes his vanilla with synthetic stuff. I checked my batch against a pure bottle I bought in Mexico and the taste was completely flat. Anyone else run into this lately?
Was pulling a batch of baguettes out of the deck oven at 4am and my oven mitt slipped. Grabbed the hot edge of the sheet tray barehanded for a split second. Blisters are still healing. Been doing this 12 years and I got sloppy because I was rushing. Anyone else got a burn story that made them slow down?
I've been using the same recipe for 2 years and never had this issue before. Any idea what could cause them to not puff up in the oven?
I always thought you had to pound dough into submission to get a good crumb, so I would knead for a solid 10 minutes like I was angry at it. She just laughed and showed me a light stretch and fold method that took maybe 3 minutes total, and my rolls came out pillow soft for the first time. What baking habit did you hold onto forever that turned out to be totally backwards?
Pulled it out yesterday and it was straight up green on top. No amount of feeding was gonna fix that. Anyone else ever lost a starter to neglect and had to start from scratch?
Honestly I've been making the same basic white loaf for like 2 years and thought it was fine. Last week my mom came over took one look at it and said 'honey that looks like a sad potato.' She told me I wasn't letting it proof long enough and my oven temp was too low. I tried her advice added an extra 45 minutes of proofing time and cranked the heat up to 400. The loaf came out golden and tall and actually looked like bread for once. Has anyone else had a family member call out a baking flaw you didn't even notice?
Last week I was halfway through mixing dough for a big order of cinnamon rolls at my shop and realized my yeast packet expired 3 months ago. I almost threw it out but figured I'd test it in warm water with a pinch of sugar first. It barely foamed after 10 minutes so I added a second packet of fresh yeast and let it sit another 5 minutes - that did the trick and the rolls came out perfect. Any bakers here ever salvage old yeast or do you just pitch it?
I moved from Denver to Seattle last year and brought my 3 year old starter with me. In Denver it would double in 4 hours flat with that dry air and high altitude. Here in Seattle it takes 8 hours minimum and the texture is way more slack. Some bakers say the local microbes adapt and change the flavor over time, while others think it's just the humidity affecting fermentation speed. Has anyone else moved locations and noticed their starter behave completely differently?
Last Tuesday I got behind on pastry prep at the diner and threw a tray of croissants into the proofer around 2:30 in the morning. Forgot about them while I was helping the morning guy break down cases of eggs. By the time I checked at 4, they had doubled in size and turned into these weird bloated dough balloons that looked like they were about to pop. I tried baking them anyway and they came out flat and greasy with this weird yeasty taste. Had to throw the whole batch in the trash and start over. My boss walked in right as I was scraping melted butter off the sheet pans. He just laughed and said I should set a timer next time. Has anyone else dealt with proofing disasters when you are running on no sleep?
Last Saturday I was making 4 dozen cookies for a catering order and my oven was running 50 degrees hotter than the dial said. I only noticed because the first tray burned in 8 minutes flat. Ruined half the batch before I grabbed my trusty Thermapen to check. Anyone else had a surprise oven calibration issue mess up a big order?
My KitchenAid motor burned out halfway through mixing a double batch of sourdough last weekend. Had to finish by hand for 20 minutes, and my arms are still sore. Anyone else keep a spare mixer around just in case?
Last Tuesday I tried to make crackers with my starter discard like everyone suggests. They came out like hockey pucks and I almost threw the whole jar away. Then I talked to this old baker at the farmers market who said discard works better if you let it ferment 12 hours first instead of using it right away. I tried that on Friday with some parmesan and rosemary and they actually turned out great. Has anyone else had bad luck with discard recipes and found a trick that saved them?
She told me she's kept it alive since 1972 just by feeding it every week, no fancy fridge or special flour. I've been overcomplicating my starter with hydration ratios and exact temps, but hers has been making perfect bread for 50 years with just water and all-purpose. Any other bakers here use a really simple method that works better than the complex stuff?
My grandma swore I didn't need to spend money on a fancy digital oven thermometer. She said just put a cheap metal one in there and adjust the dial until it reads 350. I tried that for a month and my sourdough loaves kept coming out with gummy centers and burnt crusts. Finally I bought a ThermoPro for like 15 bucks and found out my oven runs 40 degrees hotter than the dial says. Now I'm wondering if grandmothers just get used to eating mediocre bread or if there's some secret technique I'm missing. Anyone else have a family member give you baking advice that was totally wrong?
I always struggled with getting my bread dough to rise in the winter. My kitchen gets cold and it would take hours. Last week I tried putting a cup of hot water in the microwave and setting the dough bowl inside with the door closed. The dough doubled in size in about 45 minutes. Has anyone else found a trick that works better for cold weather proofing?
I always rushed it before but last week I left my butter block in the fridge for 12 hours before rolling and the layers came out so clean and even, has anyone else noticed a big difference with longer chill times?
I bake bread every Saturday for my neighbors. Last month I did a test. Made two batches of the same recipe. One sat in the fridge for 24 hours, the other went straight from mixing to the oven after a 2 hour rise. The cold ferment had way better crust and the crumb was more open. Same flour, same yeast, same technique. My neighbor actually asked if I changed my supplier. Anyone else find that waiting is the real secret?
Started doing it after a pie contest in 2019 where the winner's crust was just flakier than mine - tried grating frozen butter the next week and my crusts came out way better with less work. Anyone else made a similar switch or still think cold butter works fine?
Left my new banneton on the counter after shaping a loaf and came back to him wearing it on his head asking if it made him look like a French baker, has anyone else had their tools mistaken for something else?
I took a class last month at the local community college and the instructor insisted on sifting flour for every single recipe. Three years of baking at home without a sifter and my cakes turn out fine. Has anyone else stopped sifting and seen no difference in their results?
I had a shift last month that started with a mixer dying at 5 AM, right when I was about to start a triple batch of sourdough. Then the proofing box decided to act up and overproofed a whole tray of croissants by like 40 minutes. By noon I had to scrap about 50 bucks worth of dough that just wouldn't rise right. It was one of those days where you just want to throw your apron at the wall and walk out. Has anyone else had a day where the equipment just seemed to conspire against you?
Been baking sourdough for about 8 months now and kept getting crusts that were like biting into a shoe. Tried different flours, longer proofs, shorter bakes. Nothing worked. Then last week I swapped out my Dutch oven for a cast iron skillet with a steel mixing bowl on top and suddenly the crust turned out perfect. Guess the steam was escaping through my cheap Dutch oven lid. You guys ever have a simple equipment swap fix a problem you'd been fighting forever?
Left the dough to rest overnight in the fridge and the crust came out way crispier than my usual room temp method, has anyone else messed around with fermentation temps for better oven spring?
I found out from a random YouTube comment that most home ovens are off by at least 15 degrees, so I finally bought an oven thermometer for $8 and now I adjust all my temps down by 25, anyone else ever bake for years without checking their actual oven temp?