c/baking-fails-and-wins

Pulled a loaf out too early and it collapsed in 30 seconds

I was making a sourdough boule at 2am last Tuesday. Opened the oven door just a crack to check color. The whole thing sank like a deflated balloon. Has anyone here had a loaf crater on them that fast?

The creaming method step I totally ignored for years

I found out last week that I've been creaming butter and sugar wrong for basically ever because I always stopped when the mixture looked 'fluffy' instead of waiting the full 5 to 8 minutes like the King Arthur blog says. Turns out my cookies were always flat and greasy because the butter wasn't aerated enough, which explains all those Pinterest fails I blamed on my oven. Has anyone else had a baking rule they ignored for years and then regretted it hard?

Just discovered butter temperature matters way more than I thought

I was reading a King Arthur Flour blog post last night and found out that if your butter is even 2 degrees off, your cookies will spread completely different. Has anyone else spent years guessing on this and only now realizing why their bake comes out flat?

Baked cookies for 10 years before realizing I was using the wrong rack position

I always put my cookie sheets on the middle rack like my mom did. Last week I watched a video where the guy put them on the top third and they came out golden on bottom and chewy instead of burnt. Has anyone else had a basic baking habit that took forever to question?

Took me 4 hours to figure out why my sourdough starter wasn't rising

I kept feeding my starter every day for two weeks and it just sat there like a sad puddle. Turns out my tap water had too much chlorine killing the yeast. I switched to filtered water and it doubled in size by the next morning. Four hours of googling at 11pm for something that simple. Anyone else waste days on a fix that took 5 minutes once you knew?

Vent: My attempt at macarons just turned into a flat mess of crumbs

I tried making French macarons for the first time last night at my friend's place in Austin and spent 2 hours on the batter only for them to come out cracked and hollow. The recipe said to fold the almond flour 45 times but I think I overmixed it or something because the feet never formed at all. Has anyone else had this issue with macaron batter and figured out the right folding technique?

Stumbled on a baker's trick about cooling racks in a random YouTube comment

I was watching a video on making macarons and some random comment said to raise your cooling rack off the counter with upside down ramekins for better airflow. Tried it with my last batch of sugar cookies and the bottoms came out way more even instead of slightly soggy. Has anyone else tried propping up their cooling racks or is that just extra work for no real difference?

Tried butter vs shortening in my chocolate chip cookies last weekend and wow what a difference

I always used butter but saw a blog saying shortening makes cookies softer so I did a side by side batch. The butter ones spread way too thin and got crispy edges while the shortening ones stayed thick and chewy. Has anyone else tried swapping fats for a totally different texture?

Butter vs shortening for pie crust - picked the wrong one

I had to decide between all butter or half shortening for my apple pie last weekend, and I went with butter because everyone says it tastes better. The crust was flaky but fell apart completely when I tried to cut it, has anyone else dealt with that?

Found an old 1980s Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbook and the winning pie used canned soup

Bought a $40 digital scale for bread and it was a game changer

Always thought eyeballing flour was fine until I had three flat loaves in a row. The scale paid for itself in the first weekend of consistent dough. Anyone else fight switching over to weighing instead of cups?

Why does nobody talk about how baking soda and baking powder have totally different expiration dates

I was making my grandma's banana bread recipe last Tuesday and it came out flat as a pancake. Took me three tries and a trip to the store to figure out my baking powder was 8 months past its date. The box said "best by" but I figured it was like salt, lasts forever. Nope. Apparently baking soda goes bad slower than baking powder. Who else has ruined a batch because of old leavening?

Swapped my glass loaf pan for a metal one on banana bread and the crust came out way better, am I just late to this party?

I used glass for years and got soggy sides every time, but the metal pan gave me that golden crispy edge in 10 minutes less bake time, has anyone else made this switch and noticed the same thing?

My grandma's bread advice finally clicked after 10 years

She always said don't punch the dough down, just fold it gently. I thought she was being fussy. Made a ciabatta last month using her method. Best crumb I ever got, light and airy instead of dense. Anybody else have a family member whose baking tips turned out to be right?

Hit 100 loaves of sourdough this morning and I still can't nail a consistent crumb

I kept a tally on my fridge for the last 8 months and today I baked loaf number 100. Everyone online acts like you get the perfect open crumb after 20 tries, but I'm still getting dense patches and uneven holes. My starter is healthy, I use filtered water at 78 degrees, and I fold the dough exactly like the videos show. Yet my neighbor who bakes once a month gets those magazine covers. I think the whole "practice makes perfect" thing is overhyped for sourdough, or maybe my kitchen is just cursed. Has anyone else put in triple digit hours and still fought with a gummy middle?

Burned through 4 batches of cookies at my grandma's house before I realized her oven runs 50 degrees hot

I was visiting her in Phoenix last summer and kept pulling out hockey pucks until my cousin mentioned she'd had it recalibrated wrong for 6 years, has anyone else dealt with a crazy off temp oven?

Tried making croissants from scratch and my butter broke through the dough on all three attempts

I spent last Saturday morning trying to make proper croissants for the first time. Watched about 4 different videos and felt pretty confident going in. By the third fold my butter layer had completely broken through the dough on one side. I kept going anyway and baked them off just to see what would happen. They came out flat and greasy, not flaky at all. Has anyone else had the butter break through and found a way to save it mid-way?

Shoutout to the bakery that finally taught me about room temperature eggs

I saw a fact on a baking blog that said eggs straight from the fridge can make your cake batter curdle by up to 30 percent. Tried it this weekend with a chocolate layer cake and the texture was way smoother than my usual lumpy mess. Has anyone else noticed a big difference or am I just imagining it?

Bought a cheap dutch oven off Amazon and it actually works fine

Everyone in the baking groups keeps saying you gotta spend at least $100 on a Lodge or Le Creuset or your bread will come out terrible. I had my doubts because $35 seemed way too good to be true for a 6 quart enameled pot. Picked up one called the Cuisiland brand back in March just to see what would happen. First sourdough loaf came out with a perfect crust and the inside was fluffy. I've used it maybe 20 times now and the enamel is still holding up fine with no chips or cracks. Not saying expensive ones are bad but this cheap option worked for me. Anyone else had good luck with off brand bakeware?

Burnt the bottom of a sourdough loaf so bad it set off the smoke alarm at 6am

I was using a new Dutch oven and didn't realize the oven rack was one notch too low. Had to open all the windows in my apartment for 20 minutes while my upstairs neighbor banged on the ceiling. Anyone else had a baking fail that woke up the whole building?

My sourdough starter finally worked after 4 failed attempts

I kept killing my starter for almost a month, tried using tap water in Phoenix and it just wouldn't bubble. Last week I switched to filtered water and fed it twice a day, and now it doubles in size within 6 hours. Anyone else have water ruin their starter like that?

My $60 Silicone Bread Slip Mat Turned Into A Dough Disaster

I bought a fancy silicone mat specifically for kneading artisan dough about 2 years ago, thinking it would be non-stick magic. That mat shifted and slid all over my counter so bad my dough ended up on the floor after 5 minutes of work. Anyone else have a mat that just refuses to stay put during kneading?

Spent 2 hours fighting a chocolate souffle that collapsed in the oven after I opened the door to check on it 5 minutes early

I knew better than to peek but I just had to see if it was rising right and boom it fell flat. Has anyone else ruined a bake just from opening the oven at the wrong moment?

I was dead wrong about using bread flour for pizza dough

For years I figured all-purpose flour was fine for pizza since I'm just cooking at home, not a pizzeria. Then last month I got a cheap bag of bread flour on clearance at the grocery store and decided to give it a shot. The difference in the crust texture was honestly shocking - way more chewy and crispy at the same time, not dense like my usual attempts. Has anyone else had a similar moment where swapping one ingredient changed everything for them?

Had to pick between butter and shortening for my grandma's pie crust

I was making my grandma's apple pie recipe last weekend and it says you can use either butter or shortening for the crust. I went with butter because I thought it would taste better, but man, that dough was so sticky I had to keep adding flour like three times. The crust came out tougher than a boot and my roommate said it tasted like a saltine cracker. Has anyone else had butter ruin their pie dough or is it just my bad technique?