c/bakers

-1

My sourdough starter tanked after 3 weeks of perfect rises

I fed it like clockwork at 78 degrees and then suddenly it went flat and watery overnight, so I tossed half and rebuilt it with bread flour instead of rye, has anyone else had a starter crash right before a big bake sale?

0 comments

luna_wright•23h ago

Custard cracked on bake 12, then I switched pans and it stopped

I finally got my flan to stop splitting after trying 11 batches over 3 weekends, turns out my glass dish was too thin and the bottom heated unevenly. Swapped to a heavier ceramic one from the thrift store in Portland and the texture came out perfect, has anyone else hit that wall with ovenware?

0 comments

mark_carr7•5d ago

The $12 bench scraper that made me ditch my dough cutter for good

I've been making sourdough at home for like 8 years and always used a metal bench knife, figured it was the only way to score and divide. Last month I was at a little baking class in Portland and the instructor handed me a plastic scraper that cost $12 at a restaurant supply store. She showed me how it bends just right for folding dough without tearing the gluten, and it doesn't scratch my wooden proofing basket either. I went home and tried it on my usual 2 kilo batch, and honestly the loaves came out with way better oven spring. Has anyone else switched to plastic scrapers or am I late to this party?

2 comments

jasonallen•6d ago

Butter vs shortening in pie crust, no contest after 12 test bakes

I baked the same apple pie recipe 12 times over 3 weekends using butter, shortening, and half and half blends, and butter won every single time on flake and taste, so why do so many bakeries still push shortening, does anyone else think they are just cutting costs?

1 comments

the_mary•10d ago

My sourdough starter nuked my stand mixer after 5 years

I've been feeding my starter weekly since 2020, and last Thursday it finally got revenge. The dough was extra sticky, and I walked away for 2 minutes while it kneaded. Came back to a burning smell and the motor just died, right in the middle of shaping 4 loaves for a Saturday market in Nashville. I had to hand knead everything on a floured counter, which took 40 extra minutes per batch. My backup plan was a $15 Danish dough whisk from the grocery store, honestly it worked better than I expected. Has anyone else had a mixer give out mid-batch, and did you fix it or just switch to hand mixing for good?

0 comments

ruby_henderson36•16d ago

Switched from dry yeast to a sourdough starter after 15 years of baking

I baked with store bought dry yeast for 15 years, mostly in San Antonio, and never thought twice about it. Last spring my aunt gave me a jar of her 30 year old starter and I tried it on a basic white loaf. The first three tries came out flat and gummy, but the fourth loaf had this chewy crust and tangy crumb I couldn't get with my usual recipe. Now I keep two starters in my fridge and feed them every Sunday morning. Has anyone else made the jump later in their baking life, and how long did it take before your sourdough actually beat your old yeast bread?

0 comments

evan_green52•21d ago

A baker in Wichita convinced me to stop fearing rye flour

I used to avoid rye because every loaf came out dense and gummy. Then I talked to a guy named Pete at a farmer's market in Wichita who said the secret is letting the dough rest 20 minutes longer after mixing, which lets the enzymes do their thing. He also told me to use just 20% rye with bread flour instead of going all in. Has anyone else had rye click after a simple timing fix like that?

1 comments

the_taylor•24d ago

Sifting twice is a waste of time for most home bakers

I skipped the double sift on a pound cake last Tuesday and it came out just as light as the 40 times I did it before, so why are we all still doing this extra step?

1 comments

michaeltorres•26d ago

The sourdough starter talk in Portland that made me check my dates

I was chatting with this older baker at a farmer's market in Portland last Saturday and she casually mentioned she throws out her starter and makes a fresh one every 6 weeks. I've been babying the same batch for 9 months now, thinking older always meant better. She said she noticed her loaves getting less spring and sour around week 8, so she just resets and gets that big rise back. It hit different because I've been blaming my oven and flour when the issue was probably right in the jar. Anyone else ever reset their starter and see a jump in quality, or am I just chasing a ghost here?

1 comments

vera_robinson36•26d ago

The bread knife comment from my sister in law still bugs me

My sister in law watched me slice a sourdough loaf at Thanksgiving and said it looked like I was 'sawing a log', then she pulled out this tiny serrated thing from her drawer and it glided through like butter. I've been using the same cheap knife from a 12 piece set for 5 years now, and honestly I never thought the blade geometry mattered that much for crusty bread. Has anyone else had that moment where someone casually points out your basic tool is holding you back, and did you actually switch or just stubbornly keep your old one?

1 comments

the_ruby•26d ago

My aunt's egg white trick for macarons cost me a full batch in Denver

My aunt swore that aging egg whites for 48 hours at room temp was the secret to perfect macarons. I tried it last Thursday in my Denver kitchen, which sits at 5,280 feet, and every single shell cracked on the feet. Turned out altitude matters way more than egg aging, and the local pastry shop in Arvada told me to drop the meringue to soft peaks instead. Has anyone else gotten burned by kitchen advice that works at sea level but flops up here?

1 comments

parker_palmer44•28d ago

The old baker who showed me a crumb trick I still use every week

Back in 2015 at a farmers market in Portland, this grey-haired guy named Pete watched me kill a whole batch of ciabatta, then he just took my dough hook, flipped it upside down, and said 'you're fighting the gluten, let it fight itself', and I've never mixed the same way since.

1 comments

murphy.aaron•28d ago

Two hundred sourdough starters in one year, did not see that coming

I started keeping a tally of every starter I made in my home kitchen back in January just out of curiosity. Last week I hit 200 on the nose, which blew my mind because I only planned to bake for my family and a few neighbors. Most of them were gifts for people who wanted to try baking, and about 60 of those came back with photos of their first loaves. Have any of you kept track of how many you give away in a year, or am I the only one with a notebook full of bread math?

1 comments

paige331•29d ago

Swapped my stand mixer for a hand crank and it's a different dough game

I used to rely on my stand mixer for every loaf, but about 4 months ago the motor started smoking on a dense rye and I panicked. Instead of dropping $200 on a repair, I dug out my grandma's old hand crank mixer and gave it a shot. Honestly, the first few batches took twice as long and my arm was sore for days, but the dough felt more alive, less overworked. Now I do all my sourdough and wet doughs by hand, and I only pull out the electric for big catering orders. Has anyone else gone backwards like this, or am I the only one who likes the slower pace?

1 comments

the_diana•1mo ago

That $40 proofing box turned my bread game around, then nearly burned my counter

I finally caved and bought a cheap proofing box off Amazon because my kitchen sits at 62 degrees in winter. First loaf came out perfect, airy crumb, great rise, I felt like a pro. Then yesterday I left it on overnight by accident and woke up to the bottom of the box warping and a weird burnt plastic smell. Cost me $40 and a mini panic attack, but honestly it still beats babysitting dough on top of my fridge. Anyone else had a gadget that worked great until you forgot it was on? I'm thinking of getting a timer plug next, any recommendations that won't break the bank?

2 comments

miles_burns•1mo ago

My baguette dough turned into soup after a power cut last Tuesday

I had a batch of baguette dough proofing overnight in my kitchen in Austin, and the power went out at 3am, so the AC stopped and the temp shot up to like 84 degrees. By morning the dough had overproofed into a sticky puddle that I couldn't even scrape off the counter, and I had to toss the whole 5 pound batch. Has anyone else dealt with a sudden temperature swing wrecking their proofing schedule, or do you have a backup plan for those situations?

1 comments

betty_wells•1mo ago

Finally gave in and tried a digital scale for my bread dough

I fought using cups for years, but after three flat loaves in a row last week, I borrowed my neighbor's $15 scale. Weighing the flour and water took maybe 2 extra minutes and the crumb came out perfect. Anyone else hold out on metric measuring this long?

1 comments

the_thea•1mo ago

Rant: my sourdough starter died because of a cheap thermometer

Last Tuesday I checked my starter with one of those $6 fridge thermometers and it read 72 degrees, so I left it overnight. Next morning it read 84 and smelled like nail polish remover, totally fermented out. I guess the thermometer was off by 10 degrees the whole time. Anyone else had a tool mess up their batch like this, and what do you use to track temps now?

2 comments

miller.rowan•1mo ago

Found out my 10 year old sourdough starter has a whole legal name and birth date in a Facebook group

I was scrolling a bread baking group last night and saw people posting these official looking certificates for their starters with names and dates. Apparently there's a whole trend where bakers register their starters like pets or something. Am I the only one who just calls theirs "the jar" and feeds it when it looks hungry?

2 comments

milam48•1mo ago

Hot take: I think the 'cold butter' rule for pie crust is overhyped

I read this piece in Cook's Illustrated from January 2023 that said using frozen butter cut into flour with a food processor gave the flakiest results. But in my experience, letting the butter soften just a bit (like 5 minutes on the counter) actually blends easier and still comes out fine. I've made about 40 pies for my church bake sales in Eugene, and nobody can tell the difference. Has anyone else tested this side by side and found similar results?

3 comments

iris927•1mo ago

That sourdough starter I ignored for 2 years finally paid off big time

I kept seeing posts about keeping a starter alive and thought it was a waste of flour, but after my bread flopped for the 5th time with store-bought yeast I gave it a real shot and my first loaf came out perfect. Has anyone else had their stubborn streak cost them months of good baking?

2 comments

wilson.joseph•1mo ago

My stand mixer died mid-batch at 6 AM on a Saturday

I was making three loaves of brioche for a farmer's market order and the motor just gave out with a loud grind. It was a 10 year old KitchenAid that I got used, so I guess it had a good run. I grabbed a hand whisk and finished the dough by arm power, which took forever and made my shoulder sore for two days. Has anyone else had a big mixer fail at the worst possible time and have to jury rig a fix?

3 comments

keith900•1mo ago

Switched from proofing my bread in the oven to just on the counter last week

My kitchen stays around 74 degrees and after three loaves turned out exactly the same, I finally realized I was just wasting the oven light and electricity for nothing, has anyone else found their house temp is good enough on its own?

2 comments

the_lisa•1mo ago

Hit 100 loaves of sourdough and finally got a crumb that didn't look like a sponge

So I've been keeping track in a notebook since January, and last weekend I baked my 100th loaf. The first 50 or so were total disasters - dense, gummy, or just flat. But finally on number 97 I got this open crumb with big bubbles and a nice ear. My husband didn't get why I was taking photos of bread, but it felt like a real win. Has anyone else kept count of their bakes and noticed a turning point?

2 comments

nathan901•1mo ago

Found a trick for keeping sourdough starter alive in the fridge for weeks

I got tired of feeding my starter every day and was about to just give up on baking altogether. Tried putting it in the fridge like everyone says but it kept getting hooch and dying on me after about 10 days. Then a baker at the farmers market in Austin told me to mix it way stiffer before refrigerating, like a 50/50 flour to water ratio. Tried that 3 months ago and I only feed it once every 2 weeks now. No hooch, no weird smells, just grab it, let it warm up, and bake. Has anyone else tried this or got another method that works better?

2 comments