c/bakers

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?

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?

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?

Overheard a customer say my sourdough was 'too authentic'

Had a lady at the farmer's market last Saturday take one bite of my sourdough and say it was 'too sour and chewy, like something from a pioneer cabin.' She put it back and walked off. I was a little annoyed at first, but then I got to thinking. I've been chasing that real San Francisco tang for months, using a 100% hydration starter and long cold ferments. But maybe for the general public I'm going too far into the artisan zone and losing the everyday sandwich bread people actually want. My regulars love it, but I sell maybe 5 loaves a week to strangers. So now I'm messing around with a 70% hydration recipe that's still got flavor but is way softer. Has anyone else had to pull back on the 'authentic' stuff just to move more product?

Just made my 100th sourdough loaf from the same starter I began in March

I started feeding this starter back in March when I was stuck at home, and yesterday I realized I had baked my 100th loaf from it. It surprised me because I never thought I would stick with it that long, but seeing the number made me proud of how consistent I have been. How long did it take before your starter felt like a reliable part of your baking routine?

Hit 1000 loaves sold last weekend and nobody warned me how it would feel

I was so focused on getting the number that when it finally happened I just stood there staring at my order log. Has anyone else hit a random milestone that felt way bigger than you expected?

My sourdough starter finally worked after 8 months of trying in Austin

I've been baking bread for about 2 years now, but sourdough always kicked my butt. I tried 4 different starters last year and they all got moldy or just stayed flat. Finally last month I switched to using filtered water and kept it in my oven with the light on. It doubled in size in just 5 days and I made my first real loaf last Tuesday. The crust was crispy and the inside had those nice air pockets I always see online. Anyone else have a starter that took forever to get going?

My grandma's "too much flour" rule

My grandma always said to never dump flour straight into the mixing bowl from the bag, she said it packs too tight and messes up the ratio. I ignored her for years until my biscuits came out like hockey pucks three times in a row last month. Anyone else find that scooping and leveling really makes that much of a difference?

Noticed my sourdough starter got way more active after I stopped rinsing my jar with hot water

The day my sourdough starter actually doubled in size and I almost cried

I've been baking sourdough for about 8 months now and everyone online says your starter should double in 4-6 hours. Mine never did, it would maybe get 30% bigger and then stall. I tried different flours, different water temps, even started a whole new starter from scratch. Then last Tuesday I fed it with some local organic rye from a mill 20 miles away and it doubled in 3 hours flat. Has anyone else had a specific flour brand or type just click for their starter?

Old baker told me I was overworking my dough for croissants

He said I was developing too much gluten before the lamination and that's why my layers were tearing, has anyone else had a mentor call out a bad habit you didn't even notice?

Rant: Why didn't anyone tell me about salt in bread dough?

Been baking for 3 years and skipped salt the whole time. Thought it was optional. Made a loaf for a friend last week and she asked if my bread was "flat tasting." Ordered a kitchen scale that same night. Anybody else skip a basic ingredient for way too long?

I switched from weighing flour to scooping it after 15 years of dense bread

I watched a video where the baker measured flour by weight and got a super airy crumb, so I tried it and realized my old method was packing in way too much flour. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference in your sandwich loaves?

PSA: Room temp butter is a lie - I switched to grating frozen butter for pie crusts

After three soggy-bottomed disasters in a row last month, I tried grating a frozen stick of butter straight into my flour and my crust finally came out flaky, has anyone else found a weird shortcut that saved a recipe?

Laminated dough was kicking my ass until a pro at a bakery in Portland showed me their trick

Went to Ken's Artisan in Portland last month for a croissant and ended up talking to the baker for 20 minutes. He said my butter was too cold when I folded it in, which was causing all the layers to tear. Has anyone else had better results after letting the butter warm up just a few degrees?

Spent 4 hours troubleshooting a starter that wouldn't rise

I thought my water temperature was off or my yeast was dead, but it turned out my kitchen was just too drafty. Took me covering the bowl with a towel and moving it to the pantry to finally get it going. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that eat up way more time than it should have?

Vent: My sourdough starter got ruined at my sister's wedding brunch

I brought my starter to my sister's wedding brunch last weekend in Boise so I could feed it on time. My cousin thought it was expired yogurt and tossed it in the compost pile. After 14 months of keeping that thing alive, I had to start over from scratch. Has anyone else lost a starter to clueless relatives?

Spent $300 on a fancy Dutch oven for bread baking and it was a Complete waste of money

My $30 thrift store pot actually holds heat better than that Le Creuset copy I bought online, now I'm back to using the cheap one and my crusts are way better - anyone else regret splurging on gear that didn't help?

My grandma taught me one trick with pie crust and I still use it 10 years later

So my grandma was visiting last summer and I was making my usual apple pie for a family thing. She watched me roll out the dough and just shook her head. She said you gotta chill the butter pieces in the freezer for 15 minutes before cutting them into the flour, not just use cold butter from the fridge. I tried it that day and the crust came out flakier than anything I'd ever made before. Now I keep a stick of butter in the freezer at all times just for pies. Has anyone else had an older relative drop a simple tip that totally changed your baking game?

That $80 Danish dough whisk I swore was a gimmick just saved my sourdough

I've been using a wooden spoon for 10 years. My buddy at the farmers market kept pushing this whisk thing on me. Finally caved after watching him mix a 75% hydration dough in like 30 seconds with no sticking. Tried it myself last Sunday morning - actually worked. The dough came together way faster and cleanup took half the time. Anyone else have a tool they fought against then gave in?

Tried using honey instead of sugar in my sourdough and got a gummy mess

I swapped 1/3 cup of honey for the sugar in my usual Saturday loaf and the crumb turned out dense and sticky, almost like raw dough. Has anyone else had honey mess with their fermentation timing or hydration levels?

Rant: Why I ditched all-in-one flour for separate bread and pastry flours

After 8 years of using that popular all-purpose blend from Costco, I finally switched to King Arthur bread flour for loaves and a soft pastry flour for cakes and cookies last month. My bread got way better crumb and my chocolate chip cookies stopped spreading into flat greasy puddles overnight. Has anyone else found that one flour just can't do everything right?

Just noticed how many people skip weighing their flour

I see recipes online saying "3 cups of flour" and half the comments are about dry cakes. A cup can be 4 to 6 ounces depending on scooping. Has anyone else switched to a $15 scale and stopped guessing?

Tried to frost a cake with a broken piping bag yesterday

I was making a birthday cake for my niece's party in Austin and grabbed what I thought was a clean piping bag from my drawer. Turns out there was a tiny hole near the tip from last time I used it, and I ended up spraying buttercream all over my counter and my shirt. Had to scrape it all off and start over with a new bag from Hobby Lobby down the street. Has anyone else had a random tool fail on them right in the middle of a bake?

Hit 500 loaves of sourdough today, felt kinda weird about it

Honestly I just kept a tally on my phone cause I was curious, and this morning I looked and it was exactly 500. Started baking during that weird lockdown spring in 2020, just a basic starter from some guy on Reddit. It took me like 40 tries before I got a loaf that didn't look like a hockey puck, and now I can do it blindfolded. Has anyone else hit a random number that made them stop and think about how far they've come?