c/bakers

Showerthought: A baker in Boise taught me to weigh my water

I was at a small bakery there last year and the owner saw me eyeballing water for a dough. She said, 'If you weigh your flour, you should weigh your water too, it changes the whole game.' I started doing it and my sourdough crust got way better. Anyone else weigh their liquids now?

My sister in law thinks all bread needs a starter and I finally pushed back

She was over for dinner last week and saw my loaf of simple white bread. She said, 'Real bakers only use sourdough starters, everything else is just baking.' That got under my skin. I told her I deliver mail all day and sometimes I just want a fresh, soft loaf in under 3 hours for my family. Not everything has to be a 3 day project to be good. Has anyone else felt judged for making quick breads?

PSA: I had to choose between a stand mixer or a new oven last year.

My old oven's temperature was off by 25 degrees and my hand mixer died, so I spent the $600 on a new double wall oven instead. It was the right call because consistent heat fixed my sourdough issues, but I'm still mixing everything by hand. Anyone have a good, cheap stand mixer brand they trust for heavy dough?

Question about using honey instead of sugar in a basic white loaf

I tried swapping out the white sugar for local honey in my standard sandwich bread recipe last weekend. I used a quarter cup of honey for the same amount of sugar the recipe called for. The dough felt way stickier than usual right from the start, and it took almost an extra hour to get a decent rise. When I baked it, the crust browned way too fast and got really dark, almost burnt, but the inside was still a bit gummy. I think the honey messed with the yeast activity and the baking temperature because of the extra sugars. Has anyone else run into this with honey, and do you have a good rule for adjusting liquid or oven temp when you make the swap?

Pro tip: I switched from a plastic bowl to a ceramic one for my sourdough starter about 3 weeks ago.

The rise time got cut by almost an hour and the crumb structure is way more even, which makes me think the temperature was more stable, so has anyone else noticed a big change from just switching your starter's container?

People keep using cold butter for pie crust and it drives me nuts

I watched a video yesterday where someone said to use butter straight from the fridge. That's a sure way to get a tough crust. The fat needs to be pliable, like at 60 degrees, to make those perfect flaky layers. I learned this the hard way after my first five pies came out like cardboard. Does anyone else warm their butter just a bit before cutting it in?

Overheard a customer say they only bake with a scale now, no more cups

I was grabbing coffee and this person was telling their buddy that switching to grams changed their bread game completely. I mean, I get the precision, but my grandma's recipes are all in cups and they work fine for me. Has anyone else made the switch and felt it was a must, or is it overkill for home baking?

My sourdough starter went from flat to bubbly after I moved it to the top of the fridge

It was sluggish for a week in my cool kitchen, but doubled in volume in two days once it was warmer. Is consistent warmth really that much more important than feeding schedule?

Just realized my grandma's trick of putting a pan of water in the oven for bread actually works for my sourdough.

My sourdough starter finally doubled in volume after 11 days of looking like pancake batter, and my whole kitchen smelled like victory.

I kept it in the oven with just the light on, following a tip from a baker in Seattle, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has a weird spot that works for their starter (like a garage shelf or a closet).

I know everyone loves their KitchenAid, but my $400 stand mixer just collects dust

I find I get way better control and texture doing things like meringues and cookie dough by hand with a simple $15 bowl and whisk. Does anyone else feel like these big machines are overkill for a home baker?

Warning: I just threw out $40 worth of buttercream because my kitchen was too warm

I tried to rush a batch for a last-minute order yesterday and the whole thing just turned to soup. Anyone have a good method for chilling a bowl fast when you're in a pinch?

Just noticed a lot of bakers are over-mixing their muffin batter

I watched three different people at the county fair bake-off last weekend, and each one stirred their blueberry muffin mix way past the point where the flour was just combined. It makes the muffins tough and gives them those weird peaks instead of a nice dome. How do you teach new bakers to stop when it still looks lumpy?

Just realized my sourdough starter thrives in the cabinet above my fridge

I was struggling with a sluggish starter for weeks, barely getting any rise after 8 hours. On a whim, I moved the jar to the warm spot above my refrigerator, and it doubled in size in under 4 hours. The consistent, gentle heat from the appliance motor made all the difference. Has anyone else found a specific spot in their kitchen that gives their starter a boost?

Stop using cold butter for pie crust, it's making your dough tough

I see this all the time in recipes and from new bakers at the market. They say 'use cold butter' and people take it to mean straight from the fridge. That's wrong. If your butter is rock hard, you overwork the dough trying to cut it in, and you get a tough crust. The sweet spot is butter that's been out for about 15 minutes. You should be able to press your thumb into it and leave a clear dent, but it shouldn't feel greasy or soft. I learned this after three failed peach pies last summer where the crust was like cardboard. Now I set my butter on the counter when I preheat the oven and measure my flour. What's your method for getting the right texture?

My sourdough starter went flat for a whole month and I almost gave up

I moved to a new apartment in June and my starter, which I'd kept alive for three years, just stopped rising. It would bubble a little but never get that good lift. I thought it was the new water, so I tried bottled. Then I thought it was the flour, so I switched brands. I even tried keeping it in the oven with the light on for steady warmth. Nothing worked for four whole weeks. Turns out, the new kitchen is way more drafty and the temperature swings were killing it. I moved it to a high cabinet away from any windows and it came back to life in two days. Has anyone else had a starter act up after a move?

My kid asked me why I always make the same bread

I was baking my usual whole wheat loaf last week when my daughter, who's 8, asked if we could make a 'fun' bread instead. She said my bread looked like the one from the grocery store. It hit me that I've been stuck in a rut, making the same reliable recipe for years because it never fails. I realized I stopped experimenting when I opened my home bakery three years ago, focusing only on what sold. So this weekend, we made a honey oat braid with raisins, and it was a mess but she loved it. How do you all balance your reliable sellers with trying new things without wasting ingredients?

A customer told me my chocolate chip cookies were too sweet and it made me rethink my whole recipe

I've been using the same Toll House recipe for years, no changes. Last month, a regular at the farmers market said, 'These are good, but the sugar just punches you in the face.' That stuck with me. I started cutting the white sugar by a quarter cup and adding a half teaspoon more salt. It sounds small, but it made a huge difference. The chocolate flavor comes through way more now, and the cookie itself has a better, less one-note taste. I was so used to my old way I never questioned it. Has anyone else gotten a piece of feedback that made you tweak a classic recipe you thought was perfect?

My wife said my sourdough starter is just a pet I can't pet

We were cleaning the kitchen last night and she pointed at my jar on the counter. She said, 'You feed it, name it, worry when it's sad. It's a pet.' I've always treated it like a tool, but she's right, I do talk about 'Floyd' being sluggish. It made me rethink the whole 'baker's relationship with their starter' thing. Is it a living ingredient or a low-maintenance kitchen pet?

My grandma swore by adding a pinch of cayenne to chocolate cake

She said it would 'wake up the flavor' but I was sure it would ruin a birthday cake for my friend in Austin. I tried it anyway last month, using just an eighth of a teaspoon in a three-layer cake. Everyone loved it and couldn't figure out the secret ingredient! Has anyone else tried a weird spice trick that actually worked?

I thought weighing flour was a waste of time until my sourdough disaster

For years, I just scooped flour straight from the bag with a cup measure. My bread was always a bit off, sometimes too dense, sometimes flat. I figured it was just my starter being moody. Then, about three weeks ago, I made a loaf that was a complete brick. I finally bought a $20 digital scale and measured everything by grams for my next batch. The difference was night and day. The dough felt right, it rose perfectly, and the crumb was exactly what I wanted. I was measuring almost 30 grams more flour per cup than the recipe called for. Now I weigh everything, even for simple cookies. Has anyone else had a specific recipe that totally failed until you switched to a scale?

My sourdough starter went flat and I spent a whole month fixing it

I followed a recipe from a book and my starter looked great for a week, then it just stopped rising. It smelled fine, but it was like soup. I tried feeding it different flours, changing the water, even moving it to a warmer spot in the kitchen. Nothing worked until I read about using pineapple juice for the first few feeds. Has anyone else had to go that far to save a starter?

PSA: My sourdough starter from 2018 is a completely different beast now than it was the first year.

It went from needing a full 12 hours to double in my old Chicago apartment to doing it in under 4 in my current kitchen, and I'm convinced the consistent 72-degree ambient temp from my new proofer is the main reason.

My grandma's bread recipe called for a warm spot. I use my oven light now.

Back in the day, she'd wrap the bowl in towels near the radiator. It was hard to keep the heat just right. Now, I just turn on the oven light and leave the dough inside. This gives a constant warm place for the dough to rise. No more cold kitchens or overproofed loaves.

Swapping baking soda for powder ruined my breakfast batch.

They rose fast then fell flat, like my hopes.