c/baking-fails-and-wins

Hit my 100th loaf of sourdough yesterday and it actually worked

After 99 loaves of hockey pucks and flat discs, my 100th came out with actual oven spring and a decent crumb. Has anyone else had a random milestone loaf just decide to cooperate out of nowhere?

Burned three batches of cookies before I figured out the trick at a church bake sale

I was at St. Mary's fall bake sale last Saturday and a lady named Carol told me to chill my dough for 45 minutes before baking. Has anyone else found that just a little fridge time fixes the spread problem?

My first attempt at a layered cake collapsed on me last Sunday

I spent about 3 hours building a three-layer strawberry cake for my mom's birthday. Right when I was putting the top tier on, the whole thing just slid sideways and landed on the counter. Half the frosting and fruit filling exploded everywhere. I ended up patching it together with extra buttercream and calling it a "rustic" cake. Has anyone else had a cake just give up like that mid build?

Just found out baker's yeast and brewer's yeast are totally different things

Saw it on a beer brewing forum of all places, been using the wrong yeast in my sourdough starter for like 6 months. Anyone else mix these up before?

That week my pie crusts kept cracking no matter what I did

Last Tuesday I tried making a double crust apple pie for my neighbor's birthday. First batch of dough crumbled into pieces when I rolled it out, had to scrap it. Second time I added extra water and the dough turned into a sticky mess that tore when I lifted it. Third attempt I chilled everything for 2 hours and it still cracked at the edges. I finally gave up and made a cobbler instead which turned out fine. Has anyone else had a stretch where pie crust just refused to cooperate?

That awful Sunday my sourdough turned into a brick

I thought I had this sourdough thing down after 3 months of trying, but last Sunday was a total disaster. My starter was super bubbly (like, overly active) and I figured I'd push the bulk ferment a couple extra hours. By the time I baked it, the loaf came out flat as a pancake with a crust so hard my husband joked we could use it as a doorstop. Honestly it made me rethink trusting my gut over a timer, you know? Has anyone else had a batch go wrong because they got too confident with their timing?

Rant: That $60 sourdough starter kit was just flour and water in a fancy jar

I spent a whole Saturday measuring and feeding this thing at exact 12-hour intervals, and it turned out the pre-dried starter was dead on arrival, so who else has gotten burned by those overpriced baking kits?

Found out that pound cake got its name from a 1700s recipe with a pound of each ingredient

I was flipping through a vintage baking book I picked up at a library sale in Tulsa last weekend, and it had the original pound cake recipe from the 1700s. It literally called for a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour. That blew my mind because I always thought it was just a random name, not an actual measurement from back then. I can't imagine using a whole pound of butter in one cake today! My bank account would cry. Has anyone else run into old recipes that made you stop and think?

My whole baking game changed after that disaster at the county fair

I entered a pie contest at the county fair in Phoenix last August and totally bombed. Everyone raves about using cold butter for pie crusts but I swear that's what ruined mine. The judges said my crust was tough and overworked even though I barely touched it. I watched a guy win with a crust made with melted butter and realized the cold rule isn't always right. Now I use half melted butter and my pies come out flaky every time. Has anyone else ditched the cold butter rule and had better luck?

My first attempt at sourdough turned into a brick that could break a window

I was in my kitchen in Columbus about 6 months ago, trying to make my first loaf from a starter I'd babied for 2 weeks. Followed the recipe exactly, but I think I overproofed it or maybe killed the yeast when I added the salt. After 12 hours of rising, it barely doubled. Baked it anyway for 45 minutes at 450 degrees. Came out dark as a burnt log and hard as rock. My husband tried to cut it and the knife slipped and chipped our countertop. I ended up tossing the whole thing in the trash. Has anyone else had a loaf go that wrong and actually salvaged the starter to try again?

My mom finally told me my bread was dry and it stung but helped

She said 'this loaf tastes like it was baked last Tuesday' and I was kinda mad at first but then I realized she was right. I started weighing my flour instead of scooping and adding 2 extra tablespoons of water per cup of flour. The difference was huge, my sandwich bread at home in Portland is actually soft now. Has anyone else had a family member give them harsh but fair baking feedback?

Dropped $65 on a fancy silicone mat and it was a total flop

I bought a high-end silicone rolling mat from a kitchen store in Austin because my dough kept sticking to the counter, but it slid around so much I couldn't even get a proper pie crust rolled out. After three tries and a ruined batch of cookies, I tossed it in the drawer and went back to my old floured wooden board that cost me $12. Anyone else find that expensive baking gadgets aren't always worth the hype?

Am I the only one who thinks sourdough starter care is way overblown?

Everyone on here talks about feeding their starter twice a day and keeping it at a perfect 75 degrees. I kept mine in the fridge for 3 weeks straight, pulled it out, fed it once with regular all-purpose flour, and got a great rise on my loaf last Tuesday. The whole precise routine thing feels more like a trend than a necessity to me. Has anyone else just neglected their starter and had it turn out fine?

Hot take: bakery prices vs homemade costs are a complete scam debate

I went to a fancy bakery in Portland last week and saw a single loaf of sourdough for $12. That got me thinking, is it really cheaper to bake at home or are people just fooling themselves? On one hand, flour and starter cost almost nothing per loaf, but my electric bill for a 4 hour oven bake at 450°F adds up fast. Am I the only one who can't decide if the convenience is worth the markup?

Tried fancy organic vanilla extract vs the cheap grocery store stuff in my cookies

I made two batches of chocolate chip cookies last Sunday using my go-to recipe. One had the $12 bottle of artisanal vanilla from that shop downtown, the other used the $4 bottle from Walmart. Honestly? Nobody at my office could tell the difference. My coworker Jen said both were "perfectly fine." So much for that splurge. Has anyone else had a similar thing where premium ingredients didn't actually matter? Or am I missing something?

Was against chilled butter for pie crust until a baker friend proved me wrong

I used to think room temp butter was fine for pie crusts, kept getting dense results every time. My friend Sarah made me watch her process a lemon meringue pie with ice-cold butter cut into pea-sized bits, and the crust came out flaky and perfect. Have you ever really tested the difference with your own hands?

My cheap thermometer was off by 25 degrees for months

Last week I burned my third batch of sugar cookies and finally tested my oven thermometer against a new one. Turns out it was reading 25 degrees low the whole time. Has anyone else had a thermometer fail slowly like that?

Pro tip: My bread dough doubled way faster after I moved it to the top of my fridge

I just found out parchment paper has a right and wrong side and I have been using it wrong for 10 years

Saw it on a King Arthur blog post last month. Apparently the silicone coating is only on one side and using the wrong side messes with browning. Tried flipping it for cookies yesterday and they came out way more even. Has anyone else noticed a difference or am I just late to this?

I used to think sifting flour was a waste of time until I made 3 batches of hockey puck cookies in a row

Kept skipping it because I'm lazy but my cookies came out dense and flat every time. After sifting just once for a birthday batch last week they actually puffed up nice and soft. Has anyone else noticed a huge difference from something so simple?

Shoutout to the dollar store cake pan that saved my birthday party

Ngl I was in a panic last Saturday. My mom's birthday cake needed a 9 inch round and both my good pans were in the sink soaking from a prior fail. Ran to the dollar store at 7am and grabbed their $1.25 aluminum pan. Fully expected a disaster but that thing baked evenly, didn't warp, and the cake came out perfect. I think I'm gonna use cheap pans more often now. Anyone else had a win with bargain baking gear?

My first successful sourdough loaf after 9 tries

I finally got a decent oven spring on a sourdough loaf after 9 total attempts. The kitchen was a mess for months with sticky dough everywhere and a starter that kept dying. I visited a bakery in Portland last month and watched them shape loaves for about 20 minutes. That visual helped me figure out I was overworking my dough and deflating all the bubbles. The crumb on this one has actual holes in it instead of being a dense brick. Has anyone else had a specific bakery visit fix a problem you were stuck on for weeks?

That $18 artisan salt was a complete waste of money

I bought some fancy pink Himalayan salt from a shop in Nashville thinking it would make my sourdough taste magical, but it just tasted like salt. After three loaves with the same results as my $2 table salt, I realized I fell for the packaging. Anyone else bought expensive ingredients that didn't change a thing?

Butter vs shortening in pie crust: I picked wrong and got a soggy bottom

Made two pies for Thanksgiving - one with all butter dough and one with half shortening. The butter one tasted amazing but the crust just went limp after an hour. Shortening one held up perfectly but had that weird greasy mouthfeel. How do you guys balance taste vs texture when picking fats for pastry?

Tried making sourdough from a starter my neighbor gave me and it came out like a hockey puck

Visited my aunt in Portland last month and she swore her 10 year old starter was foolproof, but after 12 hours of rising I ended up with a dense, flat loaf that even the birds wouldn't touch - has anyone else had a starter just not cooperate no matter what you do?