c/bakers

Shoutout to the cheap kitchen scale I almost threw away

I picked up this $10 digital scale from Target like 6 months ago just for weighing out bread ingredients. Honestly I thought it was gonna be garbage cause it felt so flimsy compared to my old one. But last week I was making a double batch of sourdough for a bake sale and that thing nailed every measurement down to the gram. My hydration percentages were dead on for once and the dough came together perfect. I used to think you needed a fancy brand or one with all these extra features to bake decent bread. Ngl this cheap scale changed my mind completely. Has anyone else had a cheap tool surprise them like that?

I finally fixed my sourdough starter issue after 6 weeks of guesswork

My starter kept turning out watery and smelling like nail polish remover. I tried feeding it different flours, changing the water temp, even bought a fancy scale. Turns out my tap water had too much chlorine and switching to filtered fixed it in 3 days. Has anyone else had a simple fix that took way too long to figure out?

I think my sourdough starter finally died after 8 years

I was mixing up dough last Saturday in my tiny Chicago kitchen and noticed my starter had a weird orange film on top and smelled like acetone. Tried feeding it twice but it never bubbled back, so I think I killed it dead. Anybody had a starter just give out like that after years of being fine?

My sourdough starter died after I left it in a hot car for 3 hours

I was driving home from a bake-off in Austin Texas and stopped for lunch. Forgot my starter jar was in the passenger seat during summer heat. When I got back it smelled like acetone and had a weird pinkish layer on top. I tried feeding it twice but it just wouldn't bubble up again. Had to scrap the whole thing and start over from scratch. Has anyone else lost a starter to temperature like that?

That fact about butter and water content blew my mind last Tuesday

I was reading a King Arthur baking blog and found out that European style butter has way less water than standard American butter. Like around 82% butterfat vs the typical 80% we get here. I always wondered why my croissants came out different when I switched butters last month. Has anyone else noticed a big difference in their laminated doughs depending on the butter brand?

Swapped butter for shortening in my pie crust and it actually worked

I always thought butter was the only way to get flaky crusts, but my aunt convinced me to try half shortening for a holiday pie last month. The crust came out way more tender and held its shape better for the lattice top. Has anyone else had luck mixing fats in their dough?

My grandma's sourdough starter secret finally clicked

I was talking to my grandma on the phone last week about why her sourdough always comes out better than mine. She said she lets the starter sit an extra 12 hours after the peak before using it. I tried it on my last batch and the crumb was way more open and the flavor had this deeper tang I couldn't get before. Has anyone else tried a longer resting period for their starter?

Tried using bread flour for croissants instead of all-purpose, got a weird result

I swapped to bread flour for my last batch of croissants thinking the higher protein would give me better lamination, but they came out denser and chewy instead of flaky. Been making these for 6 months and never had that happen before. Anyone else see the same thing with bread flour in laminated dough?

Unpopular opinion: I've been over-mixing my pie crust for years because my grandma told me to work it until it 'felt right'.

Watching a baker in Austin fold butter into flour with just her fingertips for maybe 30 seconds made me see my tough, dense results were totally my fault, so what's your best tip for knowing when to stop?

Shoutout to the baker who told me to stop overproofing my brioche

For years I thought brioche needed a long, warm proof to get that fluffy texture. I used to let it rise for almost 3 hours at around 80 degrees, and my loaves always came out dense with a weird crust. Then last fall, a baker at a workshop in Portland told me I was killing the yeast by letting it go too long. She said to proof it at a cooler temp, like 72 degrees, for just 90 minutes max. I tried it last month on a batch for a holiday order, and the dough was so much lighter and easier to shape. The final loaves had that soft, buttery crumb I was chasing for years. Has anyone else found that less proofing time actually gives better results with enriched doughs?

I just figured out why my sourdough was always flat

For the past six months, my loaves came out dense and never had a good rise. I was following a recipe from a book to the letter. Then last week, I saw a baker on a video feed their starter right before mixing, and they said the float test was key. I tried it and my starter just sank. I was using it way too late, when it was already falling. Started using it at its peak and my last two bakes have been totally different, with a real open crumb. Has anyone else had a starter timing issue that messed things up?

Heard a customer at the shop say they'd leave a bad review because our sourdough 'tasted too sour'

Made me think we might need to put a small sign up explaining the natural fermentation process. Has anyone else had to deal with customers not understanding basic bread types?

Had a flour delivery from a new supplier last month and the protein content was way off spec.

My grandma always said to add a pinch of salt to sweet doughs, and I finally understood why after my last batch of cinnamon rolls.

A customer told me my sourdough crust was 'like biting a roof shingle'

They said it straight up after buying a loaf at the farmers market last month. I was just letting it bake a little longer for more color, but that comment made me check my oven temp with a second thermometer. Turns out my old one was running almost 25 degrees hot. Now I pull my batards 5 minutes sooner and the crust is way better. Anyone else have a harsh critique that actually helped?

Pro tip: I swapped my usual bread flour for a high-protein pizza flour in my sourdough starter for a month.

The loaves came out with a weird, almost rubbery crust that made my regulars ask if I'd changed ovens. Anyone have a better high-protein flour they've actually had luck with?

My 5-year-old KitchenAid mixer's planetary gear just stripped mid-batch of bagels yesterday.

I was kneading a stiff dough on speed 2 when it made a horrible grinding noise and stopped turning. Had to finish by hand, which was a total arm workout. Anyone know if this is a common failure point or if I just got unlucky?

A bakery in Boise made me rethink my sourdough starter schedule

I visited a place called Crust & Crumb while visiting my sister in Idaho last week. The baker there told me he only feeds his starter once a week and keeps it in the fridge, which I always thought was a lazy way to get weak flavor. He gave me a sample of his country loaf, and the tang was incredible, way better than my daily-fed starter at home. He said the slower fermentation from a cold starter actually builds more complex acids over time. I've switched to his method for the past five days and my latest batch is already tasting deeper. Has anyone else had good results with a weekly feeding routine instead of daily?

Warning: your sourdough starter might be a better baker than you

Last month, I forgot to feed my starter for a week and it still produced a better crumb than my usual careful method. It's been three years since I got that culture from a bakery in Eugene, and it clearly doesn't need my micromanagement. Anyone else have a starter that seems to thrive on neglect?

Visited that new 'artisan' bakery in Portland and their croissants were a complete letdown. They're charging $6.50 for something that tastes like a grocery store roll.

Just wasted $50 on a fancy new bread scoring tool that broke on the first sourdough loaf

The lame snapped right in half because the blade was way too thin for my crusty dough. What do you guys use for scoring that actually holds up?

Hit 1000 loaves on my sourdough starter and it finally clicked

I kept a little notebook and just marked the tally. When I hit that number this morning, I realized my starter has been alive longer than my cat. In my experience, that first year was a fight, always worried it would die or I'd mess up the feeding. But after loaf 500 or so, I stopped stressing and just trusted the process. Now the dough just feels right in my hands without overthinking it. Has anyone else hit a weird baking number that made things fall into place?

Shoutout to the old guy at the supply store who warned me about cheap yeast

I was grabbing supplies for a big sourdough order and a guy next to me said, 'Kid, that bargain yeast will die on you in a week if you don't keep it cold.' I ignored him, left the bag in my warm kitchen for a few days, and my next three batches were flat as pancakes. Cost me a wedding cake order and a ton of wasted flour. Anyone know a good brand that actually lasts?

Shoutout to the baker at the Portland farmers market who showed me a different way to handle butter

Honestly, I was at the market last fall and a lady selling croissants saw me struggling with my dough. She told me to grate frozen butter right into the flour mix instead of cubing it. Tbh, I tried it that night and my pie crust came out way flakier. Has anyone else picked up a small trick like that from watching another baker work?

I tried two ways to proof my sourdough last month and one was a total game changer

For the first loaf, I just left it on the counter overnight, which was about 8 hours. The second time, I put the dough in my turned-off oven with just the light on for 4 hours. The oven proof gave me a much better rise and a more open crumb inside. The dough just felt more alive, you know? Has anyone else found a better spot in their kitchen for a consistent proof?