Opinions Matter

c/bakers

25

victorbutler•9h ago

Finally got my sourdough starter to double in size after 2 weeks of feeding

I've been trying since last month in my little apartment in Columbus, and it finally rose past the rubber band mark this morning at 4 AM. Now I'm just scared I'll mess it up when I actually bake with it this weekend... anyone else get nervous right before the first loaf?

29

matthewsullivan•22h ago

Overproofed my brioche dough and fixed it with a cold water trick

I was at home about to bake and realized my brioche had gone way too soft and sticky after 4 hours on the counter. Threw the bowl in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm it up, then shaped it without any tearing. Has anyone else used temperature to rescue overproofed enriched dough?

1

sageallen•1d ago

Vent: Told my sourdough starter was too wet for 2 years

Had a baker in San Francisco watch me feed my starter. She said it looked more like batter than dough. I argued my bread came out fine. Then I cut hydration from 110% down to 80%. Took me 3 loaves to adjust. Crumb structure changed completely. Better oven spring and open holes now. Anybody else stubborn about hydration levels?

5

mason_flores21•6d ago

Hit 500 pie crusts this year and I still don't get the cold butter hype

Everyone keeps saying ice cold butter makes the flakiest crust, but my last 50 pies with room temp butter came out just as good. Has anyone else tried skipping the fridge step and still gotten solid results?

4

fiona_clark•6d ago

Chilled dough vs. room temp for sugar cookies - I got totally different results

I made two batches of sugar cookies last weekend for a friend's kid's birthday party. One batch went straight from the fridge after 2 hours, the other sat on the counter for 30 minutes before rolling. The chilled dough gave me super clean edges but the cookies turned out a bit tough. The room temp batch spread more but came out softer and fluffier. I ended up with 12 from the cold batch and 15 from the warm one because they spread differently. So which method do you all swear by for cutout cookies, and does it actually matter for taste?

6

wesley_fox92•7d ago

Hand-kneading vs. stand mixer for sourdough - I went old school

After 3 failed loaves with my KitchenAid tearing the gluten, I switched to hand-kneading for my starter. Took 15 minutes longer but the crumb came out perfect on the fourth try. Anyone else ditch their mixer for sticky dough?

15

anthony_jenkins61•7d ago

My boss told me to stop over-proofing my dough and I ignored him for months

I kept having flat loaves with no oven spring and thought it was my oven temp. Finally timed my bulk ferment instead of just going by look. Turns out going 45 minutes past the optimal point was killing my gluten structure every time. Anyone else have a bakery manager who was right about proofing times?

12

lee627•7d ago

Vent: Spent 3 hours chasing a crumb coat that kept sliding off because my cake wasn't chilled long enough.

I mean, who knew that waiting 20 minutes in the fridge vs a full 45 would make the difference between a smooth base and a frosting disaster, has anyone else dealt with this kind of timing nonsense?

13

riley_coleman8•11d ago

Walked into a bakery in Portland and noticed their scrap dough system

I was at Tabor Bread in Portland last week watching the baker work and he had a bin just for leftover dough scraps from shaping. He told me he mixes them into the next batch of sourdough at 10% to add more flavor depth. Has anyone else tried saving their dough scraps like this for a later bake?

22

adams.henry•12d ago

Spent 4 hours on a sourdough loaf and forgot to score it

Pulled my boule out of the fridge last Tuesday, flipped it onto parchment, and totally blanked on scoring before tossing it in the Dutch oven. It came out looking like a smooth potato, no ear at all, but the crust still split enough to be edible. Anyone else ever space out on a key step like that?

20

elizabetha92•15d ago

Tried using cold butter in my pie crust and it actually turned out flakier than my usual method

I always heard that cold butter is the key for pie crusts but I never really bought into it. Last weekend I made two pies, one with room temp butter and one where I cut frozen butter in with my pastry blender. The cold butter one had these beautiful layers that the other one just didn't have. I'm wondering if any of you bakers have done side by side tests like this and what you found works best for you.

24

dakota_taylor39•20d ago

Hot take: Sifting flour might be a total waste of time for most bakers

I was reading this King Arthur Baking blog post last night and they cited a study that found sifting doesn't actually make cakes lighter or fluffier in most cases. Like, the air you incorporate basically disappears when you mix the batter anyway. But then I've got my grandma's old recipe for angel food cake that absolutely demands sifting or it turns into a brick. So which is it for a standard chocolate cake or quick bread? Has anyone actually done a side by side test with and without sifting?

2

the_robin•23d ago

Tried adding a tablespoon of vinegar to my pie dough and it changed everything

I've been making pies for like 8 years now and always struggled with tough crusts. Last week I saw a baker on YouTube toss a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into her flour mix before adding butter. I figured why not try it on my apple pie for Sunday dinner. The dough rolled out way easier and didn't shrink weird in the pan like usual. The crust came out super flaky and tender, not tough at all. Has anyone else experimented with acids in their dough, or is this just some weird hack that only worked once for me?

9

patricia634•1mo ago

Went to a bakery expo in Portland last month. Disappointed.

The big booths were all selling the same premade mixes. No real technique talk. One guy tried to sell me a $400 oven thermometer that looked identical to a $20 one. Has anyone else noticed expos turning into shopping malls?

18

wright.jesse•1mo ago

I finally realized I was overmixing my dough for 10 years

It took burning through 3 stand mixers before a guy at the bakery supply place asked how long I mix. I said 8 minutes like a recipe from 2003 told me. He laughed and said stop at 4. Tried it and my bread texture went from bricks to clouds overnight. What finally made you guys change a habit you thought was gospel?

27

torres.leo•1mo ago

Hit 500 loaves of sourdough yesterday and realized my starter is older than most of my neighbor's kids.

I started keeping my Levain alive back in 2017 just for fun, but after counting up the loaves I've baked with it over the years the number really surprised me, and now I'm wondering if anyone else has tracked how many bakes they've gotten out of one starter.

9

anderson.jason•1mo ago

Pro tip: cold fermentation changed my sourdough game

I spent two years thinking cold fermenting dough was just a gimmick from fancy bakeries online. Then I left a batch in the fridge for 36 hours during a busy week and the crust came out with that deep brown color and chew I could never get before. Has anyone else found that extra fridge time makes a bigger difference than they expected?

13

gibson.robert•1mo ago

My sourdough starter went bad after 2 years and I'm still not sure why

I had a starter I fed every week since 2022, no issues. Then last Tuesday it just... died. No bubbles, smelled like nail polish remover, the whole thing. I pitched it and started a new one from scratch, but a buddy says I could have saved it with a big whole wheat feeding. Did I jump the gun by tossing it, or was that the right call? What would you guys have done?

6

mary_kelly•1mo ago

I finally stopped killing my sourdough starter after a dumb baking mistake

For like 6 months my starter kept going moldy or smelling like nail polish remover. I tried different flours, filtered water, even kept it in the fridge sometimes. Turns out I was just feeding it WAY too much water and not enough flour, my ratio was all off. I switched to a 1:2:2 feeding with a scale instead of cups and now it doubles in 4 hours flat. Has anyone else had a starter just refuse to cooperate until you changed something small like that?

16

max_ramirez48•1mo ago

That time my aunt told me to chill my pie dough for an hour and I ignored her

Last Thanksgiving, my aunt said I needed to chill my pie dough for at least an hour before rolling it out. I thought I knew better and only gave it 15 minutes. The dough turned into a sticky mess that kept ripping all over the counter. I ended up patching pieces together just to get it in the pan. The crust came out tough and uneven, not flaky at all. She didn't say a word, just gave me that look. Now I always set a timer and stick to the full hour. Has anyone else learned a baking rule the hard way after ignoring a family member? I'm wondering if I'm the only one who was too stubborn to listen.

19

adams.henry•1mo ago

Tried bread flour vs all-purpose for bagels last week

Biggest difference I've ever seen in a bake. Bread flour gave me that chewy crust I've been chasing for 6 months. All-purpose just fell flat and dense. Anyone else notice this with their bagel recipes?

9

thea704•1mo ago

My $2 trick from a lady at the farmers market fixed my dry cake problem

I kept getting dry cakes no matter what I did with my oven temps. Then this older baker at the Eugene farmers market told me to soak my cake layers in simple syrup before frosting. I tried it on my last batch of chocolate cake and it was like night and day. Has anyone else used this trick on a really dense cake like carrot or banana?

5

the_daniel•1mo ago

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?

25

ray324•1mo ago

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?

10

brooke475•1mo ago

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?