c/baking-fails-and-wins

That 30 minute rest I kept skipping for pie dough

I watched this old pastry chef on YouTube say to chill your pie dough for 30 minutes before rolling it out. I used to skip it because I was in a hurry and wondered why my crust always cracked. Tried it last weekend with a batch of apple pies and the dough rolled out smooth and didn't shrink in the pan. The chef said the gluten relaxes and the butter firms up just enough to keep layers. Three pies later and no tears in the crust for the first time. Has anyone else noticed a big difference from resting dough that long?

2 comments

viola_butler•22h ago

Tried blind baking with frozen pie weights and got a soggy bottom anyway

Used the frozen chain method from that viral video. Let them sit in the crust for 20 minutes before baking. Still ended up with a wet mess on the bottom of my apple pie. What trick actually works for you?

2 comments

morgan512•23h ago

Hot take: ceramic pie plates beat glass for fruit pies

I used glass for years because that's what my mom had, then last Thanksgiving I grabbed a ceramic dish by accident at a garage sale for $3. The bottom of my apple pie came out golden instead of soggy and the edges didn't burn at all. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching between pan materials?

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zara447•1d ago

Hot take: Room temp eggs aren't worth the hassle for most baking

I keep seeing people freak out about forgetting to take eggs out of the fridge before baking. Look, unless you're making a super delicate French buttercream or something, just run them under warm tap water for 2 minutes. I've been doing this for 5 years at the restaurant I work at and nobody can tell the difference in cakes or cookies. Am I missing something or do people just like making things harder than they need to be?

2 comments

logan632•6d ago

PSA: A damp paper towel over your cake pans prevents domed tops

I was baking three layers for a birthday cake last Tuesday and got sick of leveling domes. Tried wrapping each pan with a damp paper towel strip pinned with safety pins before going in the oven. Worked like a charm, tops came out almost perfectly flat. Has anyone else stumbled onto this trick or is it old news?

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robert_hayes•7d ago

My mother in law told me my sourdough looked 'rustic' and I still can't let it go

She came over for dinner 3 months ago and I spent all day baking a loaf from my starter I'd been feeding for six weeks. She took one look at it and said 'oh, how rustic' in that tone that means it's ugly. Then she spent 10 minutes telling me about her friend who buys $8 artisan bread from a bakery downtown. Has anyone else had a family member totally miss the effort you put into something?

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lane.angela•8d ago

TIL my sourdough starter needs half the flour I thought it did after reading a 1960s baking pamphlet

I picked up a beat-up pamphlet from 1963 at an estate sale in Portland last weekend. Turns out commercial yeast was way more expensive back then so they used way less in recipes. I've been dumping double the flour into my starter for 2 years for nothing. Anyone else find old baking books that changed how they do things?

2 comments

shah.ben•9d ago

Shoutout to switching from a hand mixer to a stand mixer for cookie dough

I used to always use my hand mixer for chocolate chip cookies and ended up with tough, flat discs every time. Then about 6 months ago I switched to creaming the butter and sugar in my stand mixer on low for 2 minutes, and the cookies come out thick and soft now. Anyone else notice a huge difference from just swapping the tool you use?

2 comments

tarac16•10d ago

Lost a whole batch of cookies at a church bake sale because of one ingredient swap

I was at St. Mary's annual bake sale last Saturday and thought I'd try using margarine instead of butter to save a few bucks. Everything looked fine going in, but they spread out into flat, greasy puddles. I had to toss 4 dozen cookies in the trash and buy store-bought ones to fill my table. Has anyone else had their recipe totally ruined by swapping butter for margarine?

2 comments

shah.ben•25d ago

My sister told me my chocolate chip cookies were too dry and I got offended at first

She said they crumbled like sand instead of being chewy. I switched from butter to half butter half shortening and dropped the bake time by 3 minutes. Now they stay soft for days instead of turning into rocks by morning. Anyone else have a family member whose baking feedback actually helped?

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robert_rodriguez66•27d ago

Always doubted the "cold butter" rule for pie crusts

I used to just use room temp butter because I was impatient. Last weekend I finally tried freezing my butter and grating it into the flour, and my crust came out flaky for the first time ever. Has anyone else had a baking rule they skipped for years that turned out to be a game changer?

2 comments

umac71•28d ago

I used to cream butter and sugar for 10 minutes like a maniac

I used to think creaming butter and sugar for a full 10 minutes was the secret to fluffy cakes. Then my sister laughed at me after one of my cookies came out flat as a pancake last Thanksgiving. Turns out I was over-creaming so much that the butter got too warm and melted everything. Now I stop the second it looks light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes max. Has anyone else been taught bad baking tricks that just messed things up?

2 comments

ben486•29d ago

Overheard my roommate say 'you don't need to weigh flour for cookies' and I nearly choked

She was making chocolate chip cookies last Wednesday and just eyeballed the flour from the bag into a measuring cup. I told her that's how you end up with dry hockey pucks, but she insisted it was fine. Well, the cookies came out super dense and crumbly, and she finally admitted maybe weighing things matters. Anyone else have a friend who refuses to use a kitchen scale?

2 comments

burns.richard•1mo ago

Just found out butter temperature matters way more than I thought

Was reading through a Baking Illustrated article from 2019 and they said dough temperature can shift your whole bake by like 15 minutes. I've been using cold butter straight from the fridge for years and wondering why my cookies spread weird. Anyone else ignore basic temp rules and fight with flat results?

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the_julia•1mo ago

Spent 3 hours trying to fix a cake that wouldn't rise

Thought my oven was broken after my third flat cake in a row. Turns out my baking soda was expired by 8 months. Checked the date on the box and it was from 2022. Anyone else waste half a day on a stupid ingredient swap before you figured it out?

2 comments

haydenj90•1mo ago

Finally pulled off a decent croissant after 5 tries this month

I've been trying to make croissants from scratch every Saturday for the past month and they always came out flat or greasy. This weekend I finally got that proper honeycomb inside and the layers actually lifted. I think the difference was letting the dough rest in the fridge for 4 hours between folds instead of rushing it. Has anyone else struggled with keeping the butter cold enough during lamination?

2 comments

sageallen•1mo ago

My sister told me my pie crust was too tough...

She said it tasted good but the texture was like a cracker. So I googled it and found out I was overmixing the dough after adding the water. Last weekend I tried barely mixing it until it just came together and the crust turned out flaky for the first time ever. Has anyone else had that lightbulb moment about a simple technique change?

2 comments

the_jake•1mo ago

Tried chilling my cookie dough overnight and wow what a difference

I used to always bake cookies right after mixing the dough lol. Kept getting flat, spread out cookies that looked sad. Read somewhere that chilling helps the butter solidify so they don't melt as fast. Tried it with a batch of chocolate chip last Sunday, left the dough in the fridge for like 8 hours. They came out thick and chewy and actually stayed round. Has anyone else noticed a big difference with chilling, or is it just my oven acting weird?

2 comments

leep89•1mo ago

I visited that new bakery in Portland and it totally changed my mind about sourdough

I always thought sourdough was just a gimmick, like overpriced bread for hipsters. But I stopped into this place called Tabor Bread on Hawthorne last weekend and tried their $8 loaf that had this deep tangy flavor and a crust that crackled when I bit into it. The baker there told me they use a starter that's been going for 18 years, and I suddenly got why people put so much work into it. Has anyone else had a baking opinion totally flipped by one specific spot?

2 comments

keithbennett•1mo ago

That time my sourdough starter grew legs and walked away

I left my starter on the counter in Denver for 3 days while I went to a workshop and came back to a jar overflowing with liquid that smelled like a science lab. The thing had actually lifted the lid off and there was a puddle of hooch running down the side of my cabinet. I just scooped out the good part from the bottom and fed it fresh flour and water, and somehow it still works fine. Has anyone else had a starter survive something that gross?

3 comments

riverm48•1mo ago

My sourdough starter went from bubbly to dead in 3 days flat

I left it on the counter during that heat wave in Austin and came back to a moldy mess. What temp do you guys keep your starters at during summer?

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the_daniel•1mo ago

Learned that butter temperature matters more than I ever realized

I always thought room temperature butter was room temperature butter. Turns out, for laminated dough like croissants, it needs to be around 60-65 degrees F. I read it in a King Arthur Baking blog post last week. My first batch of croissants came out flat and greasy. Second batch after checking the temp with a probe? They actually puffed up nice. Has anyone else struggled with getting butter to that specific temp range?

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the_susan•1mo ago

Store bought vs homemade butter for croissants?

Last weekend I tried making croissants with store bought butter for the first time and they came out flat, but 3 years ago I used homemade butter from a farm in Vermont and they puffed up perfectly. My theory is the water content in the butter makes or breaks the lamination process. Has anyone else tested both and seen a big difference?

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the_julia•1mo ago

Hit 50 perfect sourdough loaves yesterday and now I'm questioning my method

So I hit 50 loaves exactly since I started tracking back in January. That's a lot of flour and a lot of failed starters. But here's the thing - my last 10 loaves have been way better than the first 40, and I think it's because I stopped using a scale and just go by feel now. Some people swear by precision baking, others say feel is the way. Which side are you on for bread baking?

3 comments

the_ben•1mo ago

Nearly ruined a wedding cake because I ignored the oven thermometer in Secaucus

I was making a three-tier vanilla cake for my cousin's wedding last month in Secaucus and thought my oven's built-in temp gauge was close enough. Turned out it was off by 50 degrees, so the first two layers came out like hockey pucks and I had to start over at 11 PM. Has anyone else had their oven lie to them like that and just trust the little dial instead of a separate thermometer?

3 comments