My buddy Mark told me to wait 10 minutes before opening the oven door on sourdough, I kept burning my crust

3 comments

3 Comments

That 'wait 10 minutes' thing got my friend Jenn too. She made this beautiful loaf, popped it open right at 9 minutes and it came out like a hockey puck with a sunburnt top.

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paulb981mo ago

Oh man, @norag55, that's the saddest baking story I've heard all week! That "wait time" is seriously no joke - I learned the hard way too that those final minutes are make or break for the loaf's soul (and texture, obviously). At least she can call it a "rustic artisanal puck" and charge double at a farmer's market, right?

patriciaellis23d ago

9 minutes is the cruelest trick fate plays on bakers... I've seen it happen to way too many people including my own sister who now just makes no-knead bread because she can't handle the suspense anymore. @paulb98 is totally right about the "rustic artisanal puck" thing though, we actually did that with a failed loaf once and called it "farmhouse disc bread" and people ate it up. Jenn should just lean into the hockey puck look and sell it as a doorstop with a side of butter... honestly that burnt top probably added some nice charcoal flavor anyway. The 10 minute rule is basically the baking version of waiting for a CD to end before skipping tracks, you think you know but you absolutely do not.