📢Hub Chatter

c/bakers

23

oliver_ward14•13h ago

PSA: Stop washing your bread tins with soap

I noticed at the community bake sale last Saturday that half the loaves were sticking bad. Talked to a few people and they all said they wash their tins with dish soap between uses. I switched to just wiping mine out with a dry cloth after 3 ruined loaves and my crusts come off perfect now. Anyone else had this issue or am I the only one getting greased tins right?

24

alice_harris35•17h ago

Overheard a woman at the grocery store say she‘s been baking bread for 20 years and never uses a thermometer

I was picking up flour yesterday at the Piggly Wiggly on 3rd street and this lady was telling her friend she just goes by feel and look for her sourdough. She said she ruined 3 loaves her first year because she kept poking them with a thermometer. That got me thinking about all the times I've stressed over exact temps. I've been baking for about 4 years now and I always stick my probe in at 190. But maybe she's got a point about just trusting your senses more. Anyone else ever ditch the thermometer and just go by color and touch?

17

troy_sanchez8•1d ago

Ran out of all-purpose flour and tried bread flour for cookies instead

My regular grocery store was out of AP flour last Tuesday so I grabbed bread flour for my chocolate chip cookie batch. The cookies came out way chewier and taller than usual, my family actually liked them more lol. Has anyone else swapped flours on purpose and found a surprise winner?

31

richard137•2d ago

Dried yeast expiration dates are way too strict

I always tossed packets after the date on the label, but last week I found a TikTok from a pro baker who tested a batch that was 8 months past date and it still rose perfectly. Turns out the dates are conservative for quality, not safety. Anybody else still use yeast that's way out of date?

20

spencer_sanchez67•2d ago

Noticed a lot of new bakers skipping the autolyse step to save time

I started doing it 6 months ago and my bread structure got way better. Has anyone else found that skipping it messes up the crumb?

21

william_miller•5d ago

I finally got into it with my mom over sourdough starter care

Tbh my mom told me I was wasting time feeding my starter every 12 hours instead of once a day. She's been baking since the 80s and swears her way is fine. But I argued that the 12-hour feed gives a better rise and more consistent crumb structure, especially in my 68 degree kitchen. Now I'm wondering if she's right and I'm just overcomplicating things. Has anyone else had a family member challenge your baking routine and made you second guess everything?

0

iris394•6d ago

Spent $80 on a fancy Danish dough whisk and it's just a weird wire stick

Saw all the hype online about how it changes your dough game, but honestly my hands work better and now it's just sitting in my drawer. Anyone else fall for a random baking tool that didn't deliver?

17

jade3•8d ago

The before and after of my sourdough starter from week 1 to week 6 is wild

My first loaf looked like a hockey puck that a dog chewed on, but after feeding it twice a day for six weeks I finally got a nice open crumb and a real ear. Has anyone else had a starter that just refused to cooperate until suddenly it clicked?

25

king.lisa•9d ago

My stand mixer motor burned out mid-batch yesterday

I was making a double batch of brioche and the motor just gave up after 8 minutes of kneading. Had to finish mixing 6 pounds of dough by hand which took forever. Has anyone else had a KitchenAid fail on them this way or did I just get a lemon?

18

price.tyler•10d ago

Sourdough starter hydration debate: 100% vs 80%

I was reading this blog by a baker in Portland who tested starter hydration levels over 90 days. They found that 80% hydration starters produced a more sour loaf consistently, while 100% hydration ones gave a milder tang but better oven spring. I always thought wetter was better for flavor development. This surprised me because my own starter has been at 100% for 2 years and I've been chasing that deep sourness. Now I'm wondering if I've been doing it wrong this whole time or if it's just personal preference. Has anyone else tried switching hydration levels and noticed a real difference in taste versus texture? Which side do you land on for a standard country loaf?

11

xena_rivera63•12d ago

My sourdough starter flopped until I switched from tap water to filtered

I spent 3 months in Denver trying to get my starter to double consistently and it just would not cooperate. My friend from a bakery in Boulder told me to try filtered water instead of straight tap and the difference was night and day. I've heard Denver water has extra chlorine that kills the natural yeast activity. Has anyone else run into this issue in a city with treated tap water?

25

lily394•14d ago

I used to toss out my overproofed dough every single time

For like 3 years I thought if my dough went past the poke test it was ruined. Last month I let a batch sit for 6 hours by accident while I ran errands and figured why not bake it anyway? Came out with the craziest open crumb I ever got. Anyone else learn this the hard way or am I the only one who wasted that much flour?

3

the_gavin•15d ago

Can we talk about preheating oven stones?

I used to just toss my baking steel in when I turned the oven on and called it good after 20 minutes. Then I got a cheap infrared thermometer last month and checked the surface temp after a full hour. It was still 40 degrees shy of where it should be. Now I give it a solid 75 minutes and my pizza crust actually bubbles right. Anyone else check their stone temp with a gun?

27

evanr79•19d ago

Unpopular opinion: glass bowls are worse for proofing dough than plastic

I was at King Arthur Flour's baking class in Vermont last weekend. The instructor swore by glass bowls for proofing. But I switched to a plastic tub last year and my rise times are way more consistent. Glass holds too much cold from the countertop. Anyone else notice a difference with their dough proofing vessels?

22

victorcoleman•20d ago

The look I got from a 60 year old baker when I asked about using bread flour for croissants

I was at a shop in Brooklyn last March and asked the guy behind the counter if he used bread flour for his croissants. He just stopped what he was doing and stared at me for a solid 5 seconds without saying a word. Then he pointed to his case of croissants and said 'son do those look dense to you? Use AP flour and your hands not a mixer.' Has anyone else ever gotten a reality check from an old timer like that?

14

jason112•21d ago

Finally nailed my sourdough scoring after 6 tries

I've been baking sourdough for about 3 months now and my scoring always came out looking like a mess. Yesterday morning I tried a new technique where I held my lame at a flatter angle instead of straight down. The ear popped right up and I got this beautiful leaf pattern out of it. My wife actually said "whoa" when she saw it come out of the oven. Has anyone else found a simple trick that totally changed their bread game?

23

victorcoleman•21d ago

My aunt told me to proof dough in the oven with just the light on

She said it's the perfect temperature for rising dough, around 80 degrees. Tried it last winter when my kitchen was cold and the dough doubled in size in 45 minutes flat. Now I use that trick every time I make brioche or any enriched dough. Does anyone else have a go-to proofing spot that works better than the oven?

7

terryr46•23d ago

Had a Saturday where every single loaf came out perfect - felt like a dream

Last month I had this one Saturday where everything just clicked. I was trying a new sourdough recipe I found online, and normally my first tries are disasters. But this time the dough felt right in my hands, the shaping was smooth, and the oven spring was huge. I pulled three loaves out of my old gas oven in Austin and they all had that nice crackle and golden crust. Even my scoring was decent for once, not those ugly slashes I usually get. I almost didn't want to sell them at the farmers market the next day, just keep them for myself. Has anyone else had a day where it felt like the baking gods were smiling on you? What went right?

26

leohart•1mo ago

Took me 2 years to figure out my dough was overproofed every single time

I kept getting flat loaves with no oven spring. Thought my starter was weak or my oven wasn't hot enough. Then I watched a video where the baker pressed a finger into the dough and it didn't bounce back at all. That was my dough every time. I was leaving it to rise for 6 hours in a cold kitchen when it only needed maybe 3. Has anyone else had that moment where you realize you've been ruining your dough the whole time?

24

simonmoore•1mo ago

The baker at the farmers market who called me out on my shaping

I was at the Decatur farmers market last Saturday selling my sourdough loaves when this older baker named Ruth walked up. She picked up one of my boules, turned it over, and said "Your tension is all wrong, that's why they're flattening out after you bake." I was kind of annoyed at first but she showed me her own loaf and the difference was obvious. She spent 10 minutes walking me through how she does her preshape on the counter without any flour. I've been doing it her way for a week now and my oven spring is way better. Has anyone else had a random stranger totally change their approach like that?

13

abbyk10•1mo ago

Hot take: hand kneading isn't always better than a mixer

I was making brioche last Thursday near Chicago and my KitchenAid started smoking halfway through the dough, so I had to finish by hand for 20 minutes. Honestly my arms were wrecked but the texture came out way silkier than when I use the dough hook. Does anyone else feel like certain doughs just turn out better with elbow grease no matter what the recipe says?

19

faithb78•1mo ago

Serious question, did letting your dough cold ferment longer actually make a difference?

Ngl, I saw a huge before-and-after difference after I started doing a 72 hour cold ferment on my sourdough. Everyone keeps saying 24 hours is fine, but after trying it at my shop in Portland for a month, the longer batch had way more tang and a better crumb. Has anyone else noticed a real change past the 48 hour mark, or am I just wasting fridge space?

8

faithg26•1mo ago

Old timer at the bakery supply store told me my starter was too young

I was grabbing a new proofing basket and this guy who's been baking since the 80s said I should let my sourdough starter ferment at least 3 more days before using it. Now I'm wondering if my flat loaves were just me being impatient the whole time. Has anyone else got advice that totally changed their fermentation game?

26

hill.hugo•1mo ago

My stand mixer started smoking mid-knead last Sunday

I was making a double batch of sourdough and about 8 minutes into the second mix, the motor started smelling like burnt rubber. Had to haul out the hand mixer and finish by hand. Anybody else have a KitchenAid that just gave up on them at the worst time?

5

park.adam•1mo ago

That no-knead bread hack I kept ignoring finally saved my Saturday

I've been baking sourdough for about 2 years now and always thought the whole no-knead thing was for lazy people who didn't care about texture. Last Saturday I had a loaf scheduled for a friend's birthday party but my starter was sluggish and I was out of time. I figured whatever, let me just try it with a basic white flour recipe from a blog called The Perfect Loaf. Mixed the dough in 5 minutes, let it sit on the counter for 18 hours, then shaped and baked it the next morning. The crumb was actually more open than my usual 15 minute knead session and the crust had this deep caramel color I never get. My buddy said it was the best bread I've made all year. Has anyone else found this works way better for whole wheat blends too?