c/bakers

Hit 500 loaves sold this week and I'm still shook

I've been baking sourdough out of my home kitchen for about 8 months now, mostly just selling to neighbors and a few local coffee shops. This week I checked my order log and realized I've sold exactly 500 loaves since I started. I never thought I'd hit that many, especially since I work a full time day job too. Has anyone else been surprised by a random milestone like this in their baking side hustle?

Vent: My stand mixer died mid-batch of cookie dough last night

Honestly, I was just getting into the groove making my grandma's chocolate chip recipe for a bake sale this weekend. The motor just started smoking and then stopped working completely around 9pm. I had to finish mixing that stiff dough by hand with a wooden spoon which took forever. Anyone else have their KitchenAid give out on them during a busy baking session?

Had a batch of croissants collapse last week and I'm still mad about it

I've been making croissants for about 3 years now, but last Tuesday I pulled a tray out of the oven and they all looked like flat pancakes. The butter just leaked everywhere during baking. I think the issue was my dough temp got too warm while laminating, but man it was frustrating after 4 hours of work. Has anyone else dealt with butter blowout like this and figured out a fix?

I finally figured out why my sourdough was always flat

I've been baking sourdough for about 8 months now and kept getting loaves that spread out instead of rising up. Last week I went to a bakery in Portland called Tabor Bread and watched the baker there work. She noticed I was shaping my dough way too aggressively and knocking all the gas out. She told me to treat the dough like it's fragile and use a bench scraper for tension instead of my hands. I tried it at home the next day and got my first real ear on a loaf. The difference was night and day honestly. Has anyone else had a shaping breakthrough that fixed their bread?

Hit 500 sourdough loaves baked this morning and it still taught me something new

I counted up my batches from the past two years and realized I just passed 500 loaves, but the big surprise was how much my crumb structure changed after loaf 400 when I started using tap water instead of filtered - has anyone else seen a weird shift like that after so many bakes?

Vent: Had to pick between a wood spoon and a silicone one for my sourdough starter

I went with the wood spoon because my grandma used one for 40 years, but now I'm scraping off dried dough bits and wondering if silicone would've been easier, has anyone else dealt with this?

Threw a cold starter into my dough and got way better oven spring

I usually let my starter come to room temp before mixing but I was rushing last Tuesday morning. Just scooped it straight from the fridge and went for it on a batch of sourdough boules. Figured it would take forever to rise but actually it proofed in like 5 hours and the crust cracked open way nicer than normal. The crumb was a little more open too. Anybody know why that works? Is it just a fluke or is there some science behind cold starter doing something different?

Unpopular opinion: stand mixers are overrated for bread dough

I compared my KitchenAid to hand kneading for about 40 loaves over 6 months, and the hand-kneaded ones always had better texture and rise. That motor just doesn't develop gluten the same way my hands do, especially with stiff doughs like bagels. Any other bakers here prefer the old fashioned method?

My conversation with a pastry chef about butter changed how I make croissants

I was grabbing supplies at the baking supply store on 5th street and got to talking with this pastry chef named Lena. She told me European butter with 84% fat content makes a huge difference in lamination, I always just used whatever was on sale. She showed me how the lower water content means better layers and now I'm never going back to cheap butter. Has anyone else noticed a big difference switching butter brands for croissants?

Hit 200 loaves from my home oven this week and still don't have a steam setup

I've been baking boules every Sunday for like 18 months and just realized I've done 200 loaves using nothing but a spray bottle and some ice cubes in a tray. How are you guys getting good crust without a real steam injection?

Shoutout to the guy at my local baking supply shop

I was struggling with my sourdough loaves coming out flat every time... Then this older fella named Jim at the shop told me to stop using my plastic banneton and switch to a cloth lined one. Said the dough was sticking and losing its shape before I even put it in the oven. First try after switching I got a perfect ear and a good spring. Has anyone else found that the type of banneton really makes that big of a difference?

TIL a bakery owner named Patty taught me why my sourdough was flat

So I was at this tiny bakery in Portland last summer, just grabbing a morning croissant, and the owner Patty came out to restock the display. I mentioned I’d been struggling with my sourdough loaves always coming out dense and flat. She didn’t brush me off, she just looked at my hands and asked if I wash my mixing bowl with hot soapy water. I said yeah, obviously. Then she laughed and said that’s your problem, you’re killing the wild yeast with the heat. She told me to just rinse with cool water and wipe dry, no soap or heat. That one tip fixed my whole bread game in about a week. Has anyone else gotten a super simple bakery tip like that that totally flipped how you bake?

Appreciation post: that bakery owner who showed me my overmixing problem in 5 seconds flat

Can we talk about how humid bakeries ruin everything?

I was at a bakery in New Orleans last week and the humidity was so bad my croissant dough turned into a sticky mess in 20 minutes. Had to toss a whole batch of laminated dough. Anyone else deal with this in coastal kitchens?

Just realized my sourdough starter was too acidic after a week in the fridge

I had to choose between feeding it twice a day for three days or doing a single refresh with bottled water and a bit of rye flour. I went with the single refresh... it was a gamble but I was short on time. The loaf turned out flat and dense, so I guess that didn't work. Has anyone else fixed a really sour starter without the long feeding schedule?

Just realized my cheap oven thermometer was costing me batches

I kept having issues with my sourdough crusts getting too dark before the inside was done. I finally bought a proper analog oven thermometer for about $25 and hung it from the rack. Turns out my oven runs a solid 25 degrees hotter than the digital display says. I've been baking everything too hot for months. Anyone else find a simple tool that fixed a persistent baking problem?

My buttercream kept splitting until I tried something weird with the mixer speed

I was making a big batch for a wedding cake and the frosting started to look curdled, like cottage cheese. My usual fix of adding more butter wasn't working. Out of ideas, I turned the mixer all the way up to high for a full minute, which felt wrong. It actually came back together smooth and shiny. Has anyone else fixed a split buttercream by whipping it harder instead of adding more fat?

I spent $35 on a digital scale that measures in grams and it fixed my cookie problem

Warning: my local mill switched their 'all-purpose' flour blend last month

I didn't notice until three wedding cake orders in a row had weirdly dense crumb, all traced back to a single 50lb bag from their new supplier. Anyone else get burned by a silent formula change?

Watching a baker in Portland throw out a whole batch of croissants over a tiny crack changed my mind on perfection

I was at a small bakery in Portland about six months ago, just watching the morning bake. The baker pulled a tray of croissants from the oven, and one had a single, small crack on the side. He looked at it for a second and then tossed the entire dozen into the bin. He said, 'If it's not perfect, it's not worth selling.' I get the idea of high standards, but that felt wasteful and kind of silly. Since then, I've sold plenty of pastries with minor flaws at a small discount, and people are happy to get a great-tasting item for less. It taught me that our drive for a perfect look can sometimes hurt more than help, especially for a small business. Holding onto that batch would have still made customers' days and covered the cost of the flour. Has anyone else found a good balance between quality and not being too hard on yourself?

Question about proofing in a cold kitchen. I used to just let my dough sit on the counter overnight, but last week I tried putting it in the oven with just the light on.

A bakery in Seattle made me rethink my sourdough starter schedule

I was visiting a friend there last month and stopped by this tiny place called The Daily Rise. The baker told me she feeds her starter twice a day, but only uses a tiny amount of flour each time, like 20 grams. I'd been doing one big 100-gram feed every 24 hours and my loaves were always a bit dense. Tried her method for a week and the difference in rise is wild. Has anyone else switched up their feeding routine and seen better results?

Shoutout to the lady at the Pasadena farmers market who asked about my sourdough

I've been baking my 'rustic' loaves for years, thinking the dense crumb was just my style. She pointed at one and said, 'Honey, that's not rustic, that's under-proofed.' I went home, let my next batch proof for a full 4 hours instead of my usual 2, and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a simple tip completely flip a long-time habit?

My chocolate chip cookies spread into one giant sheet last Tuesday

I was baking a batch for my kid's school thing and I swear I followed my usual recipe. The butter was definitely softened, not melted, but when I pulled them out of the oven they were just one flat, greasy mess. My oven in the new apartment runs about 25 degrees hotter than the dial says, which I didn't account for. Has anyone else had a cookie disaster after moving to a new kitchen?

My sourdough starter was flat for months until I changed one thing

I kept getting these dense, sad loaves that barely rose, and I couldn't figure it out. My starter would bubble a little, but it never really got going. The tip off was when I saw a video of someone feeding theirs, and they used warm water. I'd been using cold tap water straight from the sink for like six months, thinking it didn't matter. I switched to water around 85 degrees, and my starter doubled in size in just a few hours. It was like I'd been starving it the whole time. Now my bread has actual oven spring. Has anyone else had a simple fix like that totally change their results?