c/baking-fails-and-wins

Unpopular opinion: sourdough starters are overrated for most home bakers

I was dead set against it for like a year. Everyone in this group raves about their bubbly starters and artisan loaves. But after my 4th failed attempt at keeping one alive while working 50 hour weeks, I tried a batch using commercial yeast and actually got better results. The crust was crispier, the crumb was consistent, and it took half the time. I get the appeal if you're really into the process, but for folks just wanting good bread on a Tuesday, is the starter cult really worth it? Anyone else ditch their starter after a few tries?

My last batch of macarons came out hollow and I don't think it's the oven...

Tried to bake sourdough with my own starter and it turned into a brick

I spent 3 weeks building a starter from scratch, feeding it every day like a pet. Last Sunday I finally tried to bake a loaf and it came out so dense you could use it as a roofing tile. I think my starter wasn't active enough because I kept it in the fridge too much. Has anyone else had a starter fail after all that work?

My birthday cake fell apart right on the kitchen floor at my sister's house

I was making a three-layer chocolate cake for my niece's 10th birthday party last Saturday. I pulled it out of the pan too early and the whole bottom layer cracked in half and slid onto the tile. I tried to salvage it by frosting over the cracks but it looked like a disaster zone. Has anyone else had a cake completely fall apart right before a party? What did you do to save it?

Rant: Spent $45 on 'sourdough starter kits' that were totally useless

Kept seeing these starter kits online with fancy jars and thermometers and thought I needed them to make good bread. Bought one for $45 from a baking shop near me in Denver. Turns out all you actually need is a mason jar and some whole wheat flour. The kit came with a tiny jar that was way too small for a feeding and the thermometer was just a sticker that fell off after 2 days. I wish I had just watched a free YouTube video instead and saved my money for actual flour. Has anyone else fallen for those overpriced starter kits?

Bakery in Portland showed me why my pie crusts crack

I stopped by this little bakery called Tabor Bread in Portland last weekend. The baker was rolling out dough and I noticed she let it sit for a full 10 minutes after taking it out of the fridge. I usually rush straight from fridge to rolling pin and end up with cracked edges. Tried her trick on my Sunday apple pie and the crust rolled out smooth as butter first time. Anybody else have a bakery visit that fixed a weird baking problem you had?

Burnt my hand AND salvaged the cake in the same 5 minutes yesterday

I was pulling a triple-layer chocolate cake out of the oven and my oven mitt slipped, so I grabbed the hot rack with my palm and dropped the whole thing on the floor, but somehow the layers landed stacked and I iced it anyway with one hand wrapped in a wet towel. Has anyone else had a freak accident that somehow saved the bake instead of ruining it?

Tried baking with a cheap kitchen scale vs a $50 Escali and WOW what a difference

I spent 6 months using a $10 scale from Amazon for my bread recipes. Every time I made my go-to sourdough it came out dense or too wet. Last week I borrowed my sister's Escali scale and made the same exact recipe. The difference was NIGHT and day - fluffy crumb, perfect rise, actually looked like the photos. My cheap scale was off by like 8-10 grams per cup of flour! Has anyone else had a bad scale ruin their bakes for months without realizing it?

I actually think sourdough starters are overrated for beginners

Last month I tried to start a sourdough starter from scratch like everyone recommends. I followed the exact instructions from a popular blog, fed it every 12 hours, kept it warm in my kitchen. After 3 weeks it still smelled like feet and barely bubbled. Meanwhile my neighbor uses instant yeast for her sandwich bread and it comes out perfect every time. People act like sourdough is the only real way to bake bread but honestly I think it's just gatekeeping. I wasted 5 pounds of flour on that starter and got maybe one decent loaf out of it. Has anyone else had better luck just sticking with commercial yeast?

Rant: My sister keeps opening the oven to check on her cake every 5 minutes

She did it 7 times last Sunday and wondered why it sunk in the middle. Has anyone else had to fight a relative over oven peek rules?

I spent 2 years using salted butter for everything and wondered why my bread was always salty

I was making my usual dinner rolls last Tuesday and my husband asked why they tasted like pretzels. I said that's just how homemade bread tastes. He looked at me funny and said no, homemade bread from his mom never tasted like this. Then it hit me. I had been using salted butter in every single recipe that called for butter. Cookies, cakes, bread, everything. Never once thought to adjust the salt in the recipe. I felt so silly. Has anyone else made this mistake with a basic ingredient?

Found out my oven runs 25 degrees too hot after 3 years of burning cookies

I've been wondering why my chocolate chip cookies always came out dark on the bottom even when I followed the recipe exactly. Finally bought a cheap $8 oven thermometer from Target and realized my oven is 25 degrees off. I just started setting the dial 25 degrees lower and suddenly everything comes out perfect (well, not always but way better). Has anyone else had a big temperature gap in their oven like this?

Just realized I was using baking powder and baking soda wrong for 10 years

I always just grabbed whichever was closest to make my cookies rise. Last month I tried a coffee cake recipe that fell totally flat. My neighbor who bakes for the county fair saw me tossing the batch and asked what I used. When I told her she laughed and explained the acid thing. Now everything actually puffs up right. Anyone else have a baking science moment that made you feel silly?

Dropped $60 on a fancy baking mat that warped after one use

I bought a high end silicone baking mat from a kitchen store last month for $60 thinking it would last forever. It came out of the oven all bubbly and warped after my first batch of sugar cookies at 375 degrees. Has anyone else had a problem with these expensive mats not holding up to normal heat?

My grandma’s banana bread recipe came out like a brick today

I tried making her old recipe that I used to love as a kid, but I swapped the baking soda for baking powder by accident. It rose way too fast then collapsed into this dense, weirdly salty lump that barely fit in the pan. Has anyone else messed up a swap like that and figured out a fix for next time?

My first perfect macaron batch after 4 straight failures

I spent all Sunday trying to nail macarons for the first time (I'm talking 6am to 6pm in the kitchen). The fourth batch actually came out with feet and no hollow shells, and I almost cried when I saw them. Anyone else have a recipe that took way more tries than you expected?

Rant: Three weeks to figure out why my bread kept collapsing

Spent 21 days testing water temps, flour brands, proofing times. Turned out my kitchen was 5 degrees colder than I thought and my yeast was basically dead. Ever had a simple variable mess up batch after batch before you caught it?

The difference between bread flour and all-purpose showed up after 3 days on my counter

I baked two loaves of sourdough last Monday, one with bread flour and one with all-purpose, and by Thursday the bread flour loaf was still soft while the all-purpose one was crumbling like stale crackers. My kitchen stays around 70 degrees and I stored them both in the same paper bags, so the only variable was the flour. Has anyone else noticed how fast their all-purpose bread goes dry compared to bread flour?

Just realized the difference between baking with room temp eggs vs cold eggs is huge

I always thought it was one of those fussy baker things that didn't really matter. Then last weekend I made two batches of pound cake back to back. First batch I pulled eggs straight from the fridge, second batch I let them sit out for 45 minutes. The room temp batch rose way higher and had a much smoother crumb. The cold egg one came out dense and kinda lumpy. I'm kicking myself for all the cakes I made over the last 2 years that could have been better. Anyone else ignore this rule for way too long?

Had to choose between using a stand mixer or my hands for a big batch of bagels this morning.

I went with the mixer to save time, but it overworked the dough and the bagels came out dense and tough. I mean, maybe it's just me but I should have just kneaded by hand like the recipe from that Brooklyn bakery said. Anyone have a good fix for over-kneaded dough, or is it just a total loss?

Just realized I've made exactly 50 sourdough loaves since lockdown started

I was cleaning out my baking cupboard yesterday and found my old notebook where I'd been scribbling down notes (mostly fails, to be honest). I counted them all up and it came to 50 attempts. The first ten were absolute bricks, like doorstops you could hurt someone with. I remember loaf number 7 specifically, it was so dense my partner said, 'I think you baked a frisbee.' It took me until attempt 23 to get a decent ear and an open crumb, and that felt like winning the lottery. The weird thing is, hitting 50 doesn't feel like I'm a pro now, it just shows how much you can mess up and still keep going (and how much flour I've gone through). Has anyone else hit a random baking number that made you stop and think?

My aunt told me to always chill cookie dough overnight and I finally tried it

She said it makes a huge difference in flavor and spread. I made my usual chocolate chip recipe but split it in half, baking one batch right away and chilling the other for a full 24 hours. The chilled dough cookies were thicker, chewier, and had a richer taste. The warm dough batch spread out flat and were way more crisp. I won't skip the chill time again. Has anyone else tested this with other types of cookies, like sugar or peanut butter?

My sourdough starter used to be a mess until I switched to a digital scale

For years I just used cups and spoons to feed my starter, and it was always weak or too sour. After it died for the third time last winter, I bought a $20 scale and started weighing my flour and water in grams. Now my starter is strong and my bread rises right every time. Has anyone else found that one simple tool fixed a big baking problem?

Showerthought: My sourdough starter went from a sad puddle to a bubbly beast in just two weeks

For the first five days, my starter was just a flat, grayish paste that smelled like old gym socks. I was using tap water from my kitchen in Austin, which I later found out is heavily chlorinated. I switched to bottled spring water on day six, and within 48 hours, I saw the first real bubbles. By day ten, it was doubling in size every eight hours and had that nice, sweet, yeasty smell. The before and after was night and day, and it was all because of the water. I almost gave up on it. Has anyone else had a simple switch, like water or flour type, completely turn a starter around?

My sister told me my 'perfect' sourdough was just okay and it stung

I was visiting my sister in Denver last weekend and brought my usual sourdough loaf, the one I've been making for a year. I was proud of it, great oven spring, nice crust. She took a bite, chewed, and just said, 'It's good, Jess. A little dense though, isn't it?' She wasn't being mean, just honest. That one comment hit different because she's not a baker, she's just an eater. I'd been so focused on the look and the technique that I forgot the main point is how it feels in your mouth. My crumb was tight because I was scared of over-proofing. So I went home, let my next batch proof for a full 8 hours in a warm spot, and the texture was like a cloud. It was a total win. Has anyone else had a simple comment from a non-baker completely change their approach?