c/bakers

Old baker at the shop showed me his secret for getting sourdough crust extra crispy

He told me to spritz the loaf with water right before putting it in the oven, not during baking. I tried it on my last batch and the crust came out way better than any recipe I've followed. Has anyone else tried this or got another trick for that?

1 comments

paulc93•2d ago

My mentor told me to rest croissant dough 36 hours and I thought she was nuts

She said 12 hours wouldn't cut it for the laminated layers to relax, and I ended up with butter leaking everywhere at 24 hours. Has anyone else tried a really long cold retard and had it actually fix their lamination problems?

1 comments

mary836•3d ago

Picked up a tip from a bakery in Portland about scoring sourdough

I visited this tiny bakery called Tabor Bread in Portland last week and watched the baker score his loaves. He used a curved razor blade and dipped it in water between cuts. He said it keeps the dough from sticking and gives cleaner ears. I tried it at home on my Saturday bake and the difference was insane... has anyone else tried wetting their lame before scoring?

1 comments

joel_singh84•3d ago

My stand mixer gave out during a big cake order yesterday

I was halfway through a 5-tier wedding cake batch and the motor just seized up. Had to finish creaming 8 pounds of butter by hand with a wooden spoon. Anyone else had a mixer die at the worst possible time?

c/bakers

Old baker at the shop showed me his secret for getting sourdough crust extra crispy

My mentor told me to rest croissant dough 36 hours and I thought she was nuts

Picked up a tip from a bakery in Portland about scoring sourdough

My stand mixer gave out during a big cake order yesterday

That time a customer asked if my sourdough was 'real bread'

Just found out my bread flour has way less protein than I thought

I was dead set against using a kitchen scale for baking for years, but after three flat sourdough loaves in a row last winter I finally caved and now I won't go back.

Old timer at the bakery taught me a trick about butter temperature

Instant yeast vs active dry is not even a fair fight anymore

Everybody says sourdough starter should be fed twice a day but that's just not true for everyone

My bread was always flat until a lady at the farmers market told me one thing

Can we talk about how much salt bread recipes have changed since the 1970s?

Tried using bread flour for my cookies and they came out worse than AP

That baker at the farmer’s market laughed at my sourdough starter

That 50 pound bag of bread flour was way off on my scale at home

That organic yeast I ordered is totally dead

Just walked out of a bakery in Austin that charges $9 for a single croissant

That time I burned a batch of croissants at a farmers market in Portland

Switched my stance on instant yeast after a flat loaf disaster

That sourdough starter I babied for 6 weeks finally gave me a decent loaf yesterday

Overheard a baker at the farmer's market say she only uses instant yeast, not active dry

The pizza stone trick I stole from a pizzeria in Brooklyn

Hit 1,000 loaves baked at home and it felt weird

Can we talk about those fancy silicone baking mats I fell for?

Old baker told me to chill my hands before handling dough... still not sure I buy it