🐿️Pinecone Attack

c/baking-fails-and-wins

24

butler.shane•20h ago

My bread starter is 8 months old and I still get flat loaves half the time

I was at a farmer's market last Saturday and overheard two bakers arguing: one said a strong starter is all you need for perfect bread, the other swore by commercial yeast for consistency. I've been using my hand-fed starter since January and I'd say 4 out of 10 loaves come out like frisbees. Which camp are you in - natural starter diehards or yeast-as-backup folks?

22

juliam40•1d ago

TIL those cheap silicone baking mats are NOT all the same

I bought a 3-pack of no-name silicone mats off Amazon for $12 last month thinking I was being smart. First batch of sugar cookies? They slid all over the pan and the bottoms burned black within 8 minutes. Turns out the cheap ones don't have any fiberglass layer inside so they don't conduct heat evenly. I wasted $12 and a whole batch of dough. Anyone else get burned by these knockoff mats?

25

hayden_rodriguez•1d ago

I went with buttercream over cream cheese frosting for my carrot cake and got roasted by my whole family

Last Sunday I made a carrot cake from scratch for my mom's birthday. Everyone in my family swears by cream cheese frosting, says it's the only way to go. But I actually prefer buttercream, it's sweeter and holds up better on the cake. So I went with a classic vanilla buttercream and piped it all nice. My aunt took one bite and said 'where's the tang?' My cousin asked if I ran out of cream cheese. I felt like I messed up the whole thing. But honestly the cake itself was moist and spiced right, and the buttercream wasn't bad at all. Has anyone else stuck with a frosting pick that most people hate?

6

hollym12•1d ago

My first gluten free cake actually rose properly

I've been trying gluten free baking for about 3 months now and every single cake came out like a dense pancake until last week. I swapped regular rice flour for a mix of almond and tapioca flour and it actually puffed up in the pan like a normal cake. Has anyone else found a flour blend that finally worked after a bunch of fails?

15

seanperry•2d ago

Took me 6 months to figure out my sourdough starter wasn't dying, it was just cold

I kept feeding my starter every day and it kept looking dead. Finally asked a baker in Seattle about it and she said my kitchen was too cold in winter. I moved it near the heater vent and it doubled in size overnight. Has anyone else had a starter that just needed a warmer spot?

19

gray_gibson•3d ago

My Aunt's tip about using cold butter in pie crust flopped hard

My aunt swore up and down that using butter straight from the fridge was the secret to flaky pie crust. I tried it for a Thanksgiving pie last month and ended up with these weird hard lumps of butter that never mixed in right. The crust baked up tough and greasy in spots instead of flaky. Has anyone else gotten bad advice from a family member that totally backfired?

5

richard_mason•3d ago

Found out my sourdough starter is older than my car and it weirded me out

I was cleaning out my fridge last Sunday and noticed the little jar of starter I got from a friend back in 2019. Did the math and realized this blob of flour and water has been alive longer than my 2021 Honda Civic. Found a blog called The Sourdough Journey that tracks how starters change flavor over years, and apparently after year 3 they settle into a really stable tang. Has anyone else ever stopped to think about how old their starter actually is?

10

wade_young86•3d ago

That fancy bundt pan with all the ridges? Yeah, it won.

I tried making a lemon lavender cake last weekend and got so confident with the nonstick spray. Spent 20 minutes picking crumbly bits out of every single little crevice (never again). Has anyone found a pan coating that actually works for those crazy detailed molds?

14

carter.jennifer•6d ago

My stand mixer gear stripped mid batch of cookie dough last Tuesday

I was making my grandma's sugar cookie recipe that calls for creaming butter and sugar for like 8 minutes straight. Halfway through I heard this grinding noise and then the paddle just stopped spinning. The plastic gear inside the housing completely snapped in two. I had to finish mixing by hand with a wooden spoon which took forever and my arm got so sore. Turns out the replacement part is only $12 but you gotta take the whole thing apart to swap it. Has anyone else had their mixer fail right in the middle of a holiday baking rush?

18

noah135•7d ago

Hit my 100th loaf of sourdough last Sunday... never thought I'd get there

I started baking sourdough back in March 2020 like everyone else, but I just kept going even after things opened up. My 100th loaf came out with a perfect ear and open crumb, which felt like a huge win after all those frisbee-shaped fails in the beginning. What really surprised me was realizing I had used about 50 pounds of flour to get to that milestone... my pantry still has flour dust everywhere. Has anyone else kept track of how many loaves they've made since starting?

12

dixon.daniel•7d ago

My stand mixer threw up butter all over the kitchen last Tuesday

I was making a double batch of chocolate chip cookies for a bake sale at my kid's school, and the paddle attachment just popped off mid-mix. Butter and sugar splattered across the counter, the wall, and my lucky apron. Turns out the locking pin was worn down after 12 years of heavy use. Has anyone else had this happen with a KitchenAid from the early 2010s?

21

nora_wells58•24d ago

Spent $40 on a fancy silicone baking mat and it ruined my cookies

I bought a name brand silicone mat last month from a kitchen supply store in downtown Portland. The package said non-stick and reusable, but my chocolate chip cookies spread out into one giant thin sheet. I followed the recipe exactly like I always do. Has anyone else had trouble switching from parchment paper to those mats?

19

carter.julia•24d ago

Vent: Tried to make my grandmother's apple cake recipe and it turned into a flat disc

I got out her old recipe card last Sunday. The one she wrote in pencil like 40 years ago. I followed everything exactly. 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 3 eggs, but I think my baking powder might be old because the cake barely rose. It came out maybe an inch tall and super dense. My kitchen smelled amazing but it was a total disaster. Has anyone else had a family recipe just completely flop on them? What did you do?

12

anderson.spencer•24d ago

That fancy sourdough starter guide was completely wrong for me

I followed a popular blog's method for 3 weeks and got nothing but grey sludge. Switched to a 50/50 rye and water ratio just keeping it on the counter and had bubbles in 4 days. Has anyone else had a "pro" recipe totally backfire like that?

3

ivan873•25d ago

Shoutout to that Pillsbury crescent roll that exploded in my oven last Thanksgiving

Ever since my aunt's stuffing got blasted with molten butter at her house in Phoenix two years ago, I've always pre-poke holes in the seams before baking, has anyone else had a can pop off on them?

29

the_miles•25d ago

Spent $40 on a silicone baking mat and it saved my cookies from a total disaster

I tried making a batch of chocolate chip cookies last night and my old parchment paper kept sliding off the tray. I had bought this mat from Target a few weeks ago and finally gave it a shot. The cookies came out perfect, no sticking or burning on the bottom like usual. Has anyone else had good luck with those mats or do you still swear by parchment?

-1

casey943•26d ago

Just realized my oven runs 25 degrees hot after 3 years of baking

I was at my neighbor's house last Saturday and she mentioned she always bakes stuff 25 degrees lower than what recipes say. I asked why and she said her oven runs hot. I went home and tested mine with a $10 oven thermometer. Turns out mine has been running 25 degrees hot for the 3 years I've owned it. Has anyone else found a big temperature difference with their oven and how did you adjust?

-1

elliots49•27d ago

Found out my grandma's cookie recipe is actually from a 1950s margarine ad

I was cleaning out my mom's attic last weekend and found an old magazine from 1954. Flipped through it and there it was, the exact same 'secret family recipe' for sugar cookies we've been making for generations. It was a full page ad for Parkay margarine with the instructions verbatim. My grandma always told us she invented it herself and never wrote it down. Kind of funny but also a little weird knowing I've been bragging about her 'original' cookies for years. Has anyone else found out a family recipe wasn't really from the family?

28

the_cora•28d ago

My neighbor's sourdough starter smelled like acetone so I tossed mine too fast

Last month I was over at my neighbor Carol's place in Oak Park. She pulled out her sourdough starter and it smelled like nail polish remover. She said it was ruined and threw it away. I panicked and went home and threw mine out too. Then I looked online later and found out that acetone smell is normal sometimes, especially if it's hungry. I wasted a starter I had kept alive for almost a year. Has anyone else thrown away good starter because of a smell that turned out to be fine?

27

holly_young35•1mo ago

Made my first sourdough loaf that didn't look like a hockey puck

I have been trying to bake sourdough for about 8 months now and nothing ever came out right. Last weekend I visited my aunt in Boise and she showed me how to properly feed my starter every 12 hours instead of guessing. That one change made the dough actually rise in the bowl. It still came out a little flat but it actually had air pockets inside and I almost cried. Has anyone else had trouble with their starter going dormant?

13

reese550•1mo ago

My sister swore her sourdough starter needed honey not sugar

She kept telling me to swap honey for sugar in my feeding routine. I ignored her for 2 months because I thought sugar was fine. My starter barely bubbled until I switched to raw honey last week now it doubles in 6 hours flat. Has anyone else had a starter act totally different based on the sweetener?

11

anthony883•1mo ago

Tried a 3-tier cake for my sister's wedding and watched the middle layer slide off

I was at my apartment in Austin last Saturday, attempting a lemon raspberry cake for my sister's reception. The bottom tier was 10 inches, middle was 8, and top was 6. I used cheap cardboard rounds and forgot to chill the ganache between stacking, so the middle layer just slid right off onto the counter after 20 minutes. Had to scrape everything down, made cupcakes instead, and they actually turned out fine. Anybody else had a cake collapse right before a big event?

18

brooke533•1mo ago

Had to choose between butter and shortening for my grandma's sugar cookie recipe

I went with butter because I figured better flavor mattered more, but they spread way too thin and came out like crispy discs instead of soft cookies. Has anyone else tried swapping half and half or is that just a myth?

21

cameron770•1mo ago

TIL that my failed macarons were actually a humidity problem, not a technique problem

I had been making macarons for about 6 months and they kept coming out with no feet or hollow shells. I tried everything, different meringue methods, aging egg whites, sifting almond flour three times. Nothing worked. Then my neighbor who used to work at a bakery in Portland told me to check the humidity in my kitchen. I bought a cheap hygrometer for $12 and found out my kitchen was averaging 65% humidity. Once I started running a dehumidifier for a few hours before baking, my macarons came out perfect on the first try. Has anyone else run into this issue with other baked goods like meringue cookies or angel food cake?

25

ryan653•1mo ago

Spent six hours trying to get my sourdough starter to double in size before I realized my kitchen was too cold at 62 degrees

Moved it to the laundry room where it stays a steady 76 degrees and it finally doubled in four hours flat, anyone else struggle with temperature way longer than you should have?