c/baking-fails-and-wins

Serious question, why do so many bakers swear by cold butter for pie crust?

I tested warm butter versus cold butter for my apple pie crust three times last month... and the warm butter version was way easier to work with and just as flaky. The cold butter method gave me tough spots and took forever to get the dough to come together. My warm butter crust, made with butter straight from the counter, rolled out perfectly in under five minutes and baked up nice and crisp. I think the 'butter must be ice cold' rule just makes things harder for no real gain. Has anyone else tried baking with room temp butter and gotten good results?

My sourdough starter used to be a total dud for years

Honestly, I kept it in a cold corner of my kitchen in Spokane and it never really got active. Tbh, the change happened after I moved it to the top of my fridge, which stays a steady 75 degrees. Ngl, within a week, it doubled in size in 4 hours and my loaves stopped being dense. Anyone else find their starter is super picky about temperature?

Question about a baking fact I just read in my grandma's old cookbook

My chocolate cake turned into a pancake last night

I was baking a birthday cake for my friend and everything seemed fine until I opened the oven. The whole thing had sunk in the middle, like a giant chocolate crater. I think I messed up the baking powder measurement, maybe I used a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon. It happened around 9 PM and I had to run to the store for a box mix to save the party. Has anyone else had a cake completely collapse like that? What usually causes it?

My cake was sinking in the middle every single time, so I tried something weird with the oven rack

I was making a lemon pound cake for a friend's birthday and it kept coming out with a big dip in the center, even after three tries. I read online that putting a pan of water on the bottom rack could help with even heat. I slid a metal baking sheet with about a cup of water onto the rack below my cake pan. The cake baked for 55 minutes and came out perfectly flat and moist for the first time. Has anyone else fixed a baking problem with a simple oven trick like this?

Hot take: My attempt at a 'simple' sourdough starter from a 1980s cookbook gave me a jar of pink goo that smelled like old gym socks.

After feeding it for a week with the exact flour and water amounts the book said, I learned the hard way that my warm kitchen in Phoenix was a perfect home for the wrong kind of bacteria, so what's the best way to spot a starter going bad before it gets to the alien stage?

Finally figured out why my cookies were always flat

I was using melted butter from the microwave for years because I thought it was faster, but a friend in Cincinnati pointed out that creaming room temp butter with sugar traps air. Tried it with my basic chocolate chip recipe and they came out thick and chewy for the first time. What's a simple baking trick that changed your results?

Just realized my 'genius' idea to sub applesauce for oil in a cake at my mom's house turned it into a gummy brick.

I was trying to be healthy for a family thing last Sunday, but the whole pan came out so dense and wet that my brother just looked at it and asked if we needed a knife or a spoon... anyone have a better swap that actually works?

Just realized my local bakery's 'perfect' croissants are actually a fail

I was at The Daily Rise bakery in my town last month, and everyone raves about their croissants. They look amazing, all shiny and layered. But when I bit into one, it was so hard and dry it almost hurt my teeth. It was like eating a fancy piece of cardboard. I make croissants at home sometimes, and mine are never that dry. It made me think, maybe a lot of people just like how things look and don't care how they taste. That bakery trip changed how I bake. Now I focus way more on the texture and moisture, not just getting the layers to show. I'd rather have a slightly messy looking croissant that's soft inside. Has anyone else had a 'famous' bakery item that just didn't taste right?

My sourdough starter was a total fail for months until I switched to a different flour

I was using standard all-purpose from the grocery store and it would just sit there, barely bubbling after a week of daily feedings. I switched to an organic rye flour from a local mill in Boise and within three days it was doubling in size and smelling amazing. What's the one ingredient switch that saved a baking project for you?

My wife told me to weigh my flour for a year and I finally did it

She's been saying for ages that my 'scoop and level' method was why my bread was sometimes dense. I argued that my grandad taught me that way and it was fine. Last month, my sourdough was a total brick again, so I gave in and bought a cheap scale from the grocery store. The first time I weighed what I thought was 500 grams of flour, it was actually 620 grams. That's a huge difference. I made the same recipe with the weighed flour and it rose like a dream, perfect open crumb. I feel a bit silly for fighting it for so long. Has anyone else had a simple change like that fix a long running problem?

PSA: Check your yeast packet dates before you start a big bake

I tried to make cinnamon rolls last weekend and the dough just would not rise. I used the same recipe I always do, but after three hours it was still a flat brick. I checked the yeast packet and it expired six months ago. I bought a fresh pack and tried again the next day, and the dough doubled in size in under an hour. Has anyone else had a bake totally fail because of old yeast?

Overheard a baker in Portland say they never weigh their flour and it blew my mind

I was at a small bakery on 23rd Avenue and the owner told me they just scoop and level for every batch of sourdough. They said it's worked for 15 years, so why change? But my last three loaves were flat because I didn't use my scale and the flour was packed. How can you trust the scoop method when humidity changes everything? What's the biggest fail you've had from not weighing ingredients?

I bought a $70 specialty cake pan that was a total waste

It was one of those intricate Nordic Ware bundt pans with all the little details, supposed to make a beautiful castle cake. I used it exactly once for a friend's birthday. The batter stuck in every single crevice, even with a ton of grease and flour, and the cake came out in about twelve broken pieces. I spent more time trying to chisel it out than I did baking. Has anyone actually gotten one of those super detailed pans to work without a fight?

My sister said my old chocolate chip cookies were too sweet

I was making my usual recipe from a 2005 cookbook, and she tried one and said 'these taste like my childhood, but I couldn't eat two now.' It made me realize how my own taste, and maybe recipes in general, have gotten less sugary over the years. Do you find yourself cutting back on sugar in your old favorite recipes?

My buttercream turned into soup for a solid hour before I fixed it

I was making a birthday cake yesterday and my frosting just would not set. I kept adding powdered sugar, a cup at a time, but it stayed runny. Turns out my kitchen was way too warm from the oven being on. I had to put the whole bowl in the fridge for 45 minutes, then beat it again to get it right. Has anyone else had a frosting fail because of room temperature?

Appreciation post: Bought a $35 oven thermometer after my cookies kept burning

Turns out my oven runs 25 degrees hot, which explains a lot of my recent fails. Anyone else have a basic tool that saved their baking?

My sourdough starter straight up died on me after 2 years, right before a big bake.

Serious question, has anyone else had a cake completely stick to the pan even with butter and flour?

I was about to toss the whole mess, but my neighbor said to run a hair dryer around the outside for a minute. It actually worked and the cake slid right out. What other weird fixes have you guys found?

Found out my go-to bread recipe has been wrong for years

I was reading a baking science book from the library and it said most home bakers over-knead their dough by a huge amount. I tried a no-knead method for my sourdough this morning and the crumb is way better. Does anyone else think we put too much focus on kneading time?

My neighbor's kid actually asked for my recipe after tasting my cookies...

That shy request... made all my baking fails fade away.

My kid actually ate the whole wheat muffins I baked. Call it a win.

Cold butter turned my pie crusts from sad to stellar, no arguments.

I stubbornly used soft butter for years and wondered why my crusts were tough. Keeping everything ice cold made all the difference, and now I get perfect flakes every single time.

TIL that sourdough starters are popping up everywhere now

I saw a bunch of people at the grocery store buying fancy flour and yeast, which got me thinking. Remember when baking was just for holidays, but now my feed is full of bread pics and cake disasters. I had a huge fail trying a new banana bread recipe that came out soggy in the center. After tweaking the bake time and using less liquid, it turned into my go-to snack. It shows how we're all learning from each other's mistakes and small victories. This whole shift makes baking feel less about being perfect and more about trying stuff out. My win this week was a simple cookie batch that didn't spread into one giant blob for once.

I bake better bread when I don't knead it at all

My loaves come out perfect every time with this method. It saves me so much effort and still gets rave reviews.