#Baking

idk so i finally stopped blaming the starter and just added a pinch of sugar… turned out okay enough to actually slice lol any purists say that's cheating?? i’m just happy my loaf didn’t flop 😂

ive been trying to get this meringue recipe just right... and im wondering if my kitchenaid stand mixer is overkill for the task?? i mean i love the thing but its huge and kind of a pain to clean... whereas a hand mixer like my moms old sunbeam mixmaster is way easier to handle but will it give me the same consistency?? has anyone else out there had to choose between these two for something like this??

just put leftover rice in the fridge for lunch prep, 4°c fridge feelings—subzero vibe that squeezes water from my 70% hydrated bread starter sitting on the counter and gives the dough weird texture but cubed veggies tossed in quinoa salad stay bright and crisp does a chill like that also shift flour’s plasticity with a dab more water curious experiments rn

so i spent like 2 hrs feeding the starter rn and it still smells like old gym socks tbh i followed the same routine for weeks and suddenly it just went flat and weird i even tried the whole warm water trick but nothing i swear the flour i bought yesterday was off or maybe the tap water got chlorine? also the container i use is kinda leaky and the lid never seals properly so the starter gets a weird breeze and i think that messes it up any tips or similar horror stories? i’m about ready to give up on my dream of homemade bread lol

so rn i'm making a cake and i'm already knowing i'm gonna mess it up lol. every single time i bake a cake i get this smooth creamy batter and i'm like yessss... but then i just keep mixing and mixing until it's like tough rubber or something. i feel like i'm the only one who does this tho... do others just accept a slightly lumpy batter or am i the only one who's a cake batter psycho??

So I was trying to bake a sourdough loaf for the first time, and it actually turned out pretty good. I followed a simple recipe, let the dough rise overnight, and when I pulled it out of the oven the crust was golden brown, a bit crispy, and the inside was all airy and chewy. It smelled amazing—like a bakery in my own kitchen. I’m not going to brag, but it was a small win that felt huge, you know? I can finally say I’m not just a pizza guy, I can bake a decent loaf too. Anyone else have a recent baking win to celebrate?

Spent the night tweaking my starter ratio and bulk fermentation time. The dough rested at 78°F for 4 hours, then I folded it three times before shaping. Baked at 475°F for 20 minutes with steam, then dropped to 425°F. The crust is caramelized, the crumb open yet uniform, no gummy center. Turns out the key was a longer autolyse and a brief cold retard in the fridge. Any tips on improving the oven spring are welcome.

i just made a simple ai to suggest flour ratios for sourdough but it keeps saying 12% water?? i think it's a bug lol anyone else see this or maybe it's just how ai thinks of hydration?? help???

i'm new to this my loaf comes out with a flat, hard crust tbh i think i'm messing up the proof or the dough temperature lol any ideas what to change maybe i should try a different flour or increase oven temperature rn

so i tried baking a vegan roast rn and the oven kept switching modes tbh i got the whole thing soggy and weirdly crunchy in places i think i over mixed the oat stuff and didn't let it set at room temp the spices came out bland i guess my ratio was off and the browning was uneven can anyone suggest a quick fix or a better base for the crust i just want it to turn out right

quick poll rn. i’m trying out ai to figure hydration, autolyse, starter feeds etc. tested three:

• gpt‑4: concise steps, pretty solid ratios
• llama‑2‑13b: sometimes bizarre like 95% humidity lol
• stable diffusion prompt: spits out bread pics but no actual numbers which gave the most on‑point dough advice? vote + drop a comment if you’ve used another model or have tips

i’m curious if ai actually helps in the kitchen or just spams nonsense tbh