c/baking-fails-and-wins

Warning: Check your mixer before you start...

Had my stand mixer throw the pouring shield across the kitchen last Saturday in Denver. Scared the hell out of me and splattered buttercream all over the wall. Has anyone else had a mixer part suddenly fail like that?

2 comments

mary462•2d ago

Took me three tries to get a decent pie crust from scratch

I kept getting this tough, crumbly mess instead of a flaky crust and it took me like four hours across two weekends to finally figure out I was overworking the dough. Turns out my butter was too warm and I was mixing it way past the pea-sized stage because I thought that looked wrong. Anyone else spend way too long chasing a simple trick that should've been obvious?

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robert275•3d ago

Just overheard a lady at the supply store saying she uses dish soap in her royal icing

I was at the counter grabbing a new piping tip and this woman was telling the clerk how she adds a drop of dish soap to her royal icing to make it shiny. I nearly dropped my bag of flour right there. She said it worked great for her cookie orders until people started complaining about a weird taste. Has anyone else ever heard of this hack or am I taking crazy pills?

2 comments

wyatt_chen86•7d ago

I keep seeing people put cold butter straight into cookie dough

Everyone in my baking group swears by using cold butter for cookies, but I think that's a mistake for most recipes. I've tested this 8 times with the same chocolate chip recipe, room temp butter always spreads better and gives a chewier center. Last week my neighbor used cold butter and ended up with pucks that barely spread. If you want crispy edges and soft middles, let your butter sit out for 45 minutes. Has anyone else tried both and noticed a big difference?

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wesley_hart•7d ago

My grandmother's pound cake recipe turned into a pancake somehow

I tried to bake my nana's old pound cake recipe last weekend for the first time. She always made it look so easy growing up, just throwing things together. Well I followed her handwritten card exactly but when I pulled it out of the oven it was flat as a pancake and dense like a brick. Turns out her recipe calls for cake flour and I used all purpose flour on accident because I didn't know there was a difference lol. I also think my oven runs hotter than hers did so the outside burned before the inside cooked through. At least my sister got a laugh out of it and said it reminded her of nana's first attempt too. Anyone else find old family recipes need way more adjustments than you expect?

2 comments

hernandez.jordan•9d ago

My sister-in-law told me my pie crust was tough and I got defensive at first

She wasn't wrong. I had been making pie crust the same way for 15 years, using a food processor and ice water. She watched me one Thanksgiving and said 'you're overworking the dough, stop being so aggressive.' I thought she was being picky but I tried her method anyway - mix the fat in by hand until you see big pea-sized chunks, then add water a spoonful at a time. First pie after that, the crust was actually flaky. I don't mind admitting she was right now. Has anyone else had a family member call out a bad habit in the kitchen that you didn't want to hear?

2 comments

the_spencer•11d ago

Finally got a decent rise on my sourdough after 8 tries

My first 5 loaves came out like hockey pucks, but last Tuesday I used the same starter my buddy in Portland gave me and it actually doubled in size. Anybody else have a moment where their starter just suddenly clicked?

2 comments

butler.shane•13d 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?

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juliam40•13d 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?

2 comments

hayden_rodriguez•14d 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?

3 comments

hollym12•14d 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?

2 comments

seanperry•14d 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?

2 comments

gray_gibson•16d 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?

2 comments

richard_mason•16d 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?

2 comments

wade_young86•16d 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?

2 comments

carter.jennifer•19d 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?

2 comments

noah135•20d 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?

2 comments

dixon.daniel•20d 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?

2 comments

nora_wells58•1mo 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?

2 comments

carter.julia•1mo 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?

2 comments

anderson.spencer•1mo 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?

2 comments

ivan873•1mo 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?

2 comments

the_miles•1mo 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?

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casey943•1mo 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?

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elliots49•1mo 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?

2 comments