c/baking-fails-and-wins

11

sethanderson•1d ago

TIL my aunt's advice about room temperature eggs is actually critical

My aunt Linda told me for years that you gotta let your eggs sit out for at least 30 minutes before baking. I always ignored her thinking it didn't matter. Last weekend I tried making a chiffon cake for my daughter's birthday. I pulled the eggs straight from the fridge and whipped them up. The cake came out flat and dense as a brick. I was so frustrated I called her and she just laughed. She said the cold eggs don't incorporate air properly and ruin the structure. Has anyone else had a fail because they skipped the simple room temp step?

13

jade32•2d ago

Forgot to cream my butter and sugar properly at 3am

I was trying to bake cookies for a holiday party last December and rushed through the steps so bad the dough came out like greasy sand. Had to toss the whole batch and start over at 4am, lesson learned on patience! Anyone else have a middle of the night baking fail?

11

diana_flores25•3d ago

Was skeptical about using yogurt in cakes for over a year

I finally tried swapping out half the oil for plain Greek yogurt in a lemon cake recipe my aunt gave me. The cake came out super moist and didn't collapse like my usual ones do. I used Fage 2% and baked it at 350 for about 35 minutes. Has anyone else tried this swap with different flavors?

1

phoenixh74•7d ago

Warning: That "no knead" bread recipe nearly wrecked my kitchen

I laughed at people saying the dough would spread everywhere, but I tried the popular NYT recipe from Jim Lahey and it was a complete mess. The dough was so wet it oozed off the counter and onto the floor in about 20 seconds. Has anyone else had this fail or did I mess up the water ratio?

7

thea246•8d ago

I finally get why my aunt always lets her cookie dough rest overnight

My cousin Sarah was over helping me bake last weekend and she saw me scooping dough straight into the oven. She was like "wait, no, you gotta let it chill first." I was all "ain't nobody got time for that." But she made me try it with half the batch. The rested ones came out thicker and chewier. Like way better. Now I'm wondering what else I've been rushing through that could use a pause. Does anyone actually plan their baking a whole day ahead or do you just forget and do it last minute like me?

31

camerona79•9d ago

I finally compared my grandma's hand-mixed cookie recipe to using a stand mixer

For years I made my chocolate chip cookies the way my grandma taught me, mixing everything by hand with a wooden spoon. Last weekend I tried the same dough using a KitchenAid stand mixer I borrowed from my neighbor. The mixer cookies came out flatter and spread way too much in the pan, while the hand-mixed batch kept their shape perfectly. I think the paddle attachment beat too much air into the dough and warmed the butter up too fast. Anyone else notice a big difference between hand mixing and using a mixer for cookies?

9

lilyo30•10d ago

Three years ago I baked a birthday cake that looked like a pancake

I tried making my first layered cake for my mom's birthday in 2022 in Austin. The layers came out flat as a pancake and the frosting melted off because the kitchen was too hot. Last month I finally tried again with a different recipe from a friend and the cake actually held its shape. What's the biggest time gap you've had between a baking fail and finally getting it right?

19

wright.drew•11d ago

My chocolate souffle collapsed in the middle of a dinner party last Saturday

I was hosting six friends in my tiny apartment kitchen in Portland, and after carefully folding the egg whites for 20 minutes the souffle sank like a stone the second I opened the oven door, so I quickly spooned it into bowls and called it 'molten chocolate pudding' and nobody knew the difference.

2

nathan851•12d ago

My great aunt's pound cake recipe failed at the county fair last August

I entered my great aunt's pound cake in the county fair baking contest last August, same recipe she used for 40 years. The judges said it was too dry and crumbly, and I got a 6th place ribbon out of 10 entries. Turns out I used a convection oven instead of a regular one, and I never adjusted the temperature or time. Has anyone else had a trusted family recipe flop because of a different type of oven?

28

wilson.emma•12d ago

That $60 silicone mat I bought after ruining 3 batches of macarons in one weekend

Gave up on parchment paper after the fifth stuck disaster and the mat paid for itself in saved ingredients by the second use.

6

david_stone•13d ago

Found out today that chilling cookie dough for 30 minutes instead of the full hour still works fine.

I was running late for a party and just stuck the tray in after half the time and they spread less than my usual rushed batches, has anyone else tested shorter chill times?

12

lisar14•15d ago

Hot take: I think the 'dump everything in one bowl' method gets way too much hate

Was making chocolate chip cookies last Sunday in my tiny apartment kitchen, and I was out of counter space because of three dirty dishes piling up. So I just dumped the flour, sugar, eggs, and chips into one big bowl and mixed it all at once, no creaming butter or sifting anything. The cookies came out a little dense and flat, sure, but they still tasted great and I saved myself 20 minutes of mess. Am I the only one who thinks perfectly fluffy texture is overrated if you just want a quick treat?

25

elizabetht56•16d ago

Overheard my neighbor say she never measures ingredients, just eyeballs everything

She made these perfect cookies last weekend. I asked how. She said she learned from her grandma and just goes by feel. I tried that with a cake yesterday. Came out like a brick. Guess some people have the touch and some don't. Anyone else try winging it and regret it?

9

shah.olivia•16d ago

My aunt swore I needed to rest my pie dough overnight, and after 5 tries I think she was dead wrong

She told me that letting the dough sit in the fridge for a full 24 hours would make it flakier. But every single time I tried it, my crust turned out tough and hard to roll out, plus it shrank in the pan. Last weekend I made two apple pies back to back, one with a 2 hour rest and one with her overnight method. The 2 hour one came out perfect and tender, while the overnight one was a mess again. Has anyone else had better luck ignoring that long rest advice?

21

coleman.jade•16d ago

Three batches of macarons and 9 hours wasted on humidity

I spent all Saturday trying to get macarons right and the humidity was over 70% that day. Took me three full batches and a trip to the hardware store for a dehumidifier before I figured it out. Now I check the weather before I even pull out the almond flour. Anyone else have a recipe that just refuses to cooperate until you fix the environment?

1

christopher385•16d ago

Just overheard someone say their dough hydration was killing their rise...

I was at a baking meetup last Saturday in Columbus and this guy was talking about how he kept getting flat loaves. He said he was doing everything right but his dough just wouldn't spring. Then someone asked his hydration ratio and he said 45%... I almost choked on my coffee. I used to do the exact same thing, kept my dough too stiff because I was scared of sticky messes. It took me like 6 tries with a wetter dough around 75% before I got oven spring that actually made me proud. Has anyone else dealt with being scared of high hydration and then finally giving in?

2

the_phoenix•16d ago

Picked a silicone baking mat over parchment paper for cookies and it went sideways fast

I decided to try a silicone mat for my chocolate chip cookies because I was tired of buying parchment rolls. Figured it would be more eco friendly and save money long term. But the cookies spread way too thin and came out greasy looking, not fluffy at all. After 3 batches I switched back to parchment and they came out perfect. Has anyone else had this problem with silicone mats ruining the texture of their cookies?

17

olivia478•22d ago

Had a baking day last Sunday that went completely off the rails

I was trying to make a simple batch of chocolate chip cookies for a family dinner, but my butter was too soft and my eggs were fridge-cold, so the dough came out like a greasy puddle. After 3 tries and almost crying over wasted flour, I finally got a decent batch by chilling the dough for an hour before baking. Has anyone else had a day where nothing in the kitchen seemed to cooperate no matter what you did?

18

the_olivia•22d ago

That box mix brownie recipe surprised me more than scratch ever did

I always thought making brownies from scratch was the only way to go. Box mixes seemed like cheating, you know? Then last week I saw a YouTube video from a pastry chef who actually blind taste tested scratch brownies against a specific store brand mix. Turned out the box mix won because of the emulsifiers and the way they kept the texture fudgy. I tried it myself on Sunday with that exact brand and added a little espresso powder like she recommended. They came out perfect, not cakey at all, and my kids couldn't tell the difference. Now I'm wondering if there's other box mixes out there that beat scratch recipes. Has anyone else found a mix that surprised them like this?

18

david_stone•27d ago

Tried a sourdough starter from scratch and it smelled like gym socks for 10 days

I finally got around to making my own starter last week, fed it twice a day, and on day 6 it smelled so bad I almost threw it out. It leveled out by day 10 and made a decent loaf, but that musty stage was rough. Anyone else have a starter that went through a funk phase and still turned out okay?

25

kelly_coleman61•1mo ago

My grandmother's pie crust trick finally clicked after 40 years

I always struggled with tough, crumbly pie crusts no matter what recipe I used. Last Thanksgiving, I remembered my grandmother saying to handle the dough as little as possible and use ice water. I finally tried her approach - mixing the butter in until it's pea-sized and adding just enough water to make it hold together. The crust came out flaky and tender for the first time in all my years of baking. Has anyone else had a family trick that took forever to actually try?

3

the_claire•1mo ago

Debate: blind bake your pie crust or just wing it?

I used to always skip blind baking for fruit pies. Just dumped the filling in raw and hoped for the best. But after a soggy bottom disaster last Thanksgiving with my apple pie I finally tried pre baking it with pie weights. Now I'm split because I feel like the crust gets too hard sometimes. Do you guys always blind bake or only for certain fillings? I need to know what works better for a standard cherry pie.

15

the_hugo•1mo ago

Shoutout to the oven thermometer that saved my cake last Saturday

I was baking a triple layer chocolate cake for my sister's birthday party in Austin. The recipe said 350 degrees but my layers were burning on the outside and raw in the middle after 25 minutes. I pulled out my $8 oven thermometer and realized my oven runs 40 degrees hot. I dropped the temp to 310 and the last batch came out perfect. Anyone else have an oven that lies to them like this?

1

simonw41•1mo ago

I finally switched from butter to shortening for pie crusts and the difference was huge

I was stuck on butter for years because of the flavor, but after 3 failed soggy bottoms in a row I tried shortening and got my flakiest crust yet - anyone else made that swap and had mixed feelings about the taste trade-off?

8

flores.tessa•1mo ago

My grandmother's pound cake fell flat because I opened the oven door too early

I was baking her famous recipe last Sunday for a family gathering, and about 20 minutes in I peeked to check on it and the whole thing sank in the middle. Does anyone have a foolproof way to resist that urge to open the door during baking?