c/baking-fails-and-wins

Found out yesterday that baking powder expires way faster than I thought

I was cleaning out my pantry and noticed a can of baking powder from like 2021. Figured it was fine, baking powder is just powder right? But then I looked it up and apparently it loses its oomph after about 6 months. I've been using old baking powder in my scones for the last year and they've been coming out flat and dense. No wonder. Has anyone else had a baking fail because of old ingredients?

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karen_roberts4•3d ago

Tried to make a sourdough starter and it grew mold instead on day 3

I left it on the counter in my tiny apartment kitchen near the trash can (bad idea, I know) and now I'm wondering if I should just toss everything and start fresh with a different container, has anyone else had their starter get contaminated that fast?

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oscarc53•3d ago

PSA: Don't bake a cake with expired baking powder

I was at my mom's house last Saturday making a birthday cake from scratch... I grabbed her baking powder without checking the date. The cake came out flat as a pancake, like barely an inch tall. Turns out it expired 8 months ago and just sat there in the cabinet. Has anyone else had a whole batch ruined by old leavener?

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kelly_craig•4d ago

I finally tried subbing applesauce for oil in a cake mix

Last weekend I was halfway through making a boxed yellow cake for my niece's birthday and realized I had zero vegetable oil in the pantry. I remembered seeing people online say you can use applesauce instead, so I swapped in a cup of unsweetened applesauce. The cake came out way denser than normal, almost like a coffee cake texture. It was actually pretty good, just not the fluffy birthday cake I was going for. My niece ate two slices without complaining, so I guess it wasn't a total fail. What I learned is that applesauce works fine for moist cakes like spice or carrot, but it's not great for light airy cakes. Has anyone else tried fruit purees in cake mixes and gotten weird results?

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charliestone•4d ago

That moment I realized I was overmixing my muffin batter for years

I always wondered why my blueberry muffins came out tough and dense instead of fluffy, and last Tuesday I finally figured it out after watching a baking stream. The person said 'mix until just combined' and I was like wait, I've been beating the crap out of mine for like 2 minutes straight lol. Has anyone else had that brain blast where you find out you've been doing a basic thing wrong forever?

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emmawood•4d ago

Tried using yogurt instead of buttermilk in my scones... got hockey pucks lol

I subbed Greek yogurt straight across for buttermilk in my usual blueberry scone recipe this morning and they came out dense and flat as a pancake. The dough was way too thick and I think the extra protein messed with the gluten. Has anyone else had luck making a yogurt swap work or is it just a bad idea period?

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stellachen•7d ago

Watched my sister"s sourdough go from flat disc to perfect spring in 2 weeks. Here"s what she did differently.

I always thought sourdough was just luck or magic. Then my sister sent me a photo of her first loaf - looked like a deflated pancake. Two weeks later she sent another photo and it had this beautiful oven spring and ear. She told me she stopped guessing and started using a thermometer to check her dough temp during bulk fermentation. That one change made all the difference. Has anyone else had a big turnaround just from paying more attention to temperature?

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the_linda•9d ago

My aunt's one comment about my pie crust changed everything

I brought a blueberry pie to Thanksgiving last year and my aunt said, "The filling is great but the crust tastes like cardboard." Ouch. She told me I was overworking the dough and making it tough. I started using ice water and barely mixing the butter in until I see pea-sized chunks. Now I chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling it out too. First try after her advice came out flaky and tender. Anyone else get a blunt family member who actually helped with honest feedback?

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emery199•10d ago

Found out my starter was actually ready three weeks ago, not dead

I stumbled on a baking science blog that said bubbles the size of your thumb mean it's active, and my jar's been full of them since February, so has anyone else been ignoring perfectly good starter because you thought it needed more time?

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robertb47•10d ago

My neighbor's sourdough tip fixed my flat loaves

Been baking sourdough for about 8 months and my loaves always came out flat as a pancake. My neighbor Jane who bakes professionally told me I was overproofing by like 4 hours in my 72 degree kitchen. Cut the bulk ferment from 10 hours down to 6 and now I get great oven spring every time. Anyone else struggled with finding the right proofing time for their house temp?

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veraj53•11d ago

Just realized my grandma was right about room temperature eggs

My grandma always told me to take eggs out an hour before baking. I ignored her for years, thought it was old school nonsense. Last week I tried a new cake recipe, pulled eggs straight from the fridge, and got a lumpy, dense mess. Tried it again this weekend with room temp eggs and the batter came out smooth and fluffy. 50 degrees really does make a difference. Anyone else have a tip they brushed off until it bit them?

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dakota_patel98•13d ago

I spent 6 weeks trying to fix my pie crust and it was the humidity the whole time

Everyone says cold butter and don't overwork the dough. I followed those rules Perfectly but my crust kept coming out tough. After 8 failed attempts across 6 weeks I finally realized my kitchen in Houston was so humid the flour was absorbing moisture from the air. I started keeping my flour in the freezer for 20 minutes before mixing and it finally worked. Has anyone else dealt with a sneaky environmental factor that took forever to figure out?

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sanchez.pat•13d ago

My birthday cake turned into a pancake last weekend

I tried to make a layered vanilla cake for my sister's birthday. Used a recipe from a random blog. Didn't realize I swapped baking powder for baking soda. The cake rose like crazy in the oven then collapsed flat. Ended up with a dense, sad pancake. We just threw some icing on it and called it a 'deconstructed cake'. Has anyone else messed up a simple ingredient swap?

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the_mary•14d ago

My buttercream split three times before I figured out the trick

I was making a birthday cake for my niece last Saturday and my American buttercream kept separating. First batch looked like curdled milk, second one was greasy puddles. I got so frustrated I almost threw the whole bowl across the kitchen. Turns out my butter was too cold and I was adding the powdered sugar too fast. Third time I let the butter sit out for 45 minutes and added sugar one cup at a time. It came together smooth and my niece said it was the best frosting she ever had. Has anyone else had a buttercream meltdown mid-recipe?

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wendy391•14d ago

Shocked to find out bread flour has less protein than I thought

I was looking at the bag of King Arthur flour I've been using for months and decided to actually read the nutrition label. Turns out their all-purpose flour has 4 grams of protein per serving and the bread flour has only 4.5 grams. That tiny difference blew my mind since I always assumed bread flour was way higher. Has anyone else been fooled by the packaging or is it just me?

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charles442•16d ago

Spent $60 on a fancy bread starter kit that flopped hard

Back in 2019 I bought this artisan sourdough starter kit from a specialty shop. Paid $60 for the jar, the thermometer, and some heritage flour. Followed the instructions exactly for 2 weeks. Nothing happened. No bubbles, no rise. Just a jar of expensive goo. Turned out the starter pack was dead on arrival. Has anyone else had luck reviving a dud starter? I just chucked mine.

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the_robert•18d ago

Question about why my sourdough loaf turned into a pancake

I followed the recipe exactly and let it proof for 8 hours, but when I baked it the dough just spread out flat instead of rising up. My kitchen was around 68 degrees that day. Anyone know if the temp was too low or did I mess up the starter somehow?

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webb.ben•18d ago

Called BS on using cold butter for biscuits, was dead wrong

Spent 6 months making hockey pucks because I thought room temp butter was fine. Finally tried grating frozen butter last Sunday and got actual flaky layers for the first time. Anyone else resist a basic baking rule for way too long?

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mark_price•18d ago

I finally fixed my pie crust after 6 months of guessing wrong

Honestly, I spent half a year trying to figure out why my pie crust kept shrinking in the pan. Turns out I was overworking the dough and not letting it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling. It took me 6 tries and a YouTube deep dive to figure out the resting part. Has anyone else dealt with a baking problem that took way too many attempts to solve?

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ward.jamie•19d ago

Rant: My sourdough starter died after I left it in the fridge for 3 weeks

Last month I got busy with work and forgot to feed my starter, and when I checked it yesterday it had pink mold on top. Has anyone else had a starter go bad that fast or did I just mess up the ratios from the start?

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laura_allen•20d ago

Heard a pro baker say 'don't trust your oven's display' and now I check everything with a thermometer

I was at a workshop in Portland last Saturday and the instructor showed us how her oven was actually 50 degrees off from what the panel said. She said most ovens drift by at least 15-20 degrees after a year or two of use. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their oven temp being way off?

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mark_mitchell•20d ago

My birthday cake collapsed when I opened the oven door too fast

I was baking a three-layer chocolate cake for my nephew's party in my tiny apartment kitchen in Portland, and when I cracked the oven open to check on it, the whole middle layer just sank in like a deflated balloon and I had to scrap the whole thing and run to Safeway for a sheet cake an hour before everyone showed up.

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mary_martin22•22d ago

My cinnamon roll saga finally paid off last Tuesday

I tried that famous overnight cinnamon roll recipe three times in a row and each batch came out like hockey pucks. Turns out my yeast was dead because I stored it too close to the hot water heater in my tiny kitchen. Last Tuesday I bought fresh yeast from the Kroger on Main Street and finally got soft, pillowy rolls with cream cheese frosting. Has anyone else found old yeast to be the sneaky culprit behind dense bread fails?

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felix_williams71•23d ago

I was all set to use butter for my pie crust but swapped in shortening at the last second after reading a tip online

Read this thread about how shortening gives a flakier crust for fruit pies and honestly my apple pie turned out way better than my usual butter versions, anyone else had a specific ingredient change their whole baking game?

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carr.elliot•24d ago

Old baker at the county fair showed me a trick I still use

I was at the Iowa State Fair back in 2018 and watched this older guy win a blue ribbon for his sourdough. He must have been 70 years old, and after the judging, I asked him what his secret was. He just laughed and said 'stop fighting your starter, let it tell you when it's ready.' That stuck with me way more than any recipe book ever did. Last week I finally got my own sourdough to turn out right after 11 tries just by waiting an extra hour on a cold day. Has anyone else had a random stranger give you baking advice that actually worked?

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