Today we're baking baguettes. If you've been waiting for the right week to try them, this is it. Here's how the working thread runs: drop in throughout the day, share where you are in the process, post photos, ask questions as they come up. I'll be in and out answering. The whole point is that nobody bakes alone today. A few things to keep in mind before you start: Hydration matters. Baguette dough is wetter than a sandwich loaf and that's on purpose. Don't fight it with extra flour. Trust the folds. Shape with intention. The pre-shape sets up the final shape. Rushing the pre-shape is the number one reason baguettes come out lumpy or uneven. Score with confidence. One quick motion, blade angled almost flat to the dough. Hesitation gives you a torn loaf instead of a clean ear. Steam is non-negotiable. Whatever method you use, get steam in that oven for the first 10 minutes. No steam, no crust, no shine. If you need the recipe, here it is: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/ Drop your starting time below so we can see who's mixing when. Photos welcome at every stage. Floury counters, ugly pre-shapes, perfect oven spring, all of it. Let's bake. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

A week ago I shared a personal post here about Ryan's road to NCAA Nationals. I want to take a moment today, while a lot of you are in the house, to thank every single one of you who reached out, donated, shared, or sent a quiet "rooting for him." It meant more than I can put into a short post. This community continues to surprise me in the best way. A few new chapters since that first post. This past Monday at FMU's 56th Annual Athletic Gala, Ryan was named Men's Outdoor Track and Field Most Valuable Player for the third year in a row (2024, 2025, 2026). Out of 17 sports and dozens of MVP awards across the department, only four athletes earned a repeat MVP this year. Ryan was one of them. Quiet kid, loud résumé. Last weekend at the Conference Carolinas Championships, he won his third conference title in the javelin. He holds six school records at FMU and currently sits among the top javelin throwers in NCAA Division II. In three weeks he competes at the NCAA Division II National Championships at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas. Two weeks after that, he receives his master's degree. The NCAA is covering Ryan's trip. I'm covering mine. I'd like to be in the stands. For those who've asked how to follow along or help: - Ryan's story page (with recognition for the businesses who've stepped up): https://faith-field-flow.lovable.app - The GoFundMe is still active for parent travel: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-cheer-ryan-at-ncaa-nationals Sharing helps as much as giving. And honestly, just knowing you're cheering with us means a lot. Back to baguettes. — Henry ⭐🔥

This is what my poolish is looking like it's only been 2hrs. Should l be concerned my temp in the kitchen is 76°

This is a tribute to Henry Hunter @Henry Hunter and Robert Caldas @Robert Caldas who both introduced this carrot focaccia bread to us. I wanted to play in my safe and happy place today. I took the focaccia and cinnamon roll recipes from Henry's Recipe Pantry. I extracted what I needed from both. I grated some carrots and added extra spices as I love spices. I am a Spicy Lady. I did the cinnamon roll cream cheese icing and iced it. I sprinkled some dessicated coconut on top as well as some almond flakes to give it color. I added my carrots after the 4th stretch and fold. The dough was a beautiful orange color and so lovely to work with. The dough had so many huge bubbles. The more I dimpled, the more bubbles were appearing all over the place. I cried for joy and thank God for helping me. I have never seen this before and was taken by surprise. I contribute this to our stiff starter. Thank-you, my Stiff Squad for alway being there for me. I appreciate each and everyone of you! Love you tons! ❤️ @David Bachman @Candi Brown-McGriff @Donna Angelo @Linda Glantz

Y’all! I’m not complaining, just offering encouragement to anyone struggling today or tomorrow or even the day after. I posted my experience with trying to make a sourdough discard loaf earlier this week that resulted in tasty focaccia. I decided to try again this morning since I had some starter to use up. This dough was beautiful, and I was so impressed with the windowpane. I thought, let me get a picture/video of it. I propped my phone on a Weck jar (like I always do), but it wasn’t in the cards for that dough to become bread. Yep! My phone tumbled off the jar, right onto my dough!! Have you ever seen what happens to a phone when it face plants into sourdough? I’m so thankful I had a screen protector on it so I could just peel the mess off once I got it separated from the dough. That dough ended up in the trash, but I didn’t give up! I just finished my last set of folds on my 3rd attempt at a loaf of sourdough bread this week. I got an even better windowpane with this dough, so I WIN! Don’t give up, no matter what!