I made the baguette (poolish) recipe 2 days ago and yesterday made the French bread. My French bread was so soft and sticky, and I'm not sure why. That's not my question.. I love in TN and you can cut the air with a knife right now. But, my French Loaves are so soft and delicious. What makes the difference in the hard chewiness of the baguette versus the French bread? Is it just the water? Because it a bit sloppy and I wasn't sure if it would rise in the oven, but I like how soft they turned out. So my guess is the high water content? Family is taking them to church as sandwiches tonight. I just really want to understand the science. I'd love some day to not have to look up recipes but to know generally what I'm doing. Thanks!

I'm taking my first foray into making focaccia, hoping to add this as our first bread to sell at market. I'm using Henry's Market Day Focaccia recipe, and it calls for an overnight cold proof. I have quite a busy morning tomorrow, so I'd like to bake it tonight if possible. Is there a way I can bake it tonight and skip the cold proof this time? I'll be able to cold proof in the future, but want to give this a try first.

Nothing makes me more happy that then to share my kitchen with my grands. Mollie started sourdough baking with me when she was 9, with one year, now 10, she made this beautiful sandwich loaf. My heart is so full. Note: when it was time to add the salt, look’s at me and said, Nonnie, do we still dimple in the salt like Mr Henry. I wanted to hit the floor. 🤯

Does anyone else make their own yogurt, and use the whey in their bread? I just started making Greek yogurt again, and I always used it the whey in my yeast breads. I will be trying it in my SD, but has anyone used it in their starter? I would think it would be a good thing, like it is in the bread, but I don’t want to risk killing Myrtle. So has anyone used whey , instead of water in their starter?

🥐 𝗧𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗱𝗮𝘆: 𝗪𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸. Morning, everyone. Today's the day croissant week gets real. This is a bake you build over a few days, and it starts now, so let's get set up right. 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝘄𝗹: 🧈 Your good European butter, cold and waiting (82% fat or higher) ⚖️ Flour, sugar, and salt weighed out 🫧 Sourdough folks: build your levain this morning so it's ripe by tonight 📖 Read your recipe all the way through, start to finish, before you begin 🧊 Clear a shelf in your fridge right now. You're gonna need the room. Now the part none of us can ignore this week. It's hot. And heat is the enemy of lamination. A warm kitchen means soft butter, and soft butter means your layers smear together and leak instead of staying separate and distinct. That's the whole game right there. So here's the rule for the week: the refrigerator is our friend. Lean on it. The moment your dough or butter starts to feel soft, greasy, or sticky, stop and put it back in the fridge for 20 or 30 minutes. There's no penalty for chilling. There's a big penalty for pushing through with warm butter. 𝗔 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁: ❄️ Chill your rolling pin and your work surface (set a sheet pan of ice on the counter a few minutes, then dry it) ⏱️ Work in short bursts. Roll, fold, chill, repeat. 🌅 Laminate in the coolest part of the day, early morning or evening 🧈 Keep your butter block in the fridge until the second you need it This is the challenge that makes croissants croissants. Respect the butter, respect the heat, and let the cold do the work for you. So tell me below: who's starting today, and are you going French or sourdough? I want to know who I'm walking through what this week. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥