Mine was bulk fermentation. I kept cutting it short because the dough looked right to me. Turns out I was going by the clock instead of the dough, and I was pulling it way too early every single time. The loaves were fine. But they weren’t what they could’ve been. Once I stopped watching the clock and started watching the dough, everything changed. So tell me yours. What’s the thing you kept getting wrong before it finally clicked? No judgment here. This kitchen runs on honesty and progress, not perfection. Drop it below. 👇 Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

This is home base for the day. Whatever stage you're at, this is where we post, where we ask, and where we cheer each other on. Drop your photos right here in the comments. Ask your questions right here. I'll be in and out all day, coaching as we go. First things first, tell me where you are. Did you mix last night and your dough's resting cold in the fridge? Are you starting from scratch this morning? Or are you here to watch and learn this round? All of it counts. Pull up a chair. Here's how the day flows. If you're mixing this morning: Build your dough and get the gluten strong first. Knead to the windowpane before any butter goes in. Then add the butter cool, one piece at a time, and wait for each to work in before the next. Somewhere in there the dough's gonna look slick and broken and just plain wrong. That's the broken phase. Don't panic, don't quit, keep mixing. It comes back together smooth and shiny every time. After that, first rise, then into the fridge for the cold rest. You'll shape and bake this evening. If you mixed last night: Pull that cold dough out and shape it. Pick your shape, a bubble-top loaf, a single loaf, rolls, or buns, whatever your table wants today. Get it in the pan, then proof until puffy and nearly doubled. Read the dough, not the clock. When you poke it and the dent springs back slow but doesn't fill all the way, it's ready. Then we bake. Egg wash on, oven at 350, and watch your color. If the top's racing ahead, tent it loose with foil. Pull it when the center hits 190. Five minutes in the pan, then onto the rack. Couple reminders from this week. Keep that butter cool, because heat is the enemy. Judy's cold pack under the mixer bowl is fair game if you've got one. And the recipe's right here if you need it: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-brioche-bread That's it. Post as you go. Show me the messy middle, not just the pretty ending. The questions you ask today are the ones that help the next baker too.

Here it is so you can look it over: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-brioche-bread (Remember there's a yeast and sourdough version) Brioche isn't a grab-and-go bread. The dough needs a long cold rest in the fridge, at least 8 hours, before you ever shape it. That rest firms the butter back up so the dough's easy to handle, and it deepens the flavor while you sleep. So look at your weekend and pick your path. Path one: start Friday night. Mix your dough, let it do its first rise, then tuck it in the fridge overnight. Saturday morning you pull it out, shape it, let it proof, and bake. This is the one I'd pick. You wake up already halfway home and ready to bake with the group. Path two: start early Saturday. Just know that the minute you mix, that dough's going in the fridge for at least 8 hours before it's ready to shape. So an early Saturday mix means an evening bake. Nothing wrong with that, you just want to plan your day around it. And here's the one thing nobody warns you about. Somewhere while you're working the butter in, the dough's gonna look slick and sloppy and flat-out wrong. That's the broken phase. Don't quit on it. Keep going and it comes right back together. So tell me below. Which path are you running, Friday night or Saturday morning? And have you baked brioche before, or is this your first go? Let's get everybody set before Saturday. Henry⭐🔥

Saturday Bake-Along Working Thread — Croissant Bread Good morning, bakers. It's bake day. This is our working thread. Park it, pin it, keep it open. Everything happens right here today. Questions, progress shots, butter emergencies, wins, and the honest ones too. I'll be in this thread all day from the first fold to the last slice. Drop a comment when you start so we know who's in the kitchen. Two paths today. Yeasted for the same-day crowd, sourdough for the planners who shaped and cold proofed overnight. Both recipes are in the Recipe Pantry. One last look if you need it. Now here's everything you need in one place. THE ONE RULE Keep it cold. Cold butter, cold dough, cold tools, quick hands. Frozen butter makes steam in the oven, and steam makes the layers. Warm butter blends in and the layers vanish. When in doubt, chill. BEFORE YOU START Butter frozen rock hard. Grater, rolling pin, and pan cold if you froze them last night. Have a dry dish towel ready to hold the butter while you grate so your body heat doesn't melt it. THE TIPS THAT MAKE OR BREAK IT This is a stiff dough. Don't be alarmed, that's normal for this loaf. Hold the butter with a dry towel as you grate. Bare hands melt it. Don't manhandle it. No pressing and patting like usual. Quick and gentle. Freezer between folds, not just the fridge. Lock that butter up tight. Roll it up tight and even. A loose roll is where the gaps come from. A little water on the seam helps it close and hold. If the butter ever looks shiny or starts to smear, STOP and chill before you go on. THE BAKE 375F (190C). Bake to temperature, not color. This loaf browns fast because of the egg wash and milk sugars, so it'll look done before it is. Pull it at 190F (88C) in the center. If the top runs ahead and gets too dark, tent it loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes. THE HARDEST PART Let it cool before you slice. Yeasted, 30 minutes minimum. Sourdough, 45. I know it smells incredible. Cutting too soon turns that beautiful crumb gummy. Wait anyway.

You've seen it all over your feed. The loaf that bakes up with the flaky, buttery, pull-apart layers of a croissant. Except there's no butter block, no three-day pastry school, and no two failed batches before you get it right. Here's the trick: you grate frozen butter right into the dough and fold it in. That's the whole secret. The cold butter makes steam in the oven, and the steam makes the layers. Anybody in this kitchen can do this one. And we're doing it two ways, like always: 🧈 Yeasted, for the same-day crowd. Start in the morning, eat it that night. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/croissant-bread-yeasted 🌙 Sourdough, for the planners. A longer build and an overnight cold proof for real tang. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-croissant-bread Both recipes land in the Recipe Pantry this week, and we bake together Saturday morning in the working thread. I'll be right there with you, start to finish. One thing you can do today: put a stick of butter in the freezer. Cold butter is the whole game, and we'll get into why this week. So tell me: are you Team Yeasted or Team Sourdough this Saturday? Drop it below. 👇 Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥