A lot of you came from Facebook. I run Baking Great Bread at Home over there, 40,000+ members, and I love that community. But I want to be honest about something. On Facebook, you often get one of two things: criticism without substance or compliments without critique. Someone posts a loaf and the comments are either "Beautiful!" when there's clearly something going on, or unhelpful jabs that don't teach you anything. People mean well. They're trying to be kind. But kindness without honesty doesn't make you a better baker. This is a different place. Crust & Crumb Academy is exactly that: an academy. This is where you come to hone your skills and get better. That means when you ask for feedback, you're going to get it. Real feedback. Specific feedback. The kind that actually helps you improve. I'll always be kind. I'll always be encouraging. But you're not going to get empty platitudes from me. If I see something in your crumb, your shaping, your scoring, I'm going to tell you what it is and how to fix it. That's what coaches do. And I want you to do the same for each other. When someone posts a bake and asks for critique, give them something useful. Tell them what you see. Ask questions. Share what's worked for you. That's how we all get better. This is a teaching environment. We're not here to collect compliments. We're here to make better bakers. Perfection is not required. But growth is the goal. Let's get to work. ~Henry

I want to start today by saying something simple: I talk about you all the time. Every chance I get, I’m telling people about this community. Your enthusiasm. Your commitment to the craft. The way you show up for each other. It’s not something I have to sell. It sells itself. Here’s a number that puts it in perspective. Skool considers 40-50% engagement to be a healthy, active community. We’re averaging 61%. That means more than 6 out of every 10 of you are showing up, posting, commenting, and engaging every week. That’s not normal. That’s a culture. Because of that culture, bakers are finding us. This week, 61.5% of our new members came directly from other communities on the platform where I talk about what we’re building here. Word is getting out. To keep that momentum going, I launched an Instagram page specifically for the Academy. It’s another way to reach bakers like you and keep our community in front of people who need it. We’re doing the same on YouTube and Pinterest. If you haven’t followed us yet, here are the links: 📺 YouTube: 📌 Pinterest: 📸 Instagram: The bigger our footprint, the more attractive we become. Not just to new members, but to partners who want to collaborate with us and bring real value to this community. 🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT ALERT 🚨 Speaking of partners… stay tuned. I’ve got an announcement dropping this afternoon that I think you’re going to love. Let’s just say it involves some very sharp tools. 🔪 — Henry ⭐🔥

We just launched the official Crust & Crumb Academy Instagram page and I want you there first. It's @crustandcrumbacademy, and it's where I'll be sharing baking tips, behind-the-scenes content, recipe previews, and a few things I don't post anywhere else. Go give us a follow right here: https://www.instagram.com/crustandcrumbacademy/ Takes about 10 seconds and it helps us grow the reach of everything we're building here. And if you've got bakes you're proud of, tag us. Nothing better than seeing what you're making. See you over there. 🍞🔥 — Henry ⭐🔥