Right off the bat, I am confused, I tried making the Biga in the larger bowl this morning at 10am, had trouble putting it in a ball, i just made the second (white bowl) I mixed with my fingers both so dry, is this right?

You didn't come all this way, feeding your madre, building two doughs, and babysitting a long proof, to crush your panettone at the finish line. Pushing a skewer through that paper mold is where a lot of risen loaves get dented. Here's how I do it. 1. Put the skewers in before you bake, while the mold is sitting flat on the tray. Don't wait until the loaf is hot. 2. Lay the skewers across the top of the mold first. That shows you where they'll run, so you get two straight, parallel lines and even spacing on both sides. 3. Mark your spots about an inch above the base. 4. Don't poke your way in. Take your lahm and cut a small slit in the paper at each mark. The skewer slides right through without any pushing. 5. Ease the skewer across the dough. When you see the tip pressing against the far side, cut a slit there too and let it through. Cutting the paper is the least traumatic way in. Nothing gets squeezed and nothing deflates, and your skewers come out level. You'll be glad for that later. When these come out of the oven, they get flipped upside down and hung for twelve hours, and even skewers are what keep the loaf hanging straight. Henry ⭐🔥

I am really enjoying baking with spelt flour. I was playing with the rye and oats added to this. The chocolate it called for was for color while baking it permeated the whole house and made me crave for chocolate and smelled heavenly. I added double the chocolate it called for more flavor and color. I also doubled the seeds and added pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, black and golden sesame seeds and caraway seeds. I love nuts and added that on top of it. 🌻 🎃 This was the first time I used my Cambro and it was fun monitoring how the bulk fermentation was going. Watch the dough and not the clock. I could see all the lovely bubbles from the LM sourdough fermenting. 😍🤎💖 I roasted my seeds in a frying pan and thank-you, Daddio @Henry Hunter for teaching me to do this in a small frying pan. I actually did it right this time round as I actually saw the oil in the pan. Doing this to the nuts enhanced the flavors and it was very delicious. The rye bread is very heavy and very filling and I really enjoyed it a lot. I loved the sourness that it produced. I would definitely bake this in the future again. 🍞 🍫❤️ The LM was a challenge as I had to add a tablespoon of water to the eye ball the correct consistency. I am so in love with this delicious and wonderful healthy rye bread. 💞💖🤎 @Dave Green My rye bread and I was being creative as the recipe did not call for caraway seeds. I added some in the inclusions. 🍞 🍫🌻

Saturday bake-along started at 2am for me making my Christmas 🎄 Bread. I had multiple issues...dough didn't rise after 10hrs even after putting in proofer for a couple of hours. I decided to shape the dough and proofed for 3 addtl hours. No rise. Put in oven and baked. Looked decent and was hopeful until I cut through the dough. The middle was raw. Genius me decided to put in oven for longer and the middle just remained Gooey and crust on outside cooked too hard. After posting for the community @Sandy Chong suggested it might have been the inclusions. I got to thinking and believe this attributed to the soggy middle. I actually put same amount of currants in place of raisins. Too much ! Currants are smaller and I should have cut the grams in half. Instead, I used gram for gram. The structure just could not hold the currants. My dough tore during shaping and I patched it together like the surgeon I am🤣. @Sourdough Atalier By TUĞBA Tuğba ETİ Chef Tugba 👩‍🍳suggested an alternative of Biscotti and also gave me invaluable pointers of knowing when the dough is cooked through without the thermometer. A skewer through the bottom middle and if comes out clean then the bake is done and also if the 🍞 Bread loaf sounds hollow when tapping it. All signs the bread is done. Here is my Sourdough Christmas Bread 🍞 Biscotti:) Not perfect but tasty. Thank you @Sourdough Atalier By TUĞBA Tuğba ETİ Happy baking everyone!

I'm baking a day ahead of you all for Saturday's panettone, so you get to watch me go first. My madre got its first refresh last night and its second this morning around 10. That's it in the photos. See how the X I scored on top has split wide open? That's what you're looking for. It's just about ready for refresh number three, and once that one peaks, I start building dough. There are a lot of steps in this bake, and most of them have Italian names. Here's the order, so none of it catches you off guard: 1. The refreshes. Three feedings before you mix anything. Each one washes out acid and builds up the yeast. The madre should triple in 3 to 4 hours at 82F. 2. Primo impasto. The first dough. Madre, flour, water, sugar, yolks, and butter. It ferments overnight, 10 to 12 hours, and it has to triple before you move on. 3. Secondo impasto. The second dough. The first dough goes back in the mixer with more flour, sugar, honey, yolks, salt, vanilla, orange zest, and butter. Fruit goes in last. 4. Scarpatura. The cross you cut in the top before it bakes, with a little cold butter tucked in. 5. The hang. Skewers through the base, flipped upside down, 12 hours. Skip it and the loaf can collapse. So tell me where you are: - Is your madre tripling in 3 to 4 hours? - Pinch off a piece and taste it. Sweet with a gentle tang, or sour? - When are you starting your refreshes? - What part of this bake has you nervous? Drop your answers below, and post a photo of your madre if you've got one. If something looks off, let's catch it now, before Saturday. I'll keep you posted as mine moves along. Henry ⭐🔥