I've been wanting to start this for a while, and the time feels right. With so many talented bakers in this group, it is important that we get to hear from each of you. So we will soon kick off Bread Talks, our community’s series of intimate, kitchen-table conversations. These sessions are designed to be approachable, human, and inspiring. We aren't looking for academic lectures; we’re looking for you—your story, your favorites, and that one technique you’ve mastered. It doesn't matter if you've been baking sourdough for years or you are still early in your journey. Hearing your story in your words will be a valuable gift that all of us will benefit from. Please reach out if you'd like to step up and be one of our first presenters. I'll schedule these around your availability with, ideally, a week's notice. And, yes, being a Bread Talks presenter counts towards the Sourdough Master certification! So if that is something you are pursuing, now is a great time to check that off the list. Check out the attached presenter guide for a rough outline, and reach out if you have questions. Remember, you are a sourdough baker and, therefore, you can do this!

Sharing a video of me using the bulk fermentation tracking guide I created that is based on the excellent and highly recommended work of Tom Cucuzza at The Sourdough Journey. Please check out the links in the attached guide to see more directly from the real expert! I did 5 checks during bulk fermentation of The Old Faithful loaf, and this video is from the final one. (Volume recorded through my ear buds might be a little low, so turn it up to 11 if you have to!)

Here's a video of me performing the third lamination on The Old Faithful so you can better visualize the technique. Lightly wet your work surface and hand, stretch out into square shape without tearing, fold over from side to side, then top to bottom. That's it! It is helpful for me to to think of laminating as just another way of performing a fold. In a stretch and fold, you stretch a portion of the dough up then fold it over the middle then repeat until you've worked all the way around the loaf. In a coil fold, you stretch by lifting the dough up folding the edges under and then repeat for the remaining sides. In lamination, you stretch in all directions first then fold the edges over one by one into a nice square package. In each of these methods, the goal is to lengthen the gluten strands (by stretching them out in a straight line) and then organizing and structuring the dough (by folding it over and on to itself). If you think about it, traditional kneading does much the same thing (stretch by pushing, fold the dough over, turn the dough, repeat). Same with slap and folds (the dough stretches as it is slapped down), Rubaud, etc. The end goal is the same: a strong, organized dough that can retain the gas produced by the yeast activity. I hope this is helpful!

Dropping results here for tracking purposes. Click here for original post. @Noah Trent Really great job on nailing the fermentation! I don't think there are any surprises here. Your original post showed you were aware of things that got a bit off track during the bake and worked to correct them. Nicely done! Take a look at the report and let me know if you have any questions or feedback.

We haven't done one of these in a while. It is Messed Up Monday! Share about struggles, times things didn’t right, and baking challenges. Because are you really baking sourdough if you don't have a few fails along the way? And sharing those mess ups is how we learn and improve together!