Sometimes the biggest win isn't the loaf. It's the confidence behind it. @Jenny Rader-Bakos took sourdough beyond the expected with a beautiful fruit pizza topped with aquafaba whipped cream. That's what happens when you stop baking by fear and start baking by understanding your dough. Congratulations, Jenny. Thanks for reminding all of us that bread can be the beginning of something creative. ~Henry⭐🔥

🥐✨ This Weekend We Laminate ✨🥐 Alright, you all asked for it... so we're doing it. Now before anybody panics, I want you to think about where you've already been. This isn't some giant leap. It's simply the next step on a staircase you've already been climbing. 🧈 Remember Brioche Week? That's where you learned to handle butter. Adding it one piece at a time. Watching for the break. Keeping it cool so it works with the dough instead of against it. That was your foundation. 🥮 Then came Babka. You learned that cold, firm butter holds its shape, while warm butter melts into the dough and ruins your layers. Classic Sourdough Croissant: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-croissants Yeasted Croissant: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-french-croissants Keep the butter cold. Keep the layers distinct. Sound familiar? That's lamination in plain clothes. 🦓 Then there was Zebra Bread. Stack. Fold. Roll. Repeat. Every fold multiplied the layers. Chill before you roll. Go easy on the flour. Roll it with confidence. You've already done those movements with your own hands. ✨ Croissants are simply all three of those skills coming together. 🥐 Butter control from brioche. 🥐 Cold butter creating layers from babka. 🥐 Fold-and-roll technique from zebra bread. You're not starting from scratch. You're putting together things you already know. ❤️ We're gonna go slow, one fold at a time, and I'll walk you through every single step. 🛒 Before Saturday, gather a few things: 🧈 Good butter. The higher the butterfat, the better. European-style if you can find it. 🌡️ A cool kitchen, if you've got one... and a little patience. ⚖️ Your digital scale, because we're weighing everything. Bring your questions. Bring your nerves. Bring your butter. By Saturday afternoon you'll be holding something flaky, buttery, and golden that you made with your own two hands.

Some people join the Academy and watch from the sidelines. Sandy Chong showed up ready to learn, and hasn't stopped since. When we announced the Valentine's Zebra Bread Bake-Along, Sandy almost sat it out. "Too advanced," she thought. Tangzhong, lamination, natural coloring. It seemed like too much for someone still getting comfortable with basic sourdough. But instead of backing away, she leaned in. She asked questions, watched the replays, and posted her process even when she wasn't sure it was "good enough" yet. Her first attempt didn't give her a perfect zebra. The pattern leaned more butterfly than stripes, and the shaping didn't quite match the picture in her head. But Sandy did something more important than nailing it on the first try: she shared the result anyway, broke down what went well, and asked for feedback on what to improve. That one post lit up the comments. Members jumped in with encouragement, gentle tips, and "I've been there" stories from their own early bakes. Instead of hiding her "imperfect" loaf, Sandy turned it into a learning moment for the whole Academy. Since then, she's been a quiet but steady presence here. Showing up to live calls when she can, catching replays when she can't, and always circling back to say thank you when advice helps her move forward. She celebrates other people's wins, cheers on newer members, and reminds all of us what it looks like to be brave enough to be a beginner. Sandy is proof that you don't need to be an expert to be valuable in this Academy. You just need to show up, try hard, and lift others up along the way. The Zebra Butterfly wasn't a mistake. It was a lesson. And Sandy learned it because she didn't let fear keep her from starting. That's what we celebrate here: progress over perfection, every time. Sandy, keep baking. Keep asking questions. Keep showing up. You're exactly the kind of member that makes this Academy what it is. ~ Henry

Some of you saw that I got a new pullman pan this week. A 13 x 4 x 4! I started making a loaf of enriched sandwich bread, but as I punched it down, I thought how in the world am I going to eat all this bread? But, if I made it cinnamon bread? I would eat it all so that’s what I did.

Who says you can't have DESSERT for breakfast? Behold my sourdough fruit pizza. For the crust – simply unfed starter, that's it! Easy peasy! Form into a round (as best as you can, I use a soup ladel lol) and placed into my 8" cast iron. I baked the crust for 10 min at 425° flipped and added the bananas and strawberries. Baked for another 10 minutes. Topped with raspberries, grapes, and my vegan cool whip! Just aquafaba and maple syrup. Then of course I devoured it 😆