@Laine Hegness joined Crust & Crumb Academy just a week ago and she's already turning out a Coffee and Cocoa Sourdough Babka with a swirl like that. Clean layers, bold fill, tight twist. That doesn't happen by accident. She waited until morning to cut into it, which takes more patience than most people have. And the verdict? Kiddo approved. Hubs said it was "too chocolatey." 🙄 Laine's response to that is the correct one. This is what Show Off Your Bakes is for. Not just the wins, but the real ones. The ones you actually waited for. The ones that made someone in your house say something ridiculous like "too chocolatey." Laine, that swirl is the real deal. Keep going. If you haven't checked out her post yet, go give it some love. 👏 https://www.skool.com/crust-crumb-academy-7621/that-babka-swirl?p=b0a44519 ~ Henry ⭐🔥

@Sandy Chong has been all over this community, asking smart questions, encouraging other members, and making this place feel alive. That’s exactly the culture we’re building here. Sandy, you don’t just show up. You make the room better when you do. And @Stephanie Noble posted her first loaf this week. First bake. No hesitation. Just came in, baked, and showed her work. That took guts. The loaf looked great, but more importantly, she’s already asking the right questions. Stephanie, that’s how you get better fast. If you see these two in the feed, drop them some love. This community is built by people exactly like this. Keep showing up.

Her name is Patt Stanaway. She’s 75 years old, a retired special education teacher from Michigan, and she’s been a member of this community since January 5th. In two months, she’s made 170 contributions to this community. Her activity grid is solid green. She shows up every single day. Last week she took the Crust & Crumb Kids Academy pizza recipe from the Recipe Pantry into a classroom of children in Detroit. Here’s part of what she wrote me: “Today they thought kneading the dough was the best ever. At first, they were so gentle and I said no, put your body into it. Every five minutes they wanted to touch the dough to do the poke test. When one kid poked his dough he said look, it was ready. Pure joy when they saw their pizza. Was it perfect? Nope. But everyone said they loved everyone’s pizzas. The kids ate one piece and wanted to take the rest home to show it off.” She also wrote this, and I want to be honest with you — it humbled me: “At times I thought to myself, what would Henry do? You are a great teacher and I see your passion. I could see you getting to these kids’ level and guiding their hands, explaining the whys.” Patt — you didn’t need me in that room. You had it. Thirty-plus years of special education teaching, a lifetime of knowing how children learn, and the instinct to let a kid put his whole body into kneading dough and figure out the poke test for himself. That’s not my method. That’s yours. But I’ll tell you what that message meant to me. When I added the Crust & Crumb Kids Academy section to the Recipe Pantry, I was thinking about our members who bake with their grandchildren on weekends. I wasn’t thinking about a retired special ed teacher carrying these recipes into a Detroit classroom and watching a kid take his pizza home to show it off. That’s bigger than what I imagined. That’s what this community can do when the right person picks it up and runs with it. The Crust & Crumb Kids Academy section lives at pantry.bakinggreatbread.com. Personal Pan Pizza, Soft Pretzels, and Bread in a Bag are there right now.

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