Big credit to Gaylord. His post earlier this week kicked off a conversation about reading dough during bulk, and it was good enough to deserve its own piece. Thank you, @Gaylord Foreman . Here’s the truth most tutorials skip: dough talks. The problem is most bakers were never taught the language, so they keep poking and slapping at dough that was already telling them what it needed. This visual is the read. Top, sides, bubbles, jiggle. And the mistake that costs people their bake: confusing relaxation for weakness, then over-handling and degassing the very openness they were trying to build. If it’s rising, leave it alone. If it’s collapsing, correct it gently. One coil fold, not five. Drop a side-view photo of your next bulk in the comments and tell me what you’re reading. I’ll tell you what I see. Henry ⭐🔥​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

I want to take a second to recognize Sandy Chong. Sandy just crossed 20,000 all-time points in this community. That's a first. No one in this group has hit that number before. Points are a measure of showing up, and Sandy shows up. She answers questions, encourages beginners, shares her bakes, and adds something real to every thread she's in. That's what the points represent. @Sandy Chong, this community is better because you're in it. Thank you.

Tried something a bit different this weekend. My wife was a bit tired of my extra crusty country loaves and requested something a bit softer and preferably a rye. I’m very pleased with the result and thought I would share my recipe. I had a hard time finding a recipe I liked so I created one after a bit of reading. Hydration was approx 82% but the dough was very cooperative. It was difficult to get my head around the fact that the dough at 78f only increased in volume approx 30%. I used the fermentation compass and found it to be a very useful tool. Added a rye porridge to keep the loaf a bit softer but did score it so I could get a few crusty bits. Seeded Rye bread with Rye Porridge 2 approx 1200g loaves Dough temp during bulk approx 78f. Final hydration approx 82% - 431g cairnspring espresso bread flour - 431 cairnspring sequoia ap - 332 central medium rye - 37 Bobs dark rye (slowly heated with 111g water to make porridge and added at room temp) - 620 water 1 - 266 water 2 - 100 water 3 - 185 levain - 31 salt - 25 toasted caraway seeds - Autolyse cairnspring flours and water 1 for 60 mins. Did not add rye at this point - Add rye flour, porridge, salt, water 2 and levain. - Mix well using slap and folds or rubaud method for about 8 mins. Added water 3 plus a bit more during this step. - 6 sets of folds (30 mins between sets) started with stretch and ended with coil folds. Total bulk about 3:45. - Divide and rest 30 mins - Shape and place in pans for 14 hr cold retardant. - Bake 450 with steam 20 mins, 425 for approx 35-40 mins no steam. Internal temp about 208f

I’m back! Just caught up on all things bread here on Skool! You guys did so great! I missed our bake alongs and can’t wait to participate with you all this weekend!

So I tried to make a sourdough loaf using Henry's white bread recipe. It doesn't have an ear, and I'm noy sure what I've done wrong. My guess is I didn't bulk ferment long enough, even though I let it rise for 9 hours. It was cold in my kitchen, temp around 69 F. What do you think?