Good morning, bakers. This is our home base for today. 🔥 Two versions, same bread, same 80% hydration, no shaping, no scoring, all flavor: 👉 Yeasted with Poolish: pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/rustic-italian-ciabatta 👉 Sourdough with Levain: pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-italian-ciabatta (Swap these for the trackable community links from the recipe card share button.) 🧭 How to use this thread: 📸 Post your poolish or levain photo first thing. Show me what you woke up to. 💬 Drop questions in the comments as you go. Mixing, fermentolyse, coil folds, bulk rise, divide and cut, final proof, bake. Every stage. I’ll be in here all day. 🏷️ Tag your photos with the stage so we can all follow along.“Poolish ready,” “Coil fold #2,” “Just divided,” “In the oven,” “Crumb shot.” ⚠️ A few reminders before you start: 👀 Watch the dough, not the clock. 50 to 70% rise on bulk, not doubled. Doubled means overproofed, and ciabatta will go flat on you. 💧 Wet hands and a wet bench scraper are your best friends today. Don’t add flour to a wet dough. Trust it. 🎥 The coil fold video I posted yesterday is pinned. Watch it once before your first fold if you’ve never done one. 🔥 Steam matters. Cast iron skillet of hot water on the bottom rack, or a Brod & Taylor dome — either works. Don’t skip it. 💡 If your bake doesn’t come out picture-perfect, post it anyway. We learn more from honest bakes than from highlight reels. 🚀 Let’s go. Drop your starting photos below. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

I have a simple common yeast dough (4C bread flour, 3/4c whole milk, two large eggs, 1/4 stick butter, 1/4 c sugar, etc.). My question is, I finished mixing this around 2 am. I’ve had in refrigerator and it’s proofed nicely. I’m about to take it out of fridge and do I wait to start rolling it out (because honestly, it will likely rise more) or do I roll out and shape? I have read where I will allow to proof before baking but the part from the fridge where she’s done a nice puffy proof leaves me stumped where to go next! Pics are what she looked like around 2 am and I was trying to do one of those window pane tests!!!! 🤣😂Thanks for any tips. PS. I just want to make cinnamon rolls that aren’t heavy, yucky, but instead light and fluffy. Why is this so hard for me.

When making a sweet dough for rolls or bread and you begin to roll it out, do we make certain there are no bubbles, air (de-gas?)? So I’m rolling enriched dough out on my surface to put my cinnamon down, and if I see any of this along the way, do I let dough rest or continue to roll it out? I “think” if my dough fights or pulls against me, I believe I’m to let it rest but I’m in Alabama, 85 outside, no humidity, and inside around 73.

This week's bake-along is Babka, and before we even get to the recipe, we need to settle something. Chocolate or Cinnamon? Drop your answer below. No wrong answers. Just strong ones. (And yes, there will be a savory option for the rebels in the room.) Pick your path now so you're ready by Friday. Path A: Sourdough Chocolate Babka Path B: Holiday Chocolate Babka (yeasted) Path C: Roasted Garlic and Gruyère All are in the Recipe Pantry. But don't rely solely on me. Do your homework. See what's out there that might interest you beyond what I'm supplying. Let's have a conversation Bring what you find interesting and we'll talk about it. The full bake-along drops tomorrow. Get your loaf pans ready. Henry ⭐🔥

One of our members, Abigail had a question about cinnamon rolls, which put me in mind of the ones I made over the holidays. You’re welcome. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/henrys-blueberry-cinnamon-rolls