I had a starter (no exxageration) in the back of my fridge. 6 months. My starter as I've said before is from Russia. 15 years old. I resurrected her, her name is Natasha and she gave me the most beautiful loaf. ????? So what's the longest your starter sat and to an inexperienced baker looked gross but you know from past fails and/or successes that you simply had to remove the hooch and expose that wonderful creamy goodness underneath. By the way, the jar was okay (no mold) but oh she gave me a beautiful loaf. Look at that crumb. I love my Natasha. Do you name your starters. They are alive after all. LOL. My husband laughs when I talk to her. :-)

We’re alive in a random hangout

If you are using freeze dried anything in your breads/enriched breads, come discuss it with us. Tell us what you use, and what you liked/disliked about it. Whether you added it in, as is, or rehydrated or even cooked it first. I use a variety of things, so I’ll start. Freeze dried blueberries Freeze dried diced blueberries Freeze dried sliced strawberries Freeze dried diced strawberries Freeze dried apple slices Freeze dried strawberry powder Freeze dried raspberry powder Freeze dried black raspberry powder Freeze dried pumpkin powder Freeze dried apple powder Freeze dried lemon powder Freeze dried orange powder Freeze dried chives

Some of you are pretzel-loaf prepping, sure. But I know there's a sourdough boule in someone's banneton right now. Somebody's testing a new focaccia. Somebody's grandkids requested chocolate chip cookies for the third time this week and you said yes. Tell me what else is in your kitchen this week. Drop your vote. Then tell me in the comments what you're actually baking. Recipes, photos, plans for the weekend, all welcome. Henry ⭐🔥

I baked one early. This is the yeasted track of the pretzel loaf we’re working on this week. Cold retard for 90 minutes after shaping, then 15 in the freezer while the bath water came up. Bath at 30 seconds per side. Into the Dutch oven on the bread sling at 475, dropped to 450 after the lid came off. I went heavy on the everything seasoning. Sesame, poppy, garlic, onion, Maldon. If it’s good enough for a bagel, it’s good enough for this loaf. I’ll tell you straight up. This is one of the most delicious crusts I have ever bitten into. The bath did exactly what it’s supposed to do. Deep mahogany. That pretzel snap. The mineral finish that sits on your lips after every bite. Then you cut into it and the inside is real bread, open and tender, not the dense chew of a soft pretzel. This is what we’re going for on Saturday. For the bakers on the yeasted track, this is your finish line. For the sourdough crowd, you’re getting the same crust, the same bath, the same bake. Just a longer, slower path to get there. I like to bake a day or two ahead of the group so I can spot the rough patches before you hit them. So far, the bath went smooth, the score held clean, and the everything topping stuck where it was supposed to without burning. Questions before you start? Drop them in the thread. We’ve got a few days, and I want everyone hitting Saturday morning ready to go. Henry ⭐🔥