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3d (edited) • Saturday Bake Along
Naan Bread Summit Bake-Along Recap
Angela Sides-McKay woke up Saturday morning, looked at her overnight sourdough naan dough, and realized there was no egg in it.
Most people would've panicked. Angela grabbed a coffee, came back, mixed half an egg into that cold stubborn dough, and said "What's the worst that can happen?" By afternoon she was posting photos of a hybrid sourdough-yeasted naan she'd invented on the fly. Her sister Vera ran the yeasted version beside her. Side-by-side batches in an 80-degree kitchen. Angela's verdict by dinner? The hybrid was softer than the straight yeasted. She turned a mistake into a technique.
That's how Saturday went.
The main bake-along thread hit 896 comments. Thirty-eight members showed up across 9 separate threads — the main working thread, a laminated fold technique discussion, a sourdough naan showcase, a biga naan experiment, a naan pizza spin-off, a fresh yeast follow-up with 10 photos, a "did we all just crush this?" celebration post, and Henry's Baker Spotlight on Linda Dubuque. This wasn't a bake-along. This was a naan summit.
Tracy Havlik kicked things off early: "First, we must caffeinate, then we hunt for Greek yogurt and non-Greek yogurt." She wasn't kidding. Tracy ran at least three versions throughout the day, posted photos of every one, and was still in the thread at midnight encouraging late bakers. Colleen Vergara posted shaping videos for the group — cheese-stuffed naan, pepperoni-filled naan, and two laminated shaping demos for Oliver Wing's butter-garlic-cilantro coil method. Those videos became the reference point for the entire day. Twelve likes on a single comment. That's community teaching at its best.
Linda Glantz checked in with her starter looking happy and chose the sourdough path. Sandy Chong was right behind her. When Henry asked who was doing the laminated fold, the thread lit up. The laminated fold thread alone pulled 30 comments and turned into a real-time troubleshooting session when Corliss Groover's sourdough naan felt too stiff. Henry jumped in: check the recipe, the active sourdough version has an egg, the discard doesn't. Crisis managed.
Debbie Piette made the sourdough discard version the night before for Indian dinner and dropped maybe the line of the day: "I'm NEVER buying it from the grocer again." Deborah Karaban's daughter and grandson got in on the fun — her grandson rolled out his own kitty cat naan, put it on the skillet, and stood there proud as could be. Patt Stanaway turned her naan into pizza and started a whole spin-off thread. Ehsan Omara went completely off-script — biga naan with barley flour, wholemeal, turmeric, onion, parsley, and Leeyeh (tail fat of sheep). That's not in any recipe card. That's a baker cooking from instinct.
Henry dropped two major coaching moments. First, the egg explanation — why the yeasted version uses an egg and why the sourdough and discard versions don't. Members had been asking all morning, and Henry broke it down so clearly that Sandy Chong said what everyone was thinking: "I love how you always provide the whys." Second, the laminated fold tutorial — roll, butter, roll like a cigar, coil into a snail, rest, press flat, roll again. Layers without a laminator. That post alone changed how half the group made their naan.
Then there was Henry making fish stick naan wraps with tartar sauce at breakfast and declaring he could "sell these on the side of the road and pay my mortgage." Natasha Durant's response: "Talk yo talk Unc!!!! Them sap suckers good huh?!?!?" That exchange is why people come back every week.
Kathee Judd from Australia almost sat this one out. She'd been on the fence. Then she watched Oliver's video, found yogurt in the outside fridge, and posted beautiful sourdough naan with avocado. Her partner found the yogurt. The community found another baker who shows up.
Robin Yount was prepping for a vendor event at a winery — cinnamon star bread to sell — but promised naan next week. Leigh Skowronski's dough rose overnight and went into the fridge for a Sunday bake.
The bake-along doesn't end when Saturday does. It ends when the last naan comes off the skillet.
By evening, Henry checked in one final time: "Well done everyone. Have I missed anyone? Is anybody out there hanging waiting on an answer?" That's the thread. Nobody left behind.
Member Moments
Colleen Vergara — The MVP. Shaping videos, cheese-stuffed experiments, laminated demos, and encouraging every single person who posted. The backbone of every bake-along.
Angela Sides-McKay — Turned a missing egg into a hybrid technique with her sister Vera. Two batches, two versions, one kitchen. Innovation under pressure.
Ehsan Omara — Biga naan with barley flour, turmeric, and sheep tail fat. Went completely off-recipe and posted both versions. Fearless.
Debbie Piette — "I'm NEVER buying it from the grocer again." That's the moment a baker crosses over.
Deborah Karaban — Three generations baking naan. Her grandson's kitty cat naan is the photo of the week.
Tracy Havlik — First one in, last one out. Three versions. Encouraged everyone. The engine of the thread.
Kathee Judd — Almost didn't bake. Did anyway. Gorgeous results from Australia. Taught us all what "Avo" means.
Oliver Wing — His chemical version video became the reference point for the easiest entry point. Henry's co-pilot on technique.
🏟️ BY THE NUMBERS
👥 Community: 475 members 🔥 Bake-Along Participants: 38 members across 9 threads 💬 Interactions: 896 comments in the main thread alone, 30+ in the laminated fold thread, plus activity across 7 spin-off posts 📸 Photos Shared: Dozens — naan, pizza naan, stuffed naan, kitty cat naan, biga naan, paratha 🍕 Versions Baked: Yeasted, sourdough active, sourdough discard, chemical, biga, and at least one hybrid that wasn't in any recipe 🥇 ProveWorth Rating: 5.0/5.0 — #1 ProveWorth Certified community on Skool across every category 🌟 Top 1% of 191,000+ communities on the entire Skool platform
The community that bakes together, grows together.
Crust & Crumb Academy — Where bakers come not to get likes, but to get better.
A note on why Saturday worked as well as it did.
— chef, knife maker, and owner of Cooking with Ollie — partnered with us this week and delivered two videos that changed how this community made naan. One on mixing the dough. One on shaping and cooking. Both became the reference point for the entire day. Colleen Vergara pinned his method. The laminated fold thread built on his technique. Thirty-eight bakers made better naan because Oliver showed up.
That's what collaboration looks like when it's done right.
Both videos are embedded directly in the recipes on the Recipe Pantry — you'll find them in the yeasted version and the chemical leavening version. If you haven't watched them yet, go watch them now. They're worth it.
Ready to bake? All three naan recipes are in one place: 👇 pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/?search=naan
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Naan Bread Summit Bake-Along Recap
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