You may have noticed the star ⭐️ and the flame 🔥 next to my name. They're more than decoration, so let me tell you what they mean, and why they belong to you as much as they belong to me. 🔥 The flame is about showing up. Skool lights it when you're with your community every single day, and the moment you miss a day, it goes out. Mine's still burning because you all keep me here. You post, you ask, you share your bakes, and I wouldn't miss a day of it. ⭐️ The star is the rare one. There are 191,000 communities on this platform, and the star goes to the owners in the top 1%. We're now in the top half of one percent. But here's the thing. I get to wear it, and it isn't really about me. A star like that doesn't get earned by one person. It gets earned by a room full of bakers who show up, help each other, and care about getting better. So when you see that star next to my name, don't read it as Henry is a star. Read it as you are. I just get to carry it. And I carry it proudly. I get to walk it out in front of every other community on this platform and brag about who we are. Eleven hundred bakers in a small, focused, generous corner of the internet, setting the example for what a Skool community can be. That's not me talking us up. That's the number talking. Top half of one percent, out of 191,000. You did that. I just get to wear the pin. 𝙎𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙨𝙠. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝙄𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙞𝙩. 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚: 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙠 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you for being the kind of community worth showing up for. ~Henry ⭐️🔥

Sometimes the biggest win isn't the loaf. It's the confidence behind it. @Jenny Rader-Bakos took sourdough beyond the expected with a beautiful fruit pizza topped with aquafaba whipped cream. That's what happens when you stop baking by fear and start baking by understanding your dough. Congratulations, Jenny. Thanks for reminding all of us that bread can be the beginning of something creative. ~Henry⭐🔥

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

All the way from Johannesburg, South Africa, @Tamsin Boshoff is proof that you don't need years of experience to make a community better. You just need to show up and care. She joined us on June 6th and didn't sit on the sidelines. She started talking, encouraging, asking good questions, and cheering on other bakers like she'd been here for years. Oh, and she's got a brand new starter named Sandy. If you've ever raised a starter from scratch, you know exactly what that first week feels like. So here's what I'm asking of you today: Drop a comment and welcome Tamsin to the Academy. If you remember your own "is this thing alive yet?" phase, tell her about it. Share one piece of advice you wish someone had given you when your starter was brand new. That's how this community works. Somebody shows up with curiosity, and the rest of us show up with support. Welcome aboard, Tamsin. Sandy's in good hands, and so are you. Perfection is not required. Progress is. ~ Henry ⭐🔥

One of the things I'm proudest of isn't just watching people become better bakers. It's watching them become teachers. @Candi Brown-McGriff is one of our founding members. Since the beginning, and this week she reminded us exactly what makes this community different. She shared a thoughtful post about flour labels and protein percentages that sparked 96 comments in just two days. That's not just engagement. That's bakers helping bakers understand something that changes the way they bake. The flour conversation is one of those topics that quietly changes everything. Once you understand what those labels really mean, choosing flour becomes intentional instead of guesswork. That's what we're building here. Not just recipes. Not just videos. A community where members teach members, ask better questions, and help each other grow. Candi, thank you for sharing your knowledge and making this place stronger. We're glad you're here. ❤️ Henry⭐🔥 Like and subscribe to our channel while you're there