I've got something new dropping inside the Academy, and I think you're going to love it. Meet Rachel Parker — your new favorite storyteller, and the host of our brand new podcast series: Breaking Bread with Rachel Parker. So what IS this? Breaking Bread is a short-form storytelling podcast — each episode is just 5 to 8 minutes long — built for bakers who want to go deeper than recipes and techniques. Rachel is going to take you on a journey through the hidden history, myths, superstitions, and legends that live inside every loaf of bread you've ever baked. Think of it as sitting around a fire with someone who knows all the good stories — except the stories are all about bread. What kind of stories are we talking about? Things like: 🍞 Why placing a baguette upside-down on your table was once considered a death omen — and what the executioner had to do with it ✝️ The quiet blessing that European bakers traced over every loaf before cutting it — and why it went way beyond religion 🪙 The Christmas bread with a coin baked inside — and what happened to the family who found it ⚔️ The role bread played in revolutions, famines, and wars 🌙 Bread spirits, haunted loaves, miracle ovens, and kitchen magic from cultures all over the world Every episode is a single story — tight, vivid, and told with warmth and a little whimsy. Perfect for a commute, a rest between folds, or whenever you want to feel connected to the long, beautiful history of bakers before us. Why bread stories? Because bread isn't just food. It never was. It's been currency, prayer, punishment, protection, and community. It's been placed in tombs, baked for gods, marked for the condemned, and broken over tables to seal a peace. Every culture on earth has a bread story. And most of us who bake — really bake — already feel that. There's something alive in this craft. Rachel is here to put words to that feeling. Where do I find it? New episodes will drop right here in the Academy, and also on our YouTube channel. Each episode will come with a discussion prompt because honestly, some of these stories are going to make you want to talk — and this is the place to do it.

I don't write these recaps because I like looking at numbers. I write them because the numbers tell a story about the people behind them. This week, our Saturday working thread crossed 1,095 comments. But that's not even the real number. When you count every like on every comment inside that thread, every bit of encouragement, every "your crumb looks amazing," every "try checking internal temp instead of going by color," the total interactions in that single thread topped 4,200. Across the full week, 25 posts generated over 5,243 interactions. In a community that's two months old. Here's how the Saturday threads have grown: Focaccia: ~521 comments Cinnamon Rolls: ~840 comments Japanese Milk Bread: 1,095+ comments That's not a fluke. That's a pattern. But the numbers aren't what make this community different. The people are. Tracy slept through her bulk fermentation alarm, shaped the dough anyway, then laminated brown sugar and cardamom into a second batch because why not. Ehsan ran three simultaneous experiments: standard, long fermentation, and poolish. Linda catalogued the protein content of every flour in her pantry. Kim asked about glass pans and Tracy researched it before I could even start typing. Kathee swapped her sourdough starter into the yeasted recipe just to see what would happen. Cheryl fought wet dough, overproofed, popped bubbles, and pulled a loaf that smelled like espresso. Deborah's loaf collapsed on one side and she posted the photo anyway. That's the culture. Not perfection. Progress. Not cheerleading. Coaching. Oh, and somewhere in the middle of all of this, that little yellow star showed up next to our name. Top 1% of all 191,000 communities on Skool. #1 on ProveWorth across the entire platform. Not just bread. Not just food. All of it. That star belongs to every single person who showed up this week. The full recap is attached. Every post, every baker, every number, verified from the feed. Give it a read. Find your name. You earned it.

A lot of you came from Facebook. I run Baking Great Bread at Home over there, 40,000+ members, and I love that community. But I want to be honest about something. On Facebook, you often get one of two things: criticism without substance or compliments without critique. Someone posts a loaf and the comments are either "Beautiful!" when there's clearly something going on, or unhelpful jabs that don't teach you anything. People mean well. They're trying to be kind. But kindness without honesty doesn't make you a better baker. This is a different place. Crust & Crumb Academy is exactly that: an academy. This is where you come to hone your skills and get better. That means when you ask for feedback, you're going to get it. Real feedback. Specific feedback. The kind that actually helps you improve. I'll always be kind. I'll always be encouraging. But you're not going to get empty platitudes from me. If I see something in your crumb, your shaping, your scoring, I'm going to tell you what it is and how to fix it. That's what coaches do. And I want you to do the same for each other. When someone posts a bake and asks for critique, give them something useful. Tell them what you see. Ask questions. Share what's worked for you. That's how we all get better. This is a teaching environment. We're not here to collect compliments. We're here to make better bakers. Perfection is not required. But growth is the goal. Let's get to work. ~Henry