I’m seeing a lot of you nervous about roasting the peaches this week. Let me take that worry right off the table. Here’s the truth. Roasting is just one road. It is not the point. The point is getting your fruit down to a thick, jammy filling with no loose liquid in it. However you get there is fine by me. So yes, to answer the question a bunch of you are asking. You can do the whole thing in a pan on the stovetop. Here’s how. Toss your fruit with the sugar and spices, and mix your cornstarch into the sugar first so it spreads even and doesn’t clump. Put it all in a pan over medium heat and cook it down, stirring. It’ll be loose and cloudy at first. As it heats up and comes to a gentle simmer, the cornstarch does its job and the whole thing turns glossy and thick. Keep going until there’s no free liquid pooling in the pan. Tilt it. If juice runs, it isn’t done yet. One note on the cornstarch. It needs the heat to thicken, so let it come to a simmer. But once it’s thick and glossy, pull it. Boiling it hard for a long time can actually thin it back out. Thick and glossy, then stop. It firms up even more as it cools. Now, whatever fruit you’re working with: 🍑 Fresh peaches. Cook them down and reduce the juice they let off until it’s thick. 🍑 Frozen peaches. Thaw and drain them well first, because they carry a lot of water. Then cook down like fresh, and give it a little extra time. 🍑 Canned peaches. Drain them hard and pat them dry. They’re already soft, so you’re mostly cooking off the extra moisture and setting the cornstarch. Shorter cook. 🍎 Apples. Firmer and less watery, and they hold their shape. Give them a few extra minutes to soften. A great one for the stovetop. 🍐 Pears. Same idea as apples, just softer, so keep an eye on them. 🫐 Berries. Real juicy. Use your full cornstarch and cook them down a bit longer to get there. And here’s the one rule that ties all of it together, no matter the fruit or the method. No free liquid. None. Drain the water, respect the water. That loose juice is the number one reason a filling leaks out the ends and a bottom goes soggy. Cook it down thick, let it cool all the way, and you’re set.

First time, I attempted to bake a cheesy sourdough bread inclusions. I open baked and love the S-Score. The cheese burnt very fast and I even lowered the temperature and covered it with foil, but only helped slightly. Next time, I need to bake it at a lower temperature. I baked 2 and met and made a wonderful friend at a Publix coffee bar this week. He saw my homemade hamburger buns which I gave my friend who works there. He requested me to bake him a cheese sourdough bread. I took his challenge and baked 2 today. I told him about our wonderful Academy and learnt only from the best to bake sourdough bread baker, Chef Henry @Henry Hunter He wanted the link immediately and joined. Please welcome @Dewayne Clark to our awesome community and family. Dewayne, please ask any questions you wish as this is how we expand our knowledge. Welcome and have tons of fun with us learning and baking together. 🍞