That one baker at the farmers market gave me a huge wakeup call

I was at the downtown farmers market last Saturday selling my sourdough loaves, and this older lady comes up to my table. She picked up a loaf, turned it over, and said 'Honey, your crumb is uneven because you're rushing the bulk ferment.' I was like what, she just called me out in front of like 5 people. She spent 10 minutes explaining how she bakes at home and showed me how to tell when the dough is actually ready by poking it. I had been following a recipe timer for months and never thought to check the dough itself. Now I feel stupid for ignoring the feel of it. Has anyone else had a random stranger drop baking knowledge on you?

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1 Comment

blairj551mo ago

Yeah, the poking thing changed everything for me too! I had a guy at a swap meet tell me my baguettes were dense because I was overworking the dough. I thought I had to knead it until it was super smooth, but he showed me to leave it a little shaggy and let time do the work. My kitchen was just full of rocks for months before that. Now I barely touch the dough and it comes out way better. Did you try his poke test the next batch?