Hi Friends, As promised, this is the follow-up to the email I sent a couple of weeks ago. Previously, we talked about why a loaf of bread collapses inward on the sides after it’s baked and removed from the pan. You can read it here. Today, I’m exploring why the top of a home-baked loaf of bread lifts off—sometimes evenly, but more often just on one side, and sometimes quite dramatically. 1. The crust set too early.If the outside firms up before the inside finishes expanding, trapped steam and...

Hi Friends, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to get serious about baking fantastic bread. Quick clarification before we dive into this tricky topic:I’m not talking about loaves that sink on top—that’s usually overproofing. Check out the right side where the loaf is starting to cave in. I’m talking about loaves that look fine out of the oven, then cave inward on the side as they cool. That kind of collapse almost always points to a structure problem, not fermentation....

Hi Friends, My mom was ahead of her time when she engaged in a little DIY aversion therapy with my pre-teen self. One day, I asked if I could make a full batch of Butterscotch Refrigerator Cookies purely to eat the dough. After a moment of hesitation, she said, “Go right ahead.” So I did… and I ate most of it right on the spot. Not surprisingly, I never made that recipe again. These days I stick to cookies I actually enjoy baked—one at a time, mostly 😉—like my Slice and Bake Coconut...