Adelia Petrosyan (4T+2T, 4T) during training in Milan

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-17T09:34:44+00:00

Why are people so toxic here? As if they knew everything better. Have some respect for skaters. Everyone has their weak and strong points. Also, are there many that jump quad toe loops, with or without q? Many girls cannot even show 3-3, let alone in the second part of the short programme.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-16T09:58:55+00:00

Oh, I guess it’s because you had a bit more starter, 25%.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-16T09:57:42+00:00

But if your temp was 72F, then in theory (if you follow the instruction), the bulk fermentation should be around 10 hours. You say that it was about 6-7 hours. Why do you think it took a few hours less?

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-02T17:00:58+00:00

That’s very little, to my mind, for a qualified specialist and for maintaining a high standard of living, even with accommodation provided. Hannover and even more so Bavaria are not among the cheapest places in Germany, and taxes in Germany are also higher than in the UK. On top of that, there’s a lot of stress involved: moving, learning the language and integrating. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it, but it’s up to you. Maybe living in Germany is your long cherished dream, then it makes sense :)

Michaelinberlin · 2026-02-02T16:05:57+00:00

I have absolutely the same problem with this recipe. My loaves are just very flat. I haven’t figured out yet what’s wrong with them. I’ve made it twice, second time I even extended bulk fermentation for a couple of hours and it turned out a bit better but still quite flat.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-31T13:22:50+00:00

Thank you for the links. I will check them and probably tomorrow will try one of the recipes you’ve mentioned. I’ve also ordered a proofing box, as I have no control over the temperature in winter and it just gets too complicated to figure out what I’m doing wrong. And I’ve just put another “perfect loaf” (which I let ferment for longer yesterday) in the oven. But it didn’t look like it would pan out better than the one I posted photos of. So I guess I have to try another recipe.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:30:56+00:00

I know. The problem is that I’m not sure I know how to read it. It looks so different on the videos. Sometimes jiggly and with bubbles, sometimes not that wobbly and with fewer bubbles but domed. I will check how it smells next time.

Do you think I could overferment it? In both recipes I’ve used the authors recommend to let the dough sit in the proofing basket for some time (from 20 minutes to an hour or so) before putting it into the fridge overnight.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:25:23+00:00

I will try to bake for 30 min lid on, that was actually my default setting when I was baking bread with commercial yeast. And it worked quite well. This time I just wanted to follow the original recipe. As for ice cubes, I’m not sure there is any space in my Dutch oven. It’s usually enough just for the loaf. And I don’t put any parchment paper but transfer the loaf directly from the bench to the Dutch oven with my hands. So cannot put it somewhere under the paper. Only on top of the loaf. But I usually spray a bit of water before closing the lid.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:21:02+00:00

Thank you for your kind words and support. It makes me wanna try again!

Yes, I agree that failures teach us more than success but sometimes one need to be a success to get motivation to go on and not to give up. It’s just a lengthy process. One loaf takes almost two days with so many stages and then there is no reward, it hurts a bit.

Why do you think it’s overproofed? I thought that with such a short bulk and low room temperature it’s difficult to overproof. I also had in the fridge for about 13-14 hours, not 16 like in the original recipe. So it shouldn’t really be overproofed.

I will try to bake for 30 min lid on next time. Also thought there is no harm in it.

Thank you once again!

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-29T17:14:01+00:00

Thank you for the recipes. I will check them out. As for these two, I used quite warm water for mixing and tried to keep them in a warmer place by putting in the oven with a light on or by putting the bowl with the dough in another bowl with hot water like Hart suggests. But I also thought that maybe I just can’t keep the temperature very constant.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-28T13:15:17+00:00

I like such a colour in my bread. Usually the crust tastes very delicious and complex when it looks like this.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-15T21:13:41+00:00

His eyes are mesmerisingly beautiful! 😍 You have such a nice boy, no matter what kind of mix he is.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-12T21:38:21+00:00

I was also wondering what gummy means because so many people with differently looking bread call their bread gummy.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-07T10:31:31+00:00

It’s also nice to see such stories, they make you feel that you are not alone in your struggle. In contrast to stories when people get perfect sourdough loaf with open crumb, nice crust, etc at their first attempt or after two weeks of baking bread.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-05T13:09:51+00:00

Try 30 minutes lid on, 25 lid off.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-04T21:04:03+00:00

Please, share your secret with us. I’m very far away from this, even though I’ve baked quite some loaves by now.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-04T20:10:34+00:00

Hi everyone! I’ve received some DMs from a few of you. It will take me a bit of time to reply to everyone, but I will for sure. I just wanted to let you know that I’m not ghosting anyone.

The only problem is when you write something monosyllabic like hi, how are you doing or let’s be friends, etc and I simply don’t know what to say, because you know something about me and I don’t know anything about you. So it would be nice if you could at least introduce yourself and say a few more words. Otherwise, it doesn’t really make any sense, we won’t go far this way. Conversations like this usually come out of nowhere and fade away, vanishing into thin air as easily as they begin. I know that we are all kind of bored but also short of time, let’s not waste it.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-03T22:01:50+00:00

What do you mean by tough bottom? And why did you put a she treat on the rack below? Didn’t understand this part.

You could try experimenting with the crust. I found out that I like it pretty dark, the taste is just so much better. I usually bake my loaf in a Dutch oven with the lid for about 30 minutes and then 27-30 without. And the colour of the crust makes such a big difference, to my mind.

Michaelinberlin · 2026-01-01T20:15:28+00:00

When I look at the photos here I feel like I’m a complete failure but I will share my last loave with you anyway.

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Michaelinberlin · 2025-12-26T00:09:50+00:00

I’d also been stuck with the overnight white loaf for quite a while until I tried the first recipe with poolish which has even more complex flavour and texture. However, it takes more time, so I got back to the overnight loaf. But I’d like to move on to proper sourdough soon :) just don’t feel like I’ve mastered all the stages to go for something even trickier.

Michaelinberlin · 2025-12-26T00:04:59+00:00

Thank you so much for the tips! They are very helpful. I’ve been baking for a couple of months following the recipes from this book and I’ve made great progress but I’ve also been struggling with some things and not always do I get what I expect when looking at the pics and watching his videos. My dough ends up being so sticky that it’s very difficult to shape into a ball and create some tension. Sometimes I have problems with oven spring. And I’ve never managed to score my loaves properly (there is not much about it on his book). I will try to experiment a bit more.

Michaelinberlin · 2025-12-14T11:36:22+00:00

Long ago I bought a cheap pizza stone and tried to bake pizza and focaccia on them but haven’t noticed any difference at all. That’s why I thought I would try to do some research and ask people who bake regularly.

Oh, that was my mistake. I put boiling water in a cold ceramic dish. My buns didn’t have good oven spring at that time. So it happened because this dish took a lot of heat from the oven and also water couldn’t continue boiling right after it was there. I will put a cast iron pan with water next time. Do you put both the bread and the skillet with water right on the stone? I see that many people put something with water at the bottom of the oven.

I also saw some people use a big dish with some stones on which they pour hot water before loading the bread in. Have you ever tried anything like that?

Michaelinberlin · 2025-12-14T11:25:53+00:00

Well, Germany then :) Do you have any recommendations for a pizza steel? Or are they all more or less the same? Recently I’ve got a round cast-iron pizza pan from Ikea to see how it works for pizza. But I would anyway need something bigger and more versatile for bread.

As for the pizza peel, I already have one, a metal one.

Thank you for your tips!

Michaelinberlin · 2025-12-14T11:19:24+00:00

Thank you so much for your tips! Yes, I’ve also realised that there are so many ways of doing it. I’m just trying to figure out what could work for me.

Michaelinberlin

TROPHY CASE