That Saturday dough disaster ruined my whole week

Last month I had what I thought was a perfect Saturday morning planned for baking. I woke up early at 5 AM to get a jump on my sourdough for the farmer's market. I had 12 loaves proofing and they looked amazing. Then my oven thermostat gave out right as I went to bake the first batch. I didn't notice until the first loaf came out pale and flat after 45 minutes. I lost about $40 in ingredients and had to cancel my booth at the market in Portland. Has anyone else had a single piece of equipment just tank an entire day of work like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_leo1mo ago

Oh come on now. I mean, it's frustrating for sure, losing ingredients and missing a market day, but ruining your whole week? That's a bit much. You were out forty bucks and missed one Saturday, that's not exactly a catastrophe. People have real problems like their car getting repossessed or losing their job, not a sourdough mishap. Just fix the oven or get a cheap thermometer to check the temp next time and move on.

ivan7741mo ago

Dude that is brutal. I feel you though, had my espresso machine's grinder die right before a pop-up coffee stand I was doing and it totally killed my morning." Like you're making all these perfect drinks and then bam, nothing but chaos.

jamie_webb671mo ago

Broke down right as I was pulling shots for a line of people waiting too, grinder just seized up and started smoking. That sinking feeling when you hear the motor change pitch and know something is seriously wrong. I tried to salvage it by swapping to a backup hand grinder but that took forever and the shots were all over the place. Ended up having to refund half the orders and apologize to everyone while the steam wand was still hissing like it was mocking me. Felt like I was drowning in front of a crowd, just chaos and burnt coffee smell everywhere. Yeah I feel your pain, that moment when everything is running smooth and then it just stops dead.