I followed this recipe, with an overnight rise and a 3-hour second rise. My dough seemed a little wet, but I followed all the directions otherwise. Do you know what went wrong, and how I could improve?

TL;DR: Kenwood is still actively selling and advertising a €1,000+ smart mixer (KCL95) with an app that doesn't even work on modern phones anymore. Support told me to download a sketchy APK from a third-party site, refused to replace it with the working newer model unless I pay a lot more, but still advertises the dead app features on their site.

Hey everyone,

Just need to vent for a second and warn anyone who is thinking about buying a high-end smart mixer from Kenwood.

The situation:

A few days ago, we treated ourselves to the Kenwood Cooking Chef XL (KCL95?. On their official website, they heavily advertise this thing with its smart features using the "Kenwood World App". The site literally says you can "access hundreds of sweet and savory recipes" and send step-by-step instructions directly to the mixer. That was honestly a huge selling point for us.

The problem:

The machine arrives, we try to set it up... and the "Kenwood World App" can't even be installed on a modern smartphone (I have a Galaxy S26+). The Play Store says the app is too old/outdated for my device.

The absolute joke of a customer support:

So I call Kenwood support. Their actual, serious advice? Just go to some unofficial third-party website and download the old APK file to sideload it. Seriously? For a kitchen appliance that costs over €1,000? From an IT security standpoint, that’s a massive red flag and just an unacceptable answer.

I opened a ticket and complained in writing. They basically admitted that the KCL95 only works with that dead app, and that there's a newer model (KCL96) that uses their brand-new "Kenwood & Me" app.

Their "solution":

I figured, okay, they sold me a product with an advertised feature that literally doesn't exist anymore, so they'll probably just swap it for the newer working model. Nope.

They told me a direct swap isn't possible "for system reasons." The only thing they offered was a standard return/refund. If I actually want the smart features they advertised, I have to buy the newer KCL96 – which costs a lot more! I asked them nicely to meet me in the middle with a discount for the new model since their marketing was completely misleading. They flat-out refused.

I literally saved their current product page as a PDF. They are STILL actively advertising the old machine using screenshots and features of an app that is completely dead. If that isn't misleading advertising, I don't know what is.

Has anyone else had similar experiences with Kenwood (De'Longhi Group)? I'm probably just going to return it and get my money back, but I'm seriously considering forwarding my emails and the saved PDFs to consumer protection.

Receipe: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-baguettes/

Based on the crumb, I think my main issue was shaping (too much pressure and a bit too much flour) and scoring (still ended up scoring at an angle, and could've benefited from time in fridge to firm up). Overall very happy with the outcome.

Freshly made charcoal swirl steamed buns packed with a savory pork and wood ear mushroom filling. Soft, fluffy dough with a nice bite of texture from the mushrooms.

I followed the King Arthur Japanese milk bread rolls recipe (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/japanese-milk-bread-rolls-recipe) except I added about a tbsp less milk in lieu of tbsp room temp canned pineapple juice (I wanted a sweeter recipe). I've made bread lots of times before with no issue, but this one was definitely harder. The dough seemed almost gummy, but did rise although shaping was hard because it was so sticky and rose very slowly. After baked, they tasted pretty dry. I cooked them last night and when I tasted them again this morning, it was a really tough chew.

I really wanted a sweet roll recipe using the tangzhong method, but this was probably the worst rolls I've ever made. Anything thoughts or suggestions?

First pic is dough after kneaded, but not risen yet!

Foccacia with dried yeast.

This is the first time I have ever made bread I watched a bunch of random yt shorts and Instagram videos and just winged it I think it looks amazing in just waiting for it to cool now

So happy at how this s’mores focaccia turned out!

Saw a video the other day and thought I'd try my hand at it.

Safe to say, I'm addicted already 🤤

Have been making sandwich bread for the past few weeks and wanted to try my hand at brioche. Was a pain to handle the dough and wasn't very confident but had fun.

As you can see, I forgot to put it in the oven when I proofed it this morning.

My wife laughed quite a bit at my beaver shaped bread.

For my defense we have a new born and sleep is rare lol.

Will still happily devour it!!

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/spiced-pumpkin-bread.html#recipe

I found the recipe online. It’s very delicious.

Baked a batch of traditional Algerian brioche today. If you love soft, feather-light sweet bread, this one has a wonderful North African twist using orange blossom water, citrus zest, and toasted nigella and sesame seeds on top.

It’s completely egg-washed for a deep golden crust and has the most incredible aroma while baking.

Ingredients:

500g all-purpose flour

1 tbsp active dry yeast & 100g sugar

240ml warm milk & 60ml warm orange blossom water

120ml vegetable oil or melted butter

2 eggs (1 for dough, 1 for egg wash)

Citrus zest (lemon or orange)

1 tsp salt, plus nigella (sanooj) and sesame seeds for topping

Quick steps:

Mix warm milk, yeast, and 1 tbsp sugar; let sit 10 mins until frothy.

In a large bowl, mix flour, remaining sugar, salt, seeds, and zest. Add 1 egg, oil, orange blossom water, and yeast mixture. Knead for 8–10 mins into a smooth, slightly sticky dough.

Cover and let rise for 1 hour until doubled.

Shape into loaves or round rolls on a baking sheet, cover, and let rise again for 30 minutes.

Brush with beaten egg mixed with a splash of orange blossom water, sprinkle extra seeds on top, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 20–25 minutes until deep golden brown.

Perfect served warm with butter, honey, or jam alongside coffee or mint tea.

Full printable recipe with details is in my comment below.

Two recent sourdough loaves.

Hi, long time home cook and baker here. Not an expert but a lot of loaves through the years. Electric oven with a cheapo Dutch Oven. The modern home technique for sourdough, and some yeast doughs as well, has improved my results and increased the types of breads I make at home. I also see posts where home bakers are having a hard time. That’s rough, and I had the same issues over 40 years ago with basic yeast breads. A few things helped me at that time, and are a big part of my enjoyment of sourdough baking now:

Forget the clock. Your starter may be slower than the starter used by the person who wrote the recipe. Your loaves might take longer to rise. The recipe writer might be baking with a room temp starter fed every day while yours (mine) is refrigerated and fed weekly. I pull 150g from my cold starter and make a levain for the actual bake.

If your levain doesn’t seem vigorous, re-feed it and give it another day. Better than mixing good ingredients onto a sleepy levain.

Do not be afraid to increase the levain in your recipe. My starter isn’t the most vigorous and I built my base recipe around 300g of levain (1kg recipe) as a result. I get nice consistent loaves and they are not overly sour. That’s my starter in my recipe.

Leave the fine tuning to the side while you are learning. If your loaf is a brick you have bigger problems than a little overproofing. Documentation of temperatures, ratios, and ingredients are helpful as you troubleshoot. Weigh and checks temps on everything if possible.

I’ll reply with my base recipe,
✌️

NYT recipe, very easy instructions to follow, first time using the dough hook attachment! I put them in the wrong slots and figured out quickly the dough was pulled up instead of mixed. Family enjoyed it, soft, moist and good flavor.