Kitchen Confessions: When the Bake Doesn’t Go As Planned
Every baker has that one bake that humbles them…
Mine arrived the day I tried making Coconut Turnovers.
A Caribbean classic — soft dough, sweet spiced coconut filling — I was so sure I had it down. I pictured a golden pastry, perfectly swirled, the kind my aunties would proudly serve after Sunday lunch.
Instead?
The whole thing literally fell apart in my hands.
The dough tore while baking…then crumbled when I tried to cut it. I just stood there staring like, “Well… this is not Instagram worthy.” LOL.
And if I’m being honest, every sign was there.
From the moment I started kneading, the dough felt too soft. Not sticky — just suspiciously delicate. Then after the first rise, that dough ballooned up with air bubbles like it was trying to make an escape. Still…I pushed ahead, hoping magic would fix it.
Spoiler: it did not.
The Lessons in the Cracks
As I stood there devastated, on the phone with my friend mid–kitchen meltdown, the bake started teaching me:
- Slow Down
I was so focused on the final result, I ignored what was happening in the bowl right in front of me. - Listen to Yourself
I knew something was off — but I kept going. - Pivot When Needed
Sometimes you’ve got to start over. Sometimes you’ve got to adapt. Especially when a blog post deadline is staring you in the face.
What Actually Went Wrong?
Okay…some kitchen honesty:
• I forgot the salt in my dough.
Salt helps control yeast…without it, the dough rose out of control and lost structure.
• I was rushing — not double-checking ingredients.
• One tiny missed step led to one very flaky (but not in the good way) disaster.
A humbling reminder: in baking, the small things are the big things.
A New Kind of Confidence
That failed batch taught me more than any perfect bake ever could.
Baking continues to show me how to slow down — not just in the kitchen, but in life.
To understand each ingredient and its purpose.
To trust my hands, my instincts, and my voice as a baker and creator.
Because even when a bake collapses…
there’s still warmth, joy, laughter (give it some time), and resilience.
The resilience to try again.
So I’ll ask you:
What’s the bake that humbled you this year?
And what did it quietly teach you about you?
If you’re ready to start fresh — try my Coconut Turnovers…
the bake I was supposed to make that day.
