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When something goes wrong

What the failure looks like, what is causing it, and what stops it happening again — with the evidence for each.

Bread and dough

Rise, crumb and crust, and what happens to a loaf after the oven.

  • Bread not rising

    Why bread dough fails to rise, how to tell if the yeast is alive, and whether a slow dough can be saved.

  • Burnt bread crust

    A crust taken past deep brown into black, bitter and harsh.

  • Crumbly gluten-free bread

    Gluten-free bread that will not hold together.

  • Dense bread

    Bread that came out low and heavy for its size.

  • Dough too dry

    Why a dough comes out dry and stiff, when to add water and when not to, and how flour and weather change the answer.

  • Gummy bread

    Why a loaf comes out gummy inside, how to tell under-baking from under-proving, and whether it can be rescued.

  • Large holes in bread

    Why a loaf develops one huge hole or a tunnel under the crust, when big holes are a fault and when they are the point.

  • Loaf collapsing in the oven

    A loaf that was rising and dropped before it set.

  • Over-proved dough

    How to recognise over-proved dough, whether it can be saved, and how to judge proving by the dough rather than the clock.

  • Pale bread crust

    Why a loaf bakes through without browning, what steam and sugar have to do with it, and how to get colour without over-baking.

  • Stale bread

    Bread that has firmed and dried since it was baked.

  • Dough too sticky

    How to handle a wet dough, when stickiness is a problem and when it is the recipe, and what to do instead of adding flour.

Cakes, pastry and puddings

Sinking, spreading, cracking and going grainy — mostly ratios, temperature and time.

  • Cake sticking to the tin

    Why cakes stick, which linings actually work, how long to leave a cake before turning it out, and how to rescue one that is stuck.

  • Cheesecake cracked

    What causes cracks in a baked cheesecake, how to prevent them, and how to cover one that has already cracked.

  • Curdled custard

    Why egg custards scramble, how to rescue one that has just started to split, and the techniques that prevent it.

  • Cake too dense

    Why a cake comes out heavy rather than light, which step is usually to blame, and how to get it right.

  • Dry cake

    Why a cake comes out dry, how to tell over-baking from over-mixing from too much flour, and what to do with a cake that is already dry.

  • Cookies spreading too much

    Why biscuits and cookies spread into thin flat discs, which variable causes it, and how to get the thickness you want.

  • Scones flat

    Why scones fail to rise, why twisting the cutter matters so much, and the handling rules that give height.

  • Greasy cake

    Why a cake comes out greasy, what a broken batter has to do with it, and how to tell it from an under-baked one.

  • Cream over-whipped

    How to rescue cream that has gone grainy, when it is beyond saving, and how to whip cream reliably.

  • Cake raw in the middle

    Why a cake browns outside while staying raw in the middle, what tin depth and oven temperature have to do with it, and whether it can be saved.

  • Seized chocolate

    Why a small amount of liquid turns melted chocolate into a stiff paste, why more liquid fixes it, and how to melt chocolate safely.

  • Shrinking pastry

    Why a pastry case shrinks in the oven, the two causes, and how to line a tin so it cannot happen.

  • Soggy pastry base

    Why a tart or pie base goes soggy, how to blind bake properly, and the barriers that keep it crisp.

  • Ganache split

    Why ganache separates, the reliable way to bring it back, and the ratios that stop it happening.

  • Sunken cake

    A cake that rose and then fell, leaving a dip in the middle.

  • Pastry tough

    Why shortcrust goes hard rather than short, why pastry shrinks, and how to handle it so it stays tender.

  • Meringue weeping

    Why meringue leaks syrup or beads on the surface, the difference between weeping and beading, and how to prevent both.

Meat, poultry and fish

Dry, tough, rubbery, pale or stuck — usually a question of heat, time and a dry surface.

  • Burger falling apart

    Why home-made burgers collapse, why egg and breadcrumbs are the wrong fix, and what actually holds a patty together.

  • Chicken skin not crisp

    Why chicken skin stays soft, why moisture and fat rendering are the whole answer, and how to fix it on a roast, a thigh and a breast.

  • Dry braised beef

    Beef that has gone past tender into dry and fibrous.

  • Dry chicken breast

    A breast that eats dry however it was cooked: the water has left the muscle rather than been driven off the surface.

  • Fish dry

    Why fish dries out so fast, how to tell when it is done, and the methods that are hardest to get wrong.

  • Dry pork

    Why modern pork dries out, which cuts are worst, how brining helps, and where the safety question actually sits.

  • Fish skin not crisp

    Why fish skin curls and stays soft, the fifteen seconds that fix it, and which fish crisp well.

  • Fish sticking to the pan

    Why fish welds itself to a pan, why patience is most of the fix, and how to get a fillet out in one piece.

  • Grey steak

    Why a steak goes grey instead of browning, the two different grey problems, and how to get a crust without overcooking the middle.

  • Rubbery chicken

    Chicken that resists the teeth and springs back rather than yielding.

  • Rubbery prawns

    Why prawns go rubbery so fast, how to tell done from overdone by shape, and what to do with a batch that has gone.

  • Rubbery squid

    Why squid is either very quick or very slow, why the middle ground ruins it, and how to fix a batch that has gone tough.

  • Soft crackling

    Why pork crackling stays soft, the drying and scoring that decide it, and how to rescue a joint that has come out of the oven chewy.

  • Tough brisket

    A cut full of connective tissue that has been cooked, but not for long enough at the temperature that converts it.

  • Tough steak

    A steak that fights back.

  • Unevenly roasted chicken

    Why a whole bird cooks unevenly, and the four ways round it.

  • Watery defrosted mince

    Mince that sits in a pool of its own liquid after thawing, then steams rather than browns.

Fruit and vegetables

Browning, wilting, steaming instead of roasting, and going limp in the bowl.

  • Black basil leaves

    Basil blackening in patches, usually within a day or two of going into a refrigerator.

  • Brown apple

    Cut, peeled or bruised apple darkening at the exposed surface within minutes.

  • Brown avocado

    Cut avocado flesh losing its green and dulling towards grey-brown.

  • Pesto turning brown

    Why basil browns in pesto, which step causes it, and how to keep a jar green for days.

  • Dull green vegetables

    Why green vegetables lose their colour, what acid and lids have to do with it, and how to keep them bright.

  • Gluey mashed potato

    Why mash turns to wallpaper paste, which potatoes and which tools cause it, and why this is the one fault that cannot be rescued.

  • Grey guacamole

    Guacamole dulling from bright green to grey-brown, usually at the surface first and within an hour or two of being made.

  • Vegetables turning mushy

    Why vegetables collapse into mush, which cooking methods cause it, and how to keep texture and colour.

  • Oily aubergine

    Why aubergine absorbs so much oil, the three ways to stop it, and whether salting actually helps.

  • Onions not browning

    Why onions take 45 minutes rather than 10, how to speed it up honestly, and the difference between sweating and caramelising.

  • Soggy defrosted vegetables

    Vegetables that were firm before freezing and collapse on thawing.

  • Soggy roast potatoes

    Why roast potatoes come out soft instead of crisp, which of the five usual causes applies, and how to get a crust that holds.

  • Soggy roast vegetables

    Why a tray of roast vegetables steams instead of browning, how much space they actually need, and how to fix a tray mid-cook.

  • Roast vegetables not browning

    Why roast vegetables steam instead of caramelising, the tray and temperature rules, and how to get proper colour.

  • Watery mushrooms

    Why mushrooms release water instead of browning, why crowding is the whole answer, and how to get colour on them.

  • Wilted salad

    Salad leaves going limp and losing their snap in the bag or the bowl.

  • Yellow broccoli

    Broccoli losing its green in storage, before it is ever cooked — the florets going from deep green to yellow-olive over days in a fridge or on a shelf.

Sauces, gravy and emulsions

Splitting, lumping, refusing to thicken, or sliding off the food.

  • Cheese sauce grainy

    Why cheese sauce splits into grains and oil, how to rescue it, and which cheeses cause it.

  • Lumpy gravy

    Why flour and cornflour form lumps in hot liquid, three ways to rescue lumpy gravy, and how to make it smooth from the start.

  • Sauce not clinging to pasta

    Why sauce slides off pasta, what the cooking water is actually for, and the finishing step almost everybody skips.

  • Split hollandaise

    Why hollandaise splits, the two different splits and their opposite fixes, and how to bring one back.

  • Mayonnaise split

    The reliable rescue for a broken mayonnaise, why it split, and how to make it so it does not.

  • Split sauce

    Why butter, cream, cheese and egg sauces separate into fat and liquid, and how to rescue a hollandaise, a mayonnaise or a cheese sauce that has split.

  • Sauce too thick

    How to thin a sauce without diluting the flavour, why the liquid you choose matters, and why some sauces keep thickening.

  • Sauce too thin

    How to thicken a sauce that has not set, which method suits which sauce, and why it went thin in the first place.

  • Watery tomato sauce

    Why a tomato sauce stays watery, why reduction rather than thickener is the answer, and how the pan changes everything.

Eggs and dairy

Weeping, sticking, spreading and refusing to set.

  • Hard-to-peel boiled eggs

    Why some boiled eggs refuse to peel, why very fresh eggs are the worst, and the method that works reliably.

  • Omelette sticking

    Why an omelette welds to the pan, which pan and how much fat, and how to fold one that will not tear.

  • Rubbery scrambled eggs

    Why scrambled eggs go bouncy, why big curds are a warning sign, and the two techniques that prevent it.

  • Poached egg spreading

    Why poached eggs spread into rags, why egg freshness matters more than vinegar or vortexes, and how to poach one that holds.

  • Watery scrambled eggs

    Why scrambled eggs weep, what salt and heat each contribute, and how to stop it happening.

  • Yoghurt not setting

    Why home-made yoghurt stays runny, the four things that stop it setting, and how to rescue a batch.

Rice, pasta, grains and pulses

Mushy, clumped, sticky or stubbornly hard — hydration and heat, in most cases.

  • Burnt rice on the base

    Why rice catches on the bottom of the pan, how to save the good rice above it, and when a crust is the point.

  • Clumpy couscous

    Why couscous clumps, why it is not a grain at all, and the two steps that separate it.

  • Lumpy porridge

    Why porridge goes lumpy, why the order of ingredients matters, and how to fix a lumpy pan without starting again.

  • Mushy rice

    How to rescue overcooked rice, why it went mushy, and the water ratios and technique that prevent it.

  • Pasta sticking together

    Why pasta clumps in the pan or on the plate, why adding oil to the water makes things worse, and how to prevent it properly.

  • Rice sticking together

    Why rice comes out claggy instead of fluffy, which causes apply to which rice, and how to cook separate grains reliably.

  • Beans still tough

    Why dried beans sometimes never soften, what salt and acid actually do, and how old beans defeat every recipe.

  • Rice still hard

    How to rescue undercooked rice, why the middle stays hard, and how to prevent it.

Preserving and fermenting

Jars that have not set, ferments that have not started, and pickles that went soft.

  • Crystallised jam

    Why jam goes grainy with sugar crystals, the three causes, and how to prevent it.

  • A ferment that is not bubbling

    Why a fermenting jar might show no activity, which causes are harmless and which are not, and how to tell whether it is working.

  • Jam not setting

    The three things a set needs, how to work out which one is missing, and how to reboil a jam that has not set.

  • Jam too firm

    Why jam sets too hard, why over-boiling is usually the cause, and how to loosen a jar without starting again.

  • Mould on a ferment

    How to tell kahm yeast from mould on a fermenting jar, what causes each, and how to prevent both.

  • Ferment too salty

    What to do with a ferment that is too salty to eat as it is, why the salt cannot simply be reduced, and how to use it.

  • Soft fermented vegetables

    Why fermented cucumbers and cabbage go soft, which causes are fixable, and what keeps a ferment crunchy.

  • Soft pickles

    Why pickled cucumbers go soft, the blossom end nobody mentions, and when softness means something has gone wrong.

  • Tough marmalade peel

    Why marmalade peel stays tough, the one moment it stops softening, and whether it can be rescued.

  • Watery kimchi

    Why kimchi turns watery, whether it matters, and what to do with the liquid rather than throwing it away.

Seasoning, fat and the pan

Too salty, too hot, too greasy, or burnt onto the base.

  • Burnt garlic

    Why garlic burns so much faster than onion, how to tell scorched from burnt, and whether a dish with burnt garlic in it can be rescued.

  • Food caught and burnt on the pan

    What to do when a stew, sauce or rice catches on the base, how to tell if it is salvageable, and how to prevent it.

  • Food too salty

    How to rescue an over-salted dish, why the potato trick does not work, and how to avoid it next time.

  • Food too spicy

    What actually reduces chilli heat, why dairy works and water does not, and how to avoid over-spicing.

  • Fried food greasy

    Why fried food absorbs oil, what temperature to fry at, and how to drain properly.

  • Greasy stew

    Why a stew comes out greasy, why chilling it is the best answer, and how to skim one you need to serve now.

  • Matcha clumping

    Why matcha forms lumps that will not whisk out, how to rescue a lumpy bowl, and the two habits that prevent it entirely.

  • Stir-fry watery

    Why a stir-fry ends up boiling in liquid, how to fix it mid-cook, and how to prevent it.