The things we got wrong
This is a log of the mistakes we made—pages that went live with errors, steps that failed in real kitchens, and the times we got the details wrong before anyone else did.
It’s not a list of triumphs or a showcase of how we ‘learned and grew.’ It’s proof that we pay attention to the things that matter: the numbers, the timings, and the moments when a recipe doesn’t work the way it should.
A site like this exists to trust you with something that works. If you find a mistake here, it means we didn’t do our job. That’s why we’re keeping track: so you don’t have to.
Three we had to fix
These are the three biggest things we caught before they became habits. Each one changed how we test, how we write, and how we think about what ‘works’ in a recipe.
How we caught the mistakes
- 1The oven temp that lied
Our first batch of sourdough instructions called for 375°F, but every tester’s oven ran 25°F hotter. The crust burned before the crumb baked, and the loaves collapsed by morning. We found it when a reader emailed with photos of their failed bake—same symptoms, same oven brand. Fixed by Rhonda Castellano: Rewrote the temp guide with a ‘check your oven’ step and added a correction note to every affected recipe. Now we test temps with a thermometer *before* writing a word.
- 2The yeast measurement that vanished
A ciabatta recipe said ‘1 packet active dry yeast,’ but the math for scaling up assumed 2¼ teaspoons instead of the standard 2¼ *grams*. Bakers in metric countries got dough that wouldn’t rise. We missed it because the original source used the same shorthand. Fixed by Rhonda Castellano: Replaced all yeast measurements with grams and added a ‘weight vs. volume’ FAQ. The old recipes stayed up with a bolded warning.
- 3The step that didn’t exist
A bourbon-glazed brisket guide skipped the ‘resting’ time after cooking, so home smokers ended up slicing into meat that was still 160°F in the center. No one caught it until a reader’s pull-apart test failed—and their text said ‘tender but raw.’ Fixed by Rhonda Castellano: Added a ‘don’t skip this’ callout to every slow-cooked meat recipe and made the resting time a required field in our recipe template. The brisket page now has a 10-minute timer graphic.
What those three changed
These failures forced us to build rules that now run the site. No more guessing how hot your oven is, no more assuming everyone measures yeast by the pinch, and no more hiding critical steps in the fine print.
Rules that came from mistakes
- Test oven temps with a thermometer *before* writing a recipe (from *The oven temp that lied*).
- Use grams for yeast and other dry ingredients (from *The yeast measurement that vanished*).
- Flag any step that’s easy to skip—especially resting meat or proofing dough (from *The step that didn’t exist*).
The people behind this
This is Rhonda Castellano, the founder and editor of *Pie Recipes Berry*.
She’s the one who signs the corrections because she’s the one who has to live with the mistakes—and because she’s the one who still remembers the first time a reader pointed out that a recipe’s ‘30 minutes’ turned into an hour in their kitchen.
You’ve just met her through the things she got wrong, which is the only way to know someone who cares enough to keep a log like this.
Keeping this list isn’t comfortable. It means admitting that even after years of testing, we still mess up.
It means looking at a page that’s been live for months and thinking, *That should’ve been fixed already.* But it’s the only way to earn your trust—and the only way to make sure the next mistake doesn’t happen to you.
The smallest mistake she ever made was burning a batch of shortbread because she forgot to chill the dough. It was 10:30 PM, she was exhausted, and the cookies came out like hockey pucks. She still has the photo on her phone.
That’s the kind of thing she doesn’t write about here—not because it’s unimportant, but because it’s proof that even the ‘perfect’ recipes are just people trying not to screw up.
If you find something we missed, don’t just email it to us. Try the contact page first—there’s a form there for exactly this.
There will be a next one
This list isn’t finished. We’ll add to it every time we find something that should’ve been caught. If you spot a mistake—whether it’s a typo, a wrong measurement, or a step that doesn’t work—tell us. The contact page is where to start.
The recipes are grouped by category: Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Main Courses and Reviews.