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Freedom251 › Blog › game troubleshooting

How to Fix Recipes Not Unlocking in The Witch’s Bakery

By Freedom251 Team · · 8 min read

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If recipes stopped unlocking after you carried a demo save into the full release, the documented fix is to select Default Public Version in Steam’s Properties > Game Versions & Betas, then start a new game. The release can display a misleading Continue option even though demo and release saves are incompatible.

For other saves, first verify the recipe’s expected book, quest, customer event, chapter, station, or other prerequisite. Buying recipe books while exploring Paris is a confirmed way to obtain additional recipes, but individual recipe conditions have not been fully mapped.

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Start with the symptom that matches your save

Recipe progression in The Witch’s Bakery can be confused by three different situations: a recipe whose prerequisite has not been met, a recipe that was obtained but not yet prepared, or a save that came from the demo and cannot progress correctly in the release. These states look similar in the recipe menu but require different actions.

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What you observe Most useful next step What is established
You continued a save created in the demo Switch to Default Public Version and begin a new game Sunny Lab says the saves are incompatible and the release can become stuck
You are playing a release-created save Check the recipe’s book, quest, event, chapter, station, or other expected prerequisite Recipe-by-recipe conditions have not been fully verified
You bought or found a recipe but it still seems unavailable Check whether you are distinguishing unlocking, preparing, and leveling Those are separate objectives
A relationship or story event is blocked Treat it as a separate progression issue The documented Estelle workaround is not a recipe repair

Do not edit a relationship flag, install a console command, or buy hardware before identifying which case applies. There is no documented universal command or recipe-specific patch that can safely force every recipe open.

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How recipe unlocking is supposed to work

Buying recipe books in Paris

A recipe guide checked on October 14, 2026 identifies buying recipe books while exploring Paris as a confirmed route to additional recipes. In practical terms, revisit the places where books are available instead of assuming that completing one cooking task automatically grants the next formula. Explore Paris, purchase the available recipe books, and then return to the recipe menu to check whether the new entry is present.

This is a documented route, not proof that every recipe uses the same trigger. Some entries may depend on a quest, a customer event, a chapter, a cooking station, or another condition. Because a complete, verified recipe table is not available, do not treat an unlisted prerequisite as evidence that your save is broken.

Unlocking, preparing, and maximizing are different goals

The game separates the act of obtaining a recipe from using it and from raising its level as far as possible. A recipe can therefore appear to be “not unlocked” when it has actually been obtained but has not been prepared, or when it has been prepared but still has levels remaining. Check the recipe’s presence and status carefully before restarting a save.

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  • Unlocked: the recipe has been obtained and is listed in the appropriate menu.
  • Prepared: you have cooked the recipe at least once when the game requires preparation.
  • Maximized: the recipe has reached its highest level or completion target.

These labels describe different progress checks. Completing one does not automatically complete the others.

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Fix a demo save that will not progress

Sunny Lab’s official Steam announcement dated October 14, 2026 explains that the release detects a save made in the demo and can still show a Continue button. That button is misleading: the demo and release saves are incompatible, and continuing with the old file can leave progression stuck later. If your recipe problem began after moving from the demo, use this path before trying manual edits.

Change the Steam branch

  1. Close The Witch’s Bakery completely. Do not leave it running in the background while changing the branch.
  2. Open Steam and go to your Library.
  3. Right-click The Witch’s Bakery and choose Properties.
  4. Open Game Versions & Betas.
  5. Set the branch to Default Public Version.
  6. Close the Properties window and let Steam finish any update or file synchronization.
  7. Launch the game and choose New Game, not Continue from the demo-era save.

Sunny Lab’s instruction is explicit: “You should start a new game, since saves are incompatible and the game will get stuck at some point if you continue with your old save.” This is a data-compatibility fix, not a way to transfer the demo’s progress into the release.

Protect evidence before abandoning the old file

Starting over can cost progress. Before deleting, overwriting, or abandoning the old save, preserve screenshots of the locked recipe, the recipe menu, your current chapter or task, and the Steam branch shown in Properties. Keep the original save untouched if you may need to report the problem. Do not assume that switching branches will convert the file or recover its progress.

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Check the result after the restart

After creating the new release save, play until the relevant prerequisite is available, obtain the recipe through its documented route, and check the menu again. If you changed the branch while the game was open, fully quit and relaunch it first; a running session may still have loaded the old branch or save state.

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A diagnostic order for release-created saves

If the save was created in the full release, work through these checks in order. This avoids destructive troubleshooting and separates an uncompleted prerequisite from a damaged or incompatible save.

  1. Identify the exact recipe. Record its name and where you expect it to appear. A vague report that “recipes” are locked cannot establish whether one entry or the entire progression is affected.
  2. Check the expected prerequisite. Confirm whether the recipe is tied to a recipe book, quest, customer event, chapter, station, or another in-game condition. Buying recipe books while exploring Paris is a documented acquisition route, but no complete recipe-by-recipe unlock list is confirmed.
  3. Check the three progress states. Look for evidence that the entry is unlocked but still needs to be prepared, or prepared but not maximized. Do not restart solely because a completion target remains.
  4. Quit and relaunch. Exit to the desktop, start the game again, and inspect the recipe menu after the relevant event or purchase. This refreshes the session without changing save data.
  5. Back up before any manual change. Make a separate copy of the save before editing, rolling back, or testing another branch. Keep the copy outside the live save folder so the game cannot overwrite your only backup.
  6. Report the lock if it persists. Use the official Steam Discussions channel and include the platform, game version, current branch, recipe name, prerequisite you completed, and the exact sequence that failed.

Do not skip directly from a missing recipe to a save edit. Without a confirmed flag for that particular recipe, changing a value can remove story progress while leaving the recipe problem untouched.

The Estelle relationship lock is a separate issue

The same Sunny Lab announcement documents a progression lock involving Estelle. It occurs when the bottom dialogue branch is chosen in the theater scene after her second heart. The announcement does not identify this as a recipe bug, so it should not be used as a universal explanation for a locked cooking entry.

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When the documented workaround applies

Use this workaround only if your problem is the Estelle relationship lock described above and your save matches that scenario. It is not a recommended recipe repair.

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  1. Close the game and make a duplicate of C:Users<username>AppDataLocalLowSunny LabThe Witch’s BakeryGameFilesSlot_0Save.lunne. Work on the duplicate, not the original.
  2. Open the duplicate in a text editor that preserves plain text.
  3. Find the UUID effc1d56-d2a3-4fe5-bcb2-933781bdf8b5.
  4. Within that entry, change relationshipLevelsLocked from true to false.
  5. Save the edited duplicate, place it where the game can load it only after keeping the original backup, and test the result.

Sunny Lab says this change unlocks the second heart but skips the theater scene. The issue was fixed in the next version. Editing the field for a recipe is unsupported: the announcement does not say that this UUID or flag controls recipe availability, so changing it cannot be presented as a recipe solution.

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How to report a recipe that remains locked

A precise report gives the developer enough information to distinguish a missing prerequisite from a save-state problem. Post through the official Steam Discussions channel and include:

  • Your operating system and whether the copy is the Steam release.
  • The game version shown by Steam and whether the branch is Default Public Version or another branch.
  • The recipe’s exact name and the menu location where it should appear.
  • Whether the save began in the demo or in the full release.
  • The book, quest, customer event, chapter, station, or other prerequisite you believe you completed.
  • The date or point at which the recipe stopped appearing, if known.
  • The exact sequence of actions: for example, buying a book in Paris, completing an event, leaving the area, relaunching, and checking the menu.
  • Screenshots of the locked entry, prerequisite completion, and relevant Steam branch setting, while avoiding personal information in file paths.

Keep the original save and a backup available in case Sunny Lab requests them. Do not attach a modified file as though it were an untouched save; clearly label any copy that has been edited.

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Common wrong turns

Continuing the demo save because Steam offers it

The Continue button does not prove compatibility. For a demo-origin save, the supported route is Default Public Version followed by a new game.

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Assuming every recipe has the same trigger

Recipe books in Paris are confirmed to grant additional recipes, but individual conditions are not fully verified. Avoid inventing a universal chapter, customer, or station requirement.

Confusing a level target with an unlock

An entry can be unlocked while preparation or maximum-level progress remains incomplete. Check the state shown in the menu before resetting anything.

Applying the Estelle edit to cooking data

The UUID and relationshipLevelsLocked value belong to the documented Estelle relationship issue. There is no evidence that they control recipes.

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Buying a product to repair software progression

A controller can help only with missed input in other games; it cannot change an existing recipe-unlock flag. A cookbook, physical game copy, or USB drive likewise cannot repair this save state. Keep the remedy to the game branch, a clean save, verified prerequisites, and a properly documented report.

What is and is not known about recipe locks

As of the October 14, 2026 documentation, there is a confirmed Paris recipe-book route and a confirmed incompatibility fix for demo saves. There is no complete public recipe-by-recipe unlock table, no universal console command, and no recipe-specific developer patch identified for this problem. That means a locked entry on a clean release save is not automatically proof of a bug; it becomes a strong bug report when the expected prerequisite, branch, version, and action sequence are recorded and the menu still does not change after a relaunch.

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