It requires more precision, sure, but there are absolutely bakers who can taste a dough and tweak the water/flour/oil etc. ratios to get the perfect bread.
It’s only different from other kinds of cooking because most people haven’t developed those senses. If you knew what you were doing, you could bake from scratch without a recipe easily and go by “vibes” (i.e. based on sensory input).
Yeast is closer to the animal kingdom than the plant kingdom. It’s a living organism you need to feed so it will grow your food. You need to make it comfortable and give it an environment to thrive and then kill it when it’s the yummiest.
Baking by vibe takes some work, and you should practice recipes by the letter before trying it, but it can be fun. It’s more so knowing the impact of what you’re adding.
Spices, for instance, can be added by vibe to some recipes. Flour, on the other hand, should be weighed out and a firm knowledge of ratio to fat rather then vibes.
I had to bake by vibes one time because I started a recipe then realized I didn’t have eggs and the friend the cake was for is lactose intolerant. Used a can of coconut milk. Turned into brownies instead of chocolate cake, but they were good enough that I’ve been intentionally making them since.
So like cooking, if you are making a recipe of something new it’s important to follow the recipe to know how it tastes then next time you know what to tweak to make it taste more like what you like
With a deep enough knowledge of how baking works, it can be done. My sister improvises baked goods very well. The sad thing is that when one turns out amazing instead of just good, she can’t replicate it because she doesn’t know the recipe. I’m particularly sad I’ll never again have the amazing butter rum pound cake she made for her daughter’s birthday last year. She tried to make it again later, but it just wasn’t the same. :(
If you aren’t cooking by vibe, are you really living?
Baking on the other hand…
It requires more precision, sure, but there are absolutely bakers who can taste a dough and tweak the water/flour/oil etc. ratios to get the perfect bread.
It’s only different from other kinds of cooking because most people haven’t developed those senses. If you knew what you were doing, you could bake from scratch without a recipe easily and go by “vibes” (i.e. based on sensory input).
Baking is chemistry, cooking is jazz.
I have a Master’s Degree in chemistry, I can’t bake for shit. Cooking, on the other hand, I excel.
Baking is actually ranching.
Yeast is closer to the animal kingdom than the plant kingdom. It’s a living organism you need to feed so it will grow your food. You need to make it comfortable and give it an environment to thrive and then kill it when it’s the yummiest.
Man, now I love making bread even more.
It’s biochemistry
You can still get jazzy with it tho once you understand tha chemistry well enough.
Jazzy Chemistry sounds like the title of a textbook that is attempting to be more attractive to students.
Baking by vibe takes some work, and you should practice recipes by the letter before trying it, but it can be fun. It’s more so knowing the impact of what you’re adding.
Spices, for instance, can be added by vibe to some recipes. Flour, on the other hand, should be weighed out and a firm knowledge of ratio to fat rather then vibes.
My wife says that everything I cook smells the same. Yeah baby I know what I like.
I had to bake by vibes one time because I started a recipe then realized I didn’t have eggs and the friend the cake was for is lactose intolerant. Used a can of coconut milk. Turned into brownies instead of chocolate cake, but they were good enough that I’ve been intentionally making them since.
So like cooking, if you are making a recipe of something new it’s important to follow the recipe to know how it tastes then next time you know what to tweak to make it taste more like what you like
With a deep enough knowledge of how baking works, it can be done. My sister improvises baked goods very well. The sad thing is that when one turns out amazing instead of just good, she can’t replicate it because she doesn’t know the recipe. I’m particularly sad I’ll never again have the amazing butter rum pound cake she made for her daughter’s birthday last year. She tried to make it again later, but it just wasn’t the same. :(
Powerful eldritch knowledge tends to come at a terrible price.