Thoughts on Baking...

There are really two schools of thought when it comes to baking, and there are upsides to both. First is that of the scientist. Each and every ingredient is measured with extreme care, and the whole operation is done, well, like an operation.

"Nurse! Fifty grams of sugar! Stat!!!"

This approach to cooking is very useful to someone with pastrophobia, as it lays out the ground rules. If followed properly, failure is unlikely.

The other school of thought is the "this and that" method, where the cook measures nothing, but uses lots of taste, touch, and smell tests to determine the condition of the food at hand. It is often developed over years of practice as requires finely tuned senses. Think Grandma's homemade apple pie. Although there are purists, to be a true baker, you must know both. Kinda like when Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that one must learn both sides of the Force in order to fully understand it. Except he was full of crap.Continued...

AB artfully outlines the arguement for science in his book I'm Just Here for More Food. More than that, he also explains where the wiggle room is in baking and how to play with it. He is a clever boy. I tend to not be quite as stringent with my measurements, but I also have a respect for things like "baking soda does NOT equal baking powder." I do not have a scale (so sorry AB!), though I completely agree it is the most accurate and precise way to measure pretty much everything.

It just seems like you should use the science stuff as a step towards understanding the whole realm of baking. After that foundation is put down, you should be able to have a little fun with it, and not stress over ever little microgram. Baking, and pretty much all other cooking, is like a live theater performance. There is vague script that leaves room for improvisation, an unpredicatable cast or characters, and there is always the possibility that something could go wrong. Baking one ups theater though, because at the end, you get to eat cookies.

And speaking of cookies, I have a great, easy, cookie recipe that I came up with. It is also great because it can easily be made vegan.

"La-Dee-Dahs"

I actually came up with this completely on the fly one evening. My Dad came downstairs just as I put the cookies on a plate and said, "did you know my mother used to make these EXACT SAME things? She called them 'la-dee-dahs'. " Which was weird because I did not know that, particularly since she died, like, way before I was born, and my Dad doesn't talk about his childhood on a regular basis.

-piecrust, chilled, any recipe you like (for vegans, use a vegetabable based fat)
-butter or margarine, melted
-sugar
-cinnamon
-whatever else*

Roll piecrust into a rectangle, or as close as you can. Make a paste of sugar, cinnamon, and melted lipid of your choice. Spread onto piecrust. Sprinkle "whatever elses" if you so desire. Roll up the concoction. Slice (or even better, use some thread to make slices). Lay slices on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill until firm. Bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown and delicious (10-15 minutes?) Let cool very well before eating, as the butter/sugar will be like liquid hot magma.

*whatever else can include things like finely chopped nuts, dried currants, dried cherries, raisins, etc. Crystallized ginger is also nice. Keep the pieces little and don't add too much to the cookies, just a sprinkling.