There’s a neat article on Atlantic Monthly’s website (and presumably, then, also in the print magazine) all about the reason why certain ingredients in baking recipes have to be certain temperatures. I used to work in a bakery, and I always told the baker who owned it that she should give a class on baking chemistry. It’s interesting stuff! Baking, cooking, gardening, canning – all of these domestic things involve some pretty in-depth science (in-depth by non-scientist standards, anyhow). I think I’d be better at all of them if I understood the underlying science behind them. What a fun class that would be – the science of domesticity.
Ok. That’s all. Carry on with your day.
There are a few good books on the science of baking — the best one is probably “Bakewise” by Shirley Corriher, but I have to plug one that a friend of mine published last year called “Cooking for Geeks.” Scientific explanation of, and experiments with, different cooking and baking techniques, with plenty of geek jokes thrown in for good measure.
Ooooooh. I’m totally getting them.
I always think that I would be better at adapting recipes and experimenting with new stuff if I understood the how/why of it all. I’m going to look up those books too, CM!