What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Of course, the first thing that happens is a modification to the
recipe....

Might ba a factor... Ya think!

...fred

"kuvasz guy" wrote in message
oups.com...
What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Of course, the first thing that happens is a modification to the
recipe....

Might ba a factor... Ya think!

..fred

If your going to bake you have to weigh the ingredients.
Most people think a pints a pound the world around.
A pint of flour is never a pound of flour. You can throw together biscuits
or pasta that way if you'd like, but little else.

kuvasz guy wrote:
What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Perhaps they're not such perfectly fine cooks as they claim... one can
only imagine the crap those people cook... anyone should be able to
bake as well as they cook. In fact I think baking is easier, less time
consuming, less labor intensive, is more forgiving of errors, and
typically involves less expensive ingredients. People don't generally
throw away an under baked chocolate cake... it can be dead raw in the
center and still with a glass of milk or a scoop if ice cream every
last bit will get scoffed down and immensely enjoyed... tell em it's
sex in the middle. Just try pawning off undercooked Thanksgiving
turkey, ain't no amount of gravy gonna make that raw poultry
palatable. The only aspect of baking that's difficult is the
decorating... but do you really think it's gonna matter all that much
to your grand kids if your fresh made strawberry shortcake ain't
presented as fancy schmancy as from Guido Varrone's Bakery. You can
buy paper lace doilys too.

kuvasz guy wrote:

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who
claim they can't bake???

You obviously aren't familiar with the low-carb,
low-gluten, raw food, blood type, cave man diet.
We don't use any food or food preparation
equipment not used by our ancient ancestors
prior to the development of white flour,
white sugar, white salt, and white pepper.
Obviously, the oven is out. We're still arguing
about fire. :-)

Sheldon wrote:

Perhaps they're not such perfectly fine cooks as they claim... one can
only imagine the crap those people cook... anyone should be able to
bake as well as they cook. In fact I think baking is easier, less time
consuming, less labor intensive, is more forgiving of errors, and
typically involves less expensive ingredients.

LOL Spoken as only a crappy, careless baker could. Cookie
Katz thinks that baking is more forgiving of error than
other culinary components. Imagine that. Less
labor-intensive than a saute or a roast. Imagine that. Less
time-consuming to make a good loaf of bread than a whole
fried chicken. I wish I had known years ago.

Anyone should be able to sculpt as well as they paint. And
dance. And play the banjo.

People don't generally
throw away an under baked chocolate cake... it can be dead raw in the
center and still with a glass of milk or a scoop if ice cream every
last bit will get scoffed down and immensely enjoyed... tell em it's
sex in the middle.

That's because it tastes good, has a good mouthfeel and
harbors no hazard. Moron.

Just try pawning off undercooked Thanksgiving
turkey, ain't no amount of gravy gonna make that raw poultry
palatable.

Sounds like the voice of experience. One of the few times
I'd believe what he says.

The only aspect of baking that's difficult is the decorating...

And, as if it needed further documentation, Shecky pees on
his shoes once more.

The guy who chars his meat loaf explains how to bake.
Because he's such a brilliant cook himself. Did I say
Brilliant? I meant shipboard Navy Galley.

Moronic blowhole putz.

Pastorio

but do you really think it's gonna matter all that much
to your grand kids if your fresh made strawberry shortcake ain't
presented as fancy schmancy as from Guido Varrone's Bakery. You can
buy paper lace doilys too.

"kuvasz guy" wrote

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Can't is a strong word. I don't have a knack for baking. Some people
have the touch. I suppose if I was interested enough to practice a lot,
perhaps it would be easier for me.

As it is, something that comes out great one time, next time it won't and
you'll never figure out why, no matter how hard you try, can't get the
bread to come out right, and not resemble a misshapen bowling ball
in appearance and weight.

Maybe the butter wasn't warm enough ... cool enough? Did you over-
beat it? or ... was it humid that day?

Most cooking, I find, is not so temperamental.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:
"kuvasz guy" wrote

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Can't is a strong word. I don't have a knack for baking. Some people
have the touch. I suppose if I was interested enough to practice a lot,
perhaps it would be easier for me.

As it is, something that comes out great one time, next time it won't and
you'll never figure out why, no matter how hard you try, can't get the
bread to come out right, and not resemble a misshapen bowling ball
in appearance and weight.

Maybe the butter wasn't warm enough ... cool enough? Did you over-
beat it? or ... was it humid that day?

Most cooking, I find, is not so temperamental.

With baking, like anything else one enters into with a negative
attitude, failure becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

General baking requires no more precision than general cooking. There
is no real point in measuring baking ingredients to the gram, no two
batches of flour are identical anyway, neither are many other baking
ingredients indentical, not any more than many cooking ingredients...
eggs are not identical, they don't taste the same, their color is
different, each weighs differently.... there will be no detectible
difference if you make that cake with three eggs or four eggs, no one,
NO ONE can tell. If you make a loaf of bread with 1 tsp of salt or 1
1/2 tsps of salt it won't matter, and no one can tell, human sensory
perception is just not nearly that good.

With confections preciseness counts, but with baking and cooking it
doesn't really matter, neither requires more precise measuring for
repeatability than the other.

The only reason people are not good at baking is because they simply
don't bake often enough to develop technique... if you bake bread every
week you'll do well on a constant basis, but if you only bake bread
like 2-3 times a year your results will be no bettrer than if you have
sex only 2-3 times a year.

Sheldon

Nancy Young wrote:
"kuvasz guy" wrote

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Can't is a strong word. I don't have a knack for baking. Some people
have the touch. I suppose if I was interested enough to practice a lot,
perhaps it would be easier for me.

It's my fault for not being clear -- my point was that if a person
feels they are a poor baker, even though I know they aren't, why do
they often feel that modifying the recipe increases the odds for
success?

...fred

In article ,
"Nancy Young" wrote:

"kuvasz guy" wrote

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Can't is a strong word. I don't have a knack for baking. Some people
have the touch. I suppose if I was interested enough to practice a lot,
perhaps it would be easier for me.

As it is, something that comes out great one time, next time it won't and
you'll never figure out why, no matter how hard you try, can't get the
bread to come out right, and not resemble a misshapen bowling ball
in appearance and weight.

Maybe the butter wasn't warm enough ... cool enough? Did you over-
beat it? or ... was it humid that day?

Most cooking, I find, is not so temperamental.

nancy

As Chatty Cathy's cooking vs. baking question brought out on the RFC
website, they are two different things. People who have problems
following recipes make lousy bakers. That said, if you learn the rules
of baking you can figure out how to adapt.

The food science lab manual I used as an undergrad is a good reference
for baking and for cooking. It's called Dimensions of Food, and the
latest editions have been put together by my former colleague in Dallas,
Vicki Vaclavik.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

"Sheldon" wrote

Nancy Young wrote:

Maybe the butter wasn't warm enough ... cool enough? Did you over-
beat it? or ... was it humid that day?

Most cooking, I find, is not so temperamental.

With baking, like anything else one enters into with a negative
attitude, failure becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

Actually, I went into it with no idea there was any trick to it.
Experience beat me down.

The only reason people are not good at baking is because they simply
don't bake often enough to develop technique... if you bake bread every
week you'll do well on a constant basis, but if you only bake bread
like 2-3 times a year your results will be no bettrer than if you have
sex only 2-3 times a year.

Heh, well, that's just it. I could see getting into bread baking. Good
enough to make *really* good bread? I don't think so. Cakes?
Really, I just don't usually need a cake, and I know this bakery?
Cookies, I like to make cookies. This guy I worked with told me
about my almond crescents, they were heavy because I overbeat the
butter. An Aha! moment. Lots to learn.

nancy

"Cindy Fuller" wrote

following recipes make lousy bakers. That said, if you learn the rules
of baking you can figure out how to adapt.

Heh, perhaps that's it. I was never taught The Rules of Baking.

The food science lab manual I used as an undergrad is a good reference
for baking and for cooking. It's called Dimensions of Food, and the
latest editions have been put together by my former colleague in Dallas,
Vicki Vaclavik.

Sounds interesting. I'll look for it.

Did you say you had Ellie Krieger (sp) in your class? I thought that
was so interesting. She seems awfully nice.

nancy

"Cindy Fuller" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Nancy Young" wrote:

"kuvasz guy" wrote

What is it with people who are perfectly fine cooks who claim they
can't bake???

Can't is a strong word. I don't have a knack for baking. Some people
have the touch. I suppose if I was interested enough to practice a lot,
perhaps it would be easier for me.

As it is, something that comes out great one time, next time it won't and
you'll never figure out why, no matter how hard you try, can't get the
bread to come out right, and not resemble a misshapen bowling ball
in appearance and weight.

Maybe the butter wasn't warm enough ... cool enough? Did you over-
beat it? or ... was it humid that day?

Most cooking, I find, is not so temperamental.

nancy

As Chatty Cathy's cooking vs. baking question brought out on the RFC
website, they are two different things. People who have problems
following recipes make lousy bakers. That said, if you learn the rules
of baking you can figure out how to adapt.

The food science lab manual I used as an undergrad is a good reference
for baking and for cooking. It's called Dimensions of Food, and the
latest editions have been put together by my former colleague in Dallas,
Vicki Vaclavik.

Cindy

There are rules of baking? So what are these rules?

Ms P

On Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:24:39 -0500, "Nancy Young"
wrote:

Heh, well, that's just it. I could see getting into bread baking. Good
enough to make *really* good bread? I don't think so. Cakes?
Really, I just don't usually need a cake, and I know this bakery?
Cookies, I like to make cookies. This guy I worked with told me
about my almond crescents, they were heavy because I overbeat the
butter. An Aha! moment. Lots to learn.

Bread baking is one of those things that I needed to be shown too. I
didn't know a lot of the tricks. I didn't even know what a properly
kneeded dough should look and feel like.

Fortunately, I had a neighbor who made bread and was willing to make
it with me one time. That's all I needed and was able to pick up the
rest from cooking shows after that.

--
See return address to reply by email

In article ,
"Nancy Young" wrote:

"Cindy Fuller" wrote

following recipes make lousy bakers. That said, if you learn the rules
of baking you can figure out how to adapt.

Heh, perhaps that's it. I was never taught The Rules of Baking.

The food science lab manual I used as an undergrad is a good reference
for baking and for cooking. It's called Dimensions of Food, and the
latest editions have been put together by my former colleague in Dallas,
Vicki Vaclavik.

Sounds interesting. I'll look for it.

It might be on amazon,com, or in the Rutgers bookstore.

Did you say you had Ellie Krieger (sp) in your class? I thought that
was so interesting. She seems awfully nice.

nancy

Yes, I did. And she was a good student. I never seem to be at home
when her show is on, so I haven't seen it yet.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Muddle wrote:

If your going to bake you have to weigh the ingredients.
Most people think a pints a pound the world around.
A pint of flour is never a pound of flour. You can throw together biscuits
or pasta that way if you'd like, but little else.

I've never heard anyone suggest to thinking such a thing...?