Will wrote:
....
>> They learn that "professional bakers" weigh their ingredients; so,
>> in order to also be taken as "professionals" they too have to weigh
>> their ingredients.
>
> Oh please...
>
> It is not ego-anything to put a bowl on a scale and get your water and
> flour ratio settled in about 15 seconds. It's simply easier... which
No different than using cups or other units. As for being "easier", that's
nothing but an opinion.

> is why professionals do it and probably why they recommend it. It's
> not mindless posturing, it's simply easier.
"Professionals" usually dispense technique and information to other
"professionals" and not amateurs. As "professionals" they use scales for
scaling as I'd previously noted. Again, something being "easier" is an
opinion. One you hold, and that's fine. But not one shared by many.

> When you bake... do you set the oven to a level determined by your
> thermostat? Sure you do. You give those numbers in your webpages. Your
> recipes don't say.... medium oven, or hot oven, or slow oven... they
> say 450 F. Well... what is the philosophical difference? You
> communicate a precise measure. And for a good reason. It's easier.
No. It's because most ovens sold in the US come calibrated in degrees
Fahrenheit. I use it because it's found on all ovens. Just like cups and
tablespoons are found in most kitchens. Scales, Hobart mixers, stones and
tiles are mostly not.

The folks I write my recipes for are amateurs working from their rather
ordinary home kitchen. My recipes weren't intended for either pro's or
those that have a large repertoire of both skills and experience. To do
otherwise would simply be engaging in more 'weenie wagging'...and--unlike
some posting here--I don't really need to do any of that...


L8r all,
Dusty