"Fred" > wrote in message >...

> What one really needed was some ratios, experience and common sense.
>
> I got to thinking about it relative to bread making which many people view
> as mysterious and difficult. When you analyze it, bread making could be the
> simplest and most obvious thing to make without a recipe or formula. Let's
> look at it.
>
> Let's say that 55% hydration is about normal for a bread dough. That means
> that the water you use will weight a little more than half the flour you
> use. We can always adjust things later but it's a logical place to start.
> If you want a 3 lb. dough, then a couple of pounds of flour and a pound of
> water plus a little should get the job done. You could cut that in half for
> a 1 1/2 lb. dough etc. Personally, I normally like to use about 1/2 oz. of
> fresh yeast for every lb. of flour. It's adjustable, of course, but the
> ratio should work pretty well for most doughs.
>
> OK, so lets make a 3 lb. dough. We need 2lbs. of flour, a lb. and a little
> water and an ounce of frest yeast. Put these ingredients in a mixer and
> you'll get a nice, workable dough that will bake up into a couple of
> perfectly fine loaves of bread of a little over a lb. each.
>
> I like a little salt in my bread to help bring out the flavors. I usually
> put about 1/2 oz. per lb. of flour. Sometimes I'll put 1/2 oz. per lb. of
> sugar to add another taste dimension. These two ingredients added to our
> flour water and yeast, make the typical hard crusted Italian bread you buy
> in the bakery.
>
> Want French bread? Add a little oil. How about between 1/2 oz. and 1 oz.
> per lb. of flour? This adds some "wetness" to the dough so I'd suggest
> cutting back about an oz. of water. You can always add more water as the
> dough mixes if you put in too little. Bingo, French bread with a softer
> crust than the Italian bread.
>
> Rye? No problem. Use 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 rye flour. I also like to
> put in a little molasses. You guessed it, about an oz. per lb. of flour. I
> reduce the water again by about 1 oz. per lb. of flour. I really like to
> add the zest of a couple of lemons to my rye bread. It really sings. See
> how easy this is.
>
> Whole wheat? Same thing. 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour.
> Semolina bread? You're getting the idea.
>
> Want to add dried currants or maybe cinammon and raisins or a luscious
> Italian bread with garlic and rosemary? Throw them in there. A sweet bread
> like cinnamon raisin bread usually wants more sugar so I add about 2 to 3oz.
> per lb. Why? I don't know. It's just a ratio that's worked well for me in
> the past. If what you throw in is wet like some old dough from yesterday or
> a sourdough starter, just take out a little water. If it's dry like milk
> solids or wheat germ, add a little water.
>
> I tend to hydrate a little more for pan breads than I do for hearth breads.
> I don't know why. Experience has taught me I like it that way. I might go
> up to 60% water by weight or maybe higher. Some breads behave a little
> differently with different levels of hydration but I've found good ratios
> that work for me and my ovens. Some breads work better with a lot of mixing
> and others don't want too much. Some want to ferment for hours and others
> work best with just an hour or so.
>
> You see, since I'm not making bread commercially, I don't really need to
> have a formula since I don't need today's batch to taste exactly like last
> month's batch. I just need to understand the basic ratios and then I can
> create to my heart's content.
>
> As you begin mixing the dough, experience will tell you immediately how dry
> or wet the dough will turn out. It's a simple matter to add a little water
> or a little flour to adjust the texture of the dough. If you're going to
> mix it for a long time a little more water will help counteract the heat
> from the friction involved in mixing. The dough will still look right, feel
> right and bake right after the adjustments.
>
> So my suggestion is go out and create some great bread. Armed with a few
> simple ratios, you can make any amount of dough you like. Armed with a
> little experience you can adjust your dough to your ingredients. Go make
> some bread. It's so easy you don't even need a recipe. Good cooking.
>
> Fred
> Foodie Forums
> http://www.foodieforums.com

Hmnn ..... Instinctive baking eh?
Well some institutional bakers do that but they are at loss to
comprehend if something goes wrong.And many of them inspite of decades
of experience still do not progress to the high level of technical
understanding of their craft.They have honed their skill but not their
overall knowledge.
Besides its not as simple as reducing things to the simplest ratio and
common sense. You have to find a (structured) relationship betweeen
those quantities....and apply that principle in your daily baking
chore.
You may have known how much a scoop of flour weighs or how many liters
is in a a pail of water....But its not enough.
Trying to compare baking with cookery where the ever egoistic chef
just dump anything at pan according to his whim ( to impress his
traineee and staff?)is not that simple.
Indeed cookery is an art that can be honed by experience but baking is
both science and art and needs both dedicated practice and technical
understanding of the methodology.
The ingredient interactions in cookery is pretty simple if compared
to baking... and yuo just judge the appropriateness of your cookery by
experinced eye and sensory assessment of your foodstuff.

In baking you have to go beyond that and see things not only from the
macroscopic point of view but also in 'microscopic' perspective.
In my observation (from experience) many of the best cooks are lousy
bakers and conversely...It is just they have different thinking
pattern.
It is not just about formula but they understand also the mechanisms
how thngs work.
Two years ago I trained a really talented chef who want to improve his
baking skills but his knack of doing things like what every chef does
spoils his acquisition of proper baking skills.
He hates measurements and do things by instinct and feel....he really
applies ratio and common sense ;sometimes the bread or cake comes out
good sometimes bad, there is no consistency.He never was able to
understand nor could accept that ingredient interaction has a critical
part in baking.
AFter a few months he backed out....Yes He was able to bake better
than before, but not to the same high level with his cookery skills.
He lamented that you cannot have the best of both worlds (excellent
chef and baker) and you have to specialize on one of them according
to your aptitude as your deeply ingrained habits as part of your
training in your formative years is difficult to change.
So I would suggest that do not be carried away by overconfidence
.....that simple idea might work at home as hobby as nobody there is
keen enough to judge your culinary creation nor any superior to
berate you if your baked goods is not as good as the previous days.
Baking can be deceptive sometimes.... what you find as simple could be
as illusory as a mirage...
Just Keep your feet firmly on the ground ...
Roy