"Raj V" > wrote:

>From the several bread books I've read, I don't get the sense making bread
>is an exact science. "Hold out a cup of flour in case" . . . . "Add more
>water if . . . " Measuring to a gram or single digit percentage point seems
>superfluous with those instructions, so I agree any "law of baking" is
>probably going too far, though some do try. My mom made bread all her life
>and never measured anything or went by a recipe that I know of and the bread
>was invariably wonderful, much better than anything bought in the store or
>bakery. My credo is try my best, enjoy doing it, and learn from each
>experience. If I throw in something like flax meal or steel cut oatmeal when
>it isn't called for in the recipe, the results are at least interesting, and
>usually edible. I am having fun.
>
Your mother may not have used a recipe, but she probably learned from
her mother how to do it. "Take a couple of the scoops of flour, this
much yeast, some salt." She was shown how much of each thing to use
and how the dough looked and felt at each stage.
--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, 48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)