On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 17:25:17 -0700, Samartha Deva
> wrote:

>Roy Basan wrote:
>
>> IMO these techical book is not suitable for the hobbyist but for the
>> baking professional who want to know more ideas about the technical
>> aspecst of fermented dough.
>
>Your opinion in honor, if you need it, it's all yours. But I
>respectfully disagree. I personally am a hobbyist, never even thinking
>to surrender the freedom of "hobbying" to a commercial/money making
>endeavor. Every role has it's drawbacks and benefits but overlaps can be
>very fluid and there is no telling (IMO) where one ends and the other
>starts, production volume out of question.
>
>Under this umbrella, I have to say that I get a lot of insights from
>research papers and professional books (mainly Sourdough Manual (German:
>Handbuch Sauerteig - Spicher/Stephan). Something you label as "not
>suitable".
>
>You are apparently a professional, possibly retired baker. From where do
>you arrogate the right to judge "suitability" of material for other
>people's use and appetite?
>
>Quite a telling and revealing statement, I would say.
>
>
>Samartha
>

Hi Samartha,

I agree with you completely about those who "surrender the freedom of
'hobbying'" and was reminded of an experience I had years ago:

I have played string band music for nearly fifty years. When I moved
to my current home area about 27 years ago, I posted a note on local
bulletin boards (the thumb-tack kind) that said "Do you fiddle? If so,
please give me a call. I play clawhammer banjo..."

A few days later I heard from a fellow who turned out to be a
wonderful musician, and in a while, I was playing contra dances in the
local band. We played at dances once a month, and it was a delight.
Until, the gentleman who introduced me to the band decided to leave
his graduate school studies in psychology to pursue his interests in
music full time.

Well, you can guess the rest: The pleasures of the band vanished as it
became a business...

In fact, those with a commercial interest in most things are likely to
be vastly more restricted in their interests than would those who
engage the activity purely for pleasure. Of course those with a
commercial interest can experiment far less as their livelihood is at
stake. For the hobbyist, the opposite is true. What is there to risk?
Usually little more than a few minutes, and a few cents worth of
flour...

All the best,

--
Kenneth

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