The Science of Baking

Math and I are not friends. In fact we're barely acquaintances. But I have to give it up for math on this one. I don't care for knowing things about ratios in most situations, but where food is concerned I tend to take them a little more seriously. Which brings me to Joseph the Food Scientist.

One of the many reasons I love reading Joseph the Food Scientist's blog is that he tells me things about food I would never know unless I went to cooking school. I am not going to go to cooking school, so I'd rather be schooled by Joseph. He recently posted an article about mathematical equations of baking, and one of composite cooking. I found them both fascinating and thought I should pass them on to you.

I would like to add that baking science for gluten-free (GF), or any other allergen-free foods, can really monkey with normal equations of baking, so sometimes you really need to try a lot of different things before you find something that works for you. For instance, I find that if I really whip the daisies out of my eggs until they are filled with a lot of air, that my baked gluten-free foods will more closely mimic the texture of gluten-filled foods.

My technique has always been to try a recipe once the way it is written (with the exception of swapping ingredients where allergens are concerned), then change everything to adjust for the differences in the way that ingredients behave and taste. I have been doing this for a long time and it has worked well for me. Joseph has also created composite recipes for me, like this focaccia bread he created for me more than two years ago.

I will keep experimenting with GF foods in an effort to get results that are not awful and disgusting. I'd love to hear your tips if you've got any.

**Addendum: Joseph added this nifty conversion chart information too.