[Sca-cooks] Art and Science of Baking

[Gorgeous Muiredach]

At 06:45 PM 9/18/2002, you wrote:
> > Ok, I know that the medical profession has a different definition of
> > science, but baking _bread_ is something you can't do by just following a
> > recipe exactly... which is what most people think of when they hear
> > 'science'.
>
>You have a point. I suppose we should distinguish between the art of the
>boulanger (the bread-maker) and the science of the patissier (the
>confectioner or pastry-maker). English doesn't separate them as clearly.

But then...

Ok, so yeah, one needs to be somewhat more precise in baking and pastry
than cooking.  But from there to call it a science...  I dunno.

Just how precise is it to make bread?  Do you measure how much flour you
use before kneeding your bread?  No?  hmm, precision.

And how exact is your oven's temperature?  How much water do you put in
your sugar before caramelizing it?

Just a few examples to show that while it is somewhat more precise, it is
not by far such an exact science.

Besides, not to renew a debate of long, to me it has more to do with
craft.  Artisans, that must know their craft well enough to improvise
*around* the science, for example, how about your flour that has different
texture and reaction due to the high level of humidity in the air?

An artist has room for error.  And artisan doesn't.  A scientist can always
repeat results by following the "recipe".  An artisan not necessarily,
because of variables.

Just my 2 cents.


Gorgeous Muiredach the Odd
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Nicolas Steenhout
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