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PaperclipPerfector  11mo ago (text post)   2324 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for December 15, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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Anyone here successfully become a great baker? What did it take?

My father is a good baker (but not much of an artist, so he can't necessarily do the fondant stuff from contemporary confectionary). He worked nights at a 5 star restaurant and then resort when he was younger. Also I think he took culinary classes and got some sort of certificate in it. He has multiple James Beard books and follows the instructions properly.

I think baking is something that benefits from apprenticeship, whether working with a professional baker, or learning from a family member who's unusually good at baking.

Sometimes I don't really read the recipe and mix at the wrong temperature or the wrong order or something, which matters in baking. People who are learning to bake well don't do that -- they read the text at the beginning of the cookbook and don't innovate until they understand the reasoning behind various processes. Also, my ovens have never been well calibrated (I've had two in the past 5 years, and the first always burned things, while the second is unable to bake a potato); I think people who bake either get a better oven or put their own sensor in and keep track of the temperature pretty exactly. Some baking requires specific oven set ups like steam injection for French bread.

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