Science of Baking ....
I'm interested in the technical aspects of the Science of Baking ....
Please share your own knowledge and expertise, and any online sources (articles, books or videos) that explain the science behind baking, like things that make the dough sticky, or not so sticky, hold the dough together, or on the other hand, things that cause problems, bringing out the flavor of a particular ingredient or spice ....
My main interest right now is different kinds of breads, mostly breads with fruit, or yams/sweet potatoes, potatoes, and nuts.
I like to use Whole Wheat Flour, and also mix different kinds of grains (Corn Grits, Corn Meal, Oatmeal, Granola, Wheat Flour). I'm also thinking of experimenting with Scottish Oats, Barley, Quinoa, Millet ....
I'd like to learn some of the basic science of baking, so I can experiment more .... searching for those perfect recipes .... !!!
-- Jim
Well. There are so many aspects it might be a good idea to pick a starting subject e.g. yeast fermentation, dough strength etc.
I would recommend reading the newsletters over at sfbi. There's a world of information covering many subjects.
Jim,
The most concise explanation is here: CookingForEngineers
To actually design a recipe takes much more work. I built a Random Baking Recipe Generator that creates recipes and includes whole wheat flour, potatoes, etc.
Many online sources will talk about molecules and such, but all that is irrelevant. There's no reason to explain why there is butter in cookies or what happens when you add sugar to cookies, it only helps to explain how much you should add. I might create a post about this.
-Michael
Shirley Corriher's Cookwise. Although not focused solely on baking, it does a lot to explain how different ingredients and techniques affect the finished food.
Paul
There's a short paperback called Bread Science. It's available free as a pdf file online. Use your favorite search engine. It's there.