Pre-screening and Analyzing Recipes for Baked Goods
Hello bakers,
For some while it has been a quest to decipher baking recipes (e.g. Michael Ruhlman "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking", Shirley Corriher, etc.). But noone has attempted to prove their method is correct for all recipes or that their method defines what and what doesn't make a baked good.
In short, I have a way to numerically describe recipes, A calculator to automate the calculation process, and an excel spreadsheet with example calculations (over 300). And this method does define what and what isn't a particular baked good.
What I did is to graph the hundreds of recipes from the excel spreadsheet. The graph has a defined patterns, with defined groupings for baked goods (e.g. between 0.30-0.50 is a bread, and outside this region, bread can not exist using standard preparation techniques). It is essentially an elaborate calculation of the ratio of wet to dry ingredients.
The Purpose of all this is to:
Allow for more complex substitutions (e.g. local ingredients), Diagnosis of recipe problems, Allow for the quick pre-screening of recipes posted on the web, Aid in rapid design of recipes, etc.
For example, in addition to posting pictures of a baked good, posting the three chararcteristic numbers (thickness of batter, butter(oil), and egg content) of this method may allow you to determine the outcome of the baked good recipe (i.e. will the cookie be too cakey, will the pound cake/muffin be dry, etc)
First, please take a look at the chart and everything will make sense or at least it will give you the motivation to learn about what I have done:
Listed in order of importance
1. Chart: Chart [1]
2. Explanation: Article [2]
3. Calculator: Baking Calculator [3]
4. Spreadsheet: Spreadsheet [4]
Bakers percentages are only partially supported. The calculations can also be done manually.
As always , constructive - with constructive being emphasized - criticism is much welcomed.
Good night and great loaves,
Michael O.