My 20% project is finally completed so let me analyze the learning I have accomplished over the last six weeks! I will start by answering some of my initial questions I had posited before beginning with this assignment starting with what is the best baked good for a newbie like me to start out with? I think brownies are the best because they have very little ingredients and can be made in almost any pan size it will just effect their baking time. I really didn't need any complicated tools for baking pretty much just a couple of mixing bowls, spatulas, my hands, and various baking pans. You don't need anything complicated to start baking most recipes can be easily created. I stuck with basic all purpose flour which worked for every recipe and utilized margarine or applesauce instead of butter to be on the healthier side. My wife was my test subject and most of my baked goods ended up tasting pretty but had a hiccup or two when it came to texture which I then learned from. This project really showed me how difficult baking can be if you do not follow the recipe exactly, but to my credit every change I made was trying to make the recipe healthier. I think the key ingredient that is the hardest to change/substitute is butter. Butter just makes everything a little fluffier, softer, and in the end just plain tastes better. Utilizing applesauce works but doesn't give a baked good the same flavor as butter would in its stead. It also can make batter a little more watery which then mean baking it for longer which if not constantly managed can make a baked good much more dry on the outside and possibly burn a little. I think the best two baked goods I made were my pretzels and my brownies which is ironic because the brownies were the first baked good I made and pretzels are probably not the first thing people think of when it comes to a baked good. I wanted to create something more complex like a pie or cake but when I looked up how to make pie dough or cake I realized the amount of fat required was far too high for me to substitute butter and hope that It would come out anything close to real pie crust. In all honesty it would have been a brick like texture and then I thought of using a Graham cracker crust but that is mostly used in pies that are cream based which does not fit in with my diet. Overall it was a really fun experience and I think my baking skills definitely improved but I still think I am probably a better cook than baker due to the ease of changing ingredients when cooking versus baking. I have a greater respect for the science based around the exact amounts needed to create a perfect outcome. This kind of brought me back to my chemistry days utilizing Stoichiometry to balance reactions which I never thought of when it came to baking. I think in the end what I realized is butter is amazing and makes everything better, much to my chagrin.
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AuthorWelcome to my baking experience! Hopefully you learn some cool tips! Archives
April 2016
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Photos used under Creative Commons from .shyam., Bex.Walton