John Kane wrote:
>
>
> > On Sep 26, 9:43 am, maxine in ri > wrote:
> >
<snip>
>
>
> Strange the professional baker I worked with insisted on measuring
> just about everything. When he did some cooking he wored by sight etc
> but not for baking.
>
> Of course he'd never use a measuing spoon. Everything was done by
> weight. Joseph Amendola's baking book is a good example of this.
>
> John Kane Kingston ON Canada

A baker working in a bakery *does* need to measure accurately. It's a
matter of product consistency and profit margins. While a few grams more
or less of an ingredient wouldn't matter much to home baking (and yes I
bake a great deal), it would certainly add up in a commercial setting.
Weighing is better for dry ingredients than volume.

Precision in baking is often overrated. We live in a dry climate at high
altitude. Many of the baking recipes posted here wouldn't work for us as
given. ChristineD can attest to that

The flour/dry ingredients can be at 5 percent humidity (and thus need
more liquid to work up properly).

Yeast/leavening amounts need to be decreased slightly (things rise more
readily at this air pressure).

Water doesn't boil at 212 F/100 C (about 201/93) things need to be
cooked longer or at higher temp to come out right. Ten degrees or so
need to be taken off the dF reading of our sugar/jam thermometer; ruined
a lot of sweets recipes before working that one out LOL.

Eventually experience makes it all come right, of course, and one can
always eat the evidence