K. Reece wrote:
> "Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>
>> Baking, OTOH, is chemistry, pure and simple, particularly baked
>> goods like cakes. Without the proper formula of flour, fat, sugar,
>> eggs, leavening, etc., a failure is almost assured. When one becomes
>> competent with the essentials, modifications are more easily made
>> with successful results.
>>
>> --
>> Wayne Boatwright
>
> So then, how did they make cake before Fannie Farmer came along with
> her precise measurements? And if a cake has to be an exact formula,
> why are there so many variations? There are probably thousands and
> thousands of different cake recipes all with different ratios of
> flour, fat, sugar, eggs, leavening, etc.
>
>
> Kathy

OTOH, would you know how to bake (anything) in a wood or coal burning oven?
You don't have a dial to set to say "350F" - you can't really regulate the
heat. My great-aunt Ada *never* replaced her big wood burning stove with a
modern stove and she made wonderful pies that came out perfectly. Guess it
was just practice over all those years; she could just use her hand to
figure out if the temp was right. I couldn't do that.

Jill