Is there anyone knwoing about the math and chemistry behind
cookie-baking for Christmas?

What do scientists say?

They should not be too hard, they should not be too soft, they should
not crumble.

I think baking is really complex and maybe some scientists may had the
time to find the "perfect-cookie-formula"

Because I loose about 30% of my cookies every Christmas because nobody
can eat them and I must feed them to the birds.

On 30 Oct 2003 16:54:14 -0800
(Leah Lidtorf) wrote:

> Is there anyone knwoing about the math and chemistry behind
> cookie-baking for Christmas?
>
> What do scientists say?
>
> They should not be too hard, they should not be too soft, they should
> not crumble.
>
> I think baking is really complex and maybe some scientists may had the
> time to find the "perfect-cookie-formula"
>
> Because I loose about 30% of my cookies every Christmas because nobody
> can eat them and I must feed them to the birds.


There is a formula, but there are many, many variables that must be
filled in by you.

Are you living at high altitude? Some people say 'high altitude' means
6.5k feet but anything over say 3k and you may or may not need to adjust
some recipes. I live at roughly 4.9k and sometimes but not always have
to adjust.

Have you checked to see if your oven's thermostat is accurate? If you
don't have one, buy an oven thermometer. a reputable one. Ekco is fine,
cheaper than ekco probably isn't advisable.

Have you checked for hot spots in your oven?

What flour measuring conventions do you follow? Sifted? Stirred?
Weighed? None of the above?

Do you use margarine? Sure it's not really 'spread' with 60% fat
content instead of 80%?

To tell the truth the only really reliable formula is to understand
what you're doing, understand the tools you have at hand, and how to use
them, and use that understanding to interpret rather than merely follow
the recipe.

If you have specific problems with specific cookies, you can always
post the recipe and your process and details of the problem here, and
plenty of people can point out what you might change.

On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Leah Lidtorf wrote:

> Is there anyone knwoing about the math and chemistry behind
> cookie-baking for Christmas?
>
> What do scientists say?
>
> They should not be too hard, they should not be too soft, they should
> not crumble.
>
> I think baking is really complex and maybe some scientists may had the
> time to find the "perfect-cookie-formula"
>
> Because I loose about 30% of my cookies every Christmas because nobody
> can eat them and I must feed them to the birds.

The trick is to understand how little changes can make the difference
between hockey pucks and tasty cookies. Most recipes will have some
assumptions. I learned how to bake by finding different recipes for the
same thing. I usually found that each recipe had a little hint that
helped. As I combined all the hints from all the recipes my cookies got
better.

Someone has already noted somethings. For example, high altitudes will
affect things. Recipes often have a tip indicating that for every XXXX
feet above sea level, adjust by doing YYYY.

I have also noted that when a recipe indicates use a specific item they
sometimes mean it. Butter, margarine, spreads, etc. are different. If the
recipe requires unsalted butter then you really should use unsalted
butter. Even regular butter (which contains salt) will make a difference.

Additionally, the order you mix the ingredients can make a difference.

Bottom line, you can read many recipes and try various things or get a
book that teaches you to bake and not just a recipe.

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
Don't send e-mail to

On 31 Oct 2003 02:42:16 GMT
(Darrell Grainger) wrote:

> On Thu, 30 Oct 2003, Leah Lidtorf wrote:
>
> > Is there anyone knwoing about the math and chemistry behind
> > cookie-baking for Christmas?
> >
> > What do scientists say?
> >
> > They should not be too hard, they should not be too soft, they
> > should not crumble.
> >
> > I think baking is really complex and maybe some scientists may had
> > the time to find the "perfect-cookie-formula"
> >
> > Because I loose about 30% of my cookies every Christmas because
> > nobody can eat them and I must feed them to the birds.

> Additionally, the order you mix the ingredients can make a difference.


I didn't even consider that, but i guess there was a time, when i was
four or five years old, when i just tossed everything in the mixer. Of
course, those were the days when i sometimes confused baking powder and
baking soda. I don't think the birds would eat those cookies. I know my
siblings didn't.

But, yes. nearly all cookie recipes suggest creaming together the
sugar, fat, and eggs. this process is chemically and mechanically
critical, for reasons too numerous to note here.

"Leah Lidtorf" > wrote in message
om...
> Is there anyone knwoing about the math and chemistry behind
> cookie-baking for Christmas?
>
> What do scientists say?
>
> They should not be too hard, they should not be too soft, they should
> not crumble.
>
> I think baking is really complex and maybe some scientists may had the
> time to find the "perfect-cookie-formula"
>
> Because I loose about 30% of my cookies every Christmas because nobody
> can eat them and I must feed them to the birds.

While there is science behind baking, you don't have to understand it to
bake well. I would recommend that you get a reliable cookie cookbook and
follow the direction to the letter. Some cookies are very soft, very hard,
or very crumbly. In other words, cookies have a very wide range of
characteristics and you need to choose cookies that are to your liking. I
would recommend that you get "Rose's Christmas Cookies" by Rose Levy
Beranbaum. Beranbaum takes a scientific approach to baking and her recipes
are very well tested. She states measurements by volume and weight, and is
very detailed about the method.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...85718?v=glance