It requires more precision, sure, but there are absolutely bakers who can taste a dough and tweak the water/flour/oil etc. ratios to get the perfect bread.
It’s only different from other kinds of cooking because most people haven’t developed those senses. If you knew what you were doing, you could bake from scratch without a recipe easily and go by “vibes” (i.e. based on sensory input).
Well, cooking normally doesn’t require rising. Baking usually does. Knowing how chemicals react and how yeast acts is important. Cooking is mostly just about flavor. You should know about the Maillard reaction and burning, but as long as the flavors are good (and you don’t cook something that’ll make you sick) then you’re going to be fine.
It requires more precision, sure, but there are absolutely bakers who can taste a dough and tweak the water/flour/oil etc. ratios to get the perfect bread.
It’s only different from other kinds of cooking because most people haven’t developed those senses. If you knew what you were doing, you could bake from scratch without a recipe easily and go by “vibes” (i.e. based on sensory input).
Well, cooking normally doesn’t require rising. Baking usually does. Knowing how chemicals react and how yeast acts is important. Cooking is mostly just about flavor. You should know about the Maillard reaction and burning, but as long as the flavors are good (and you don’t cook something that’ll make you sick) then you’re going to be fine.