Michael Ohene

I would say it is a theoretical review and analysis tool. Practically, it is a guide for correcting recipes and determining a recipe's moistness before cooking it. For example, if a recipe had a moistness value of 0.98, you could easily rule out any suggestion that raised the moistness value over 1.24. If a cake was too dry or too moist, you could at least determine all the options you have to correct it. Good question about eggs. If we agree that yolks add more moisture than egg whites, then angel food cakes (which use all egg whites for wet ingredients) are either not true cakes or moistness of a baked good does not define whether something is a cake. I am not sure about this, I would say if we both agree angel food cakes are dry - not just spongy) - then I say you may be onto to something. If so, it is safe to say, the way in which eggs are used in baking ensures that the overall product meets the moistness requirement for being a cake. As a sidenote; I understand we all have our preferences, but what I was aiming for was constructive criticism, not a democratic vote.I'm saying this because people posting "me too, me too" posts are cluttering the board.

Is this your only objection? -Michael

Really good question. 3 to 5 ounces is a lot. That means you can sift 2 cups of flour to give 3 1/3 cups of flour. Bakers Percentages. Using an example from theartisan.net, a sample bread baker's percentage would be: 100% flour ~ 3 3/4 cup (3 3/4 cups flour/lbs) 72% water ~ 1.44 cup (2 cups flour/lbs) wet/dry = 1.44/3.75 = 0.384 We can separate this out. For wet ingredients: quantity in lbs * specific volume (cups/lbs) The two lbs' terms yields a ratio, ".36 cups" - the lbs cross out. which is close to my .35 - .429, .429 is for runny ciabatta like doughs. Imagine flour did not change, then you could say 3 3/4c flour and 1.42c water. In fact, it is safe to say water will not change. Flour, maybe it is safe to say it won't change. Hopefully not 60% as you have experienced or heard of. But consider this, when editors write recipes in books and magazines volumetrically they assume a standard density (i.e. they will instruct a baker to sift or not to sift the flour which will account for possible changes in weight to some extent), therefore the deviation will never be as great as 66%. In math, you are able to make great leaps by making assumptions. In my baking formula I assumed yeast and salt can be ignored - I have my reasons for this - and also that water, milk, eggs will not deviate too greatly in weight. So in conclusion we have seen that the specific volume is the determining factor - specifically of the compactable dry ingredients. If the specific volume does not deviate greatly from its normal specific volume, then a baker's percentage, although a little more complex, is basically the same thing as my formula. My formula has an advantage of being able to quickly check whether a recipe is dry, moist, etc, perhaps while standing in line at the supermarket reading your favorite cooking magazine. BY the way remember to test my formula, if not of written recipes, then at least on your final measures before you mix your ingredients. Best, Michael Ohene

Hello eGullett, I have read some threads discussing ingredient ratios on eGullett and thought it would helpful if I provided my guide on ingredient ratios. In summary, my formula uses the moistness of a recipe to determine how correct/appropriate it is, thus defining baked goods. I am not asking you to have belief in what is here; I welcome skepticism. I am asking that you simply check your favorite recipes to see what you get. The baking formula is an easy concept, but to make it work you have to assign moistness values to each major, wet ingredient. As for dry ingredients, they are all equated. The baking formula is essentially dividing the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients. 1. all-purpose, cake flour =1 4. juice,cold, and warm water=1 5. buttermilk=1.75 6. butter, bananas, canola oil=0.5 7. large eggs =1/6 8. large egg yolk or white = 1/12 The following ingredient values are in a folder somewhere in my apartment or are still under investigation: applesauce, pear sauce, milk, cream cheese, sour cream, olive oil, boiling/hot water, cocoa powder, toasted and crushed almonds, orange juice, extra large eggs, whole wheat flour, honey, corn syrup, molasses, brown sugar Once the ratio is calculated, quick breads will be classified as follows: coffee cake (0.71-0.765), pound cake (0.73-0.76), cake (1-1.15), upside-down cake (1.04-1.26) - the moistness increases with higher values. To use my baking formula simply multiply the assigned values of the ingredients times the quantity (for eggs) or quantity in cups, add the sums of the wet ingredients, and finally divide the sum over the sum of dry ingredients in cups. That's it. Since virtually all cakes have eggs, the simplest cake would be an angel food cake. For 1 cup of flour, twelve or thirteen egg whites are used. This results is a value of 1 or 1.0833, since 12*(1/12)=1 and 13*(1/12)=1.0833. As you can see, some ingredients are factored into the procedure and some are neglected. The reasoning behind why salt, sugar, vanilla extract, nuts, and other spices and flavorings are neglected is a bit involved, so I have another example to make the method clearer. Lemon-Blueberry Cake with White Chocolate Frosting from Bon Appetit 2000*(recipe is freely avaiable of magazines website) 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp grated lemon peel 2 cups sugar ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cups unsalted butter 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk 4 large eggs 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice Using the value of each ingredient and its respective quantity, the sum of the wet ingredients: butter (0.5*3/4=0.375), buttermilk (1.75*1.125=1.969), eggs ((1/6)*4=0.66), and lemon juice (*1*(1/3)) is 3.33. We find 3.33/3.33 (wet/dry ingredients) yields a value of 1. The method should be fairly clear by now. Feedback is welcomed. I have the results of the baking formula calculated on published cake recipes if you are interested. Jumping the gun a bit, I think bread is 0.35-0.429. cheers, Michael Ohene