I'll bring in cookies and other baked goods to people and they're sometimes life, "Wow! How are these so good?" And I'm baffled cause I just followed the recipe then I remember oh. Some people really do not.
Cooking is more of an art then a science, it is fine to have "Happy little accidents" as it can still turn out fine.
Baking on the other hand is a science forged in the flames of hundreds of ruined experiments. Deviation from the ironclad formulas of old requires extensive knowledge of how each change will effect the overall product.
"Man, my first few cookie trays are so bad, what do you do with yours?"
"Mine are fine because I let the oven preheat"
"That can't be it, the oven takes so long!"
And then I shrug because they're getting pissy like I'm withholding secrets when it's usually that one. Or maybe
"Wow these are so flavorful! When I made them they were so bland!"
Then I can't answer because she was bitching about how much salt they had in the original recipe lmfao. And my mother would have killed me if I had said "Because I used the salt you salt hating 00s lady"
“Man, my first few cookie trays are so bad, what do you do with yours?”
“Mine are fine because I let the oven preheat”
“That can’t be it, the oven takes so long!”
“Wow these are so flavorful! When I made them they were so bland!”
Then I can’t answer because she was bitching about how much salt they had in the original recipe lmfao.
I am speechless, would she not attempt at least a small batch with your recommended changes? Even as an experiment? And don't you prepare the ingredients while the oven heats up?
Technically two different people(s)! The person(s) who don't let the oven preheat were... easily distracted. Possibly adhd these days? This was long ago. But I still see the sentiment online rarely. Maybe they also have horrible old ovens?? The 00s woman was in, well, the 2000s when salt was the food bogeyman. She did, eventually, use some salt. A smidge.
I have to agree with you because what you said is true yet it is not an absolute truth.
Baking requires a lot more commitement and precision but with enough experience you can salvage most recipes and even make a few by eye measurements.
And after a while, again, given enough experience, you can develop an intuitive grasp of which ingredients and what quantities combined achieve such texture or flavour and you can experiment with a good degree of confidence you will no be binning the end results.