Analyzing a Baking Recipe - Kitchen Notes (2024)

After pouring through countless recipes I finally created a procedure to accurately characterize baked goods, in it, we must employ three calculated values. These values are the moistness value, butter(oil) content, and the egg content; all obtained from a recipe.
Of course, a recipe provides a list of ingredients and measurements, which includes instructions for combining the ingredients. Each ingredient can be considered either a wet or a dry ingredient. In the following procedure, most wet ingredients are given constant values (see Table1.), while flavorings, leavenings (baking powder, baking soda, yeast, etc.), seasonings (e.g. salt), and food pieces (shredded coconut, walnut pieces, blueberries, etc.) are omitted. The constant values are multiplied by their respective quantities (in cups) yielding a product. The products are summed and finally divided by the dry ingredient product (obtained from Table 2.) to yield a solution called the moistness value.

I know... "How can you possibly use volume (cups)?" Either volume or mass can be used assuming standard mass/volume conversions, but I found using volume greatly simplifies the calculations.

But what is this beast of a procedure? Does it design baked goods? Does it analyze baked goods? After years of reinventing itself, the procedure has settled in the role of a design tool which aides in creating new recipes, an analysis tool for reviewing recipes with no need for baking, and a characterization tool which attempts to define all possible baked goods. Immense, yet its most useful role is likely in allowing one to substitute ingredients.

(1)

(2)

Note the following relations:
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
16 tablespoons = 1 cup

The resulting moistness value, butter content, and egg content are: 0.22, 11.1%, 0.67E; (0.5/4.5) and (3/4.5) gave us the butter and egg content respectively (see next section for an explanation of moistness, butter content, and egg content). These are our characterization numbers. You can save time and just use this web application to get the same numbers. From using Table 4 and our characterization numbers, we see this is some sort of a cookie.

[Note from the editor, Michael Chu: Michael Ohene's Table 4 was too detailed to present in HTML here, so click on this image to load a PDF showing the complete table.]

Table 4 was formed by plotting hundreds of recipes. Anything falling within a grid is what that grid is labeled (e.g. scone). Some grids are empty because it would not make sense for them to exist. For example, a very moist bread (0.60) with a low butter content would be airy and tasteless.

Results and interesting facts
Unlike most other baked goods cakes have an extra criterion, when buttermilk is replaced by a constant value of 1.75, a cake must equal a value between 1 - 1.25. This requirement is due to the acid content in buttermilk.

Also notice that having one or more eggs per a cup of dry ingredients results in a cakey baked good. Therefore if you are experimenting with chocolate chip recipes and use a cup of flour, you must discard some of the egg you plan to use.

A moistness value of 0.35 - 0.47 usually results in a yeast dough. A moistness value above 0.50 cannot be kneaded.

The baked goods (brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.) that kids like are on the outer edges of Table 4.

Can you find a recipe that defies the logic (is outside the groupings) of this chart? Sometimes, but it most likely received bad reviews.

Final notes: Mixing instructions, directions on how to combine ingredients, are usually shared for similar types of baked goods. For example, you always use cold water for pie crust recipes.

Leavening (baking soda and baking powder): used to make a dough or batter rise when baked. Table 5 below shows common leavening ratios. What is a leavening ratio? Comparing teaspoons of leavening to cups of dry ingredients is a good rule of thumb. For example, in Table 3 the leavening ratio was 0.44 for our cookie. Also, if you use an acid (e.g. buttermilk, vinegar), baking soda must be included.

Footnotes
¹When a glaze is used - usually for pound cakes - the moistness value increases by 0.05. For example a moistness value of 0.66 will become 0.71 if a glaze is used.^{^
2}This assumes standard/normal baking temperature and pressure/altitude.^{^}

Update (July 31, 2010): Added a link to Michael Ohene's web-based recipe characterization numbers calculator.
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