Mathematics of Baking

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Mathematics is part of our everyday life. Things you would not expect to involve math do. Such as how to write a successful pop song, which gang is responsible for a crime, where terrorists are hiding bombs, how new drugs can affect people and how to keep a crowd from trampling each other (Jones, 2013), to name a few. As you can see, math is involved in things that you would never expect. In the following paragraphs, I will explain to you how a particular interest of mine, baking, involves math in more ways you would think.
The Value of Ingredients
Every ingredient has its own value when it comes to a recipe. It is very important that you are accurate and precise when measuring ingredients to insure that each portion is about the same as all the others. This is the true meaning and nature of baking: One part art: One part science.
Measurements really matter in baking, if you it is wrong your whole baked goods will be ruined.
Saying this, we must ask ourselves, what qualitative differences we see and taste in a wide assortment of baked goods? ("Two cups of," 2011)
Michael Ohene, electrical engineer and baking fanatic, considers all baked goods as a function of three factors: Moistness Value, Butter Content, and Egg Content. Each wet ingredient is assigned a value per cup. For example, buttermilk has a value of 1, while, apple sauce has a value of 0.6. Each dry ingredient also has a value. Ingredients like flour and almond paste have a value of 1, while, peanut butter has a value of only 2/3. These values can be thought of as weighing the ingredients, relative to their wetness or dryness. ("Two cups of," 2011)
Once we know all the values of the ingredients, the value can be multiplied by the volume in which it ...

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...thematics. (2011, December 11). Retrieved from http://www.mathgoespop.com/2011/12/two-cups-of-mathematics.html
This talks about the value of ingredients.

Ratios making baking a piece of cake. (2010, October 11). Retrieved from http://www.mathscareers.org.uk/viewitem.cfm-cit_id=382954.html
This is talking about the ratios involved in baking.

Steinburg, D. H. (2012). Baker's math: Essential calculations for working with dough. Dim Sum Thinking, Inc.
This book talks about math used in baking, including the baker’s percentage

What is geometry used for?. (2013, May 6). Retrieved from http://chezleawesome.blogspot.ca/2013/05/what-geometry-is-good-for.html
Tells how geometry can be used in cake decorating.

Geometry formulas. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://math.com/tables/geometry/surfareas.htm Helps explain how you can use surface area and geometry in baking

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