Difficulty sticking to a recipe!

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When I'm cooking I tend to modify recipes as a go along and don't really measure anything out. This usually works out fine for me BUT my problem is when I am baking I find myself modifying and adjusting too! I think baking must be more of an exact science than cooking though because sometimes the results are less than ideal! Anyone else have problems sticking to a recipe? I keep telling myself to just follow the instructions and then two minutes later find myself throwing in something that isn't in the recipe at all!
 
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I don't usually have that problem but when I do change the recipe up I try to make sure that I use something that won't knock the recipe balance off too much. I think you have to be a truly skilled baker to make drastic changes and still come out with something that is edible. I hope to one day be that good. But until then I stick to the recipe or just change things that are easily changed.
 
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I modify everything! To me, recipes are inspiration. I've found that there are two types of bakers: scientists and artists. After baking for many years I have learned how a batter or dough should look and feel. Baking is so fun for me and I don't want to be constrained.
 
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I can't adjust to modifying the recipe until the second time around. The first time is a trial and error to begin with. There are some recipes that just can't be altered or they won't taste right.
 
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I modify all the cooking recipies I use, but try to leave the baked goods alone. I agree that baking has to be a little more precise.
 
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I stick to baking recipes as written, because if you change too many things, you risk the bread not rising or the cookies spreading too much and being too crispy.
There's some science involved in baking so I don't like to mess with the measurements.
 
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I have this problem too! I will stick with the recipe the first time I bake something, but then I want to be a little creative the next time around. That's fine for cooking, but not so good for baking. I'm glad that I'm not the only one.

Sometimes my creations come out okay. I enjoy the process of experimentation. This is the main reason why I don't bake as much as I should.
 
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I do this too! I think experimenting is good though, and you never know what might come of it! I have definitely made some good stuff by not sticking to the recipe and kinda doing my own thing to see how it turns out.
 
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I can't say I have that problem when I'm baking unless its just very obvious that its too dry and I need to add another egg. Even in savory dishes, I try to follow the recipe pretty closely the first time. After eating it, I will think of ways to modify it my own way and usually do just that when I make it again. Baking is definitely an artform and measurements are a necessity!
 
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Usually I've done this with cooking. If it's something I've done a million times I can just eyeball my way through measurements. But with baking it's kind of hard. I've messed up a couple of times estimating my measurements if it's way off. I think you can get away with it a little if it's not too far off. And as far as adding your own ingredients, I've done that and it didn't effect it too much which was great.
 
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Cooking is art, baking is science! That's why not everyone can bake. First time around, i stick to the recipe (because obvs, someone else has done the trial and error), but after that, i may modify bits and pieces. But usually it's an even exchange of something, butter for oil, applesauce for oil and liquid, liquor for water, milk for water, etc. Stir-ins are a free-for-all though!
 
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Baking is all science--so much science, even temperature is considered an ingredient.

Bakers use percentages to calculate the ingredients against the flour. Everything interacts once moisture and heat is introduced. That's why we bake by metric weight, calculating the ingredients down to the gram.

If you look at my baking binder, my "recipes" are written as formulas (e.g., flour 1.0; sugar .75; baking powder 0.0176;)) yes, we take it down to the second or third decimal point.

In a separate section at the bottom of the page I'll list the weights for batch sizes I most commonly use. But the key is the percentage of each ingredient against the flour.
 
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As the above posters have said, baking is an exact science. I do not mess with my baking recipes, except for maybe adding nuts, cranberries, chocolate chips, etc. The measurements are there for a reason. If you like wasting food, go ahead and experiment, but most times it will not turn out as expected. Cooking is a whole different ballgame!
 

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