To become a better baker, adopt the mindset of an elite NBA player
The proof is in the proving
When Joel Hans Embiid wants to improve his skills, he doesn’t just play game after game and assume he’ll get better. He works with his coaches in the gym, reviews tape, takes notes and makes adjustments until he gets the desired result when he’s back on the court.
I take that same approach to baking. MVPs aren’t born. They’re made.
The process usually begins – as most of my cooking endeavors do – with a great meal someone else has made. It could be life-changing cornmeal molasses bread at a breakfast spot in Portland, an airy english muffin from a D.C. bakery, an absolutely perfect scone in Raleigh, a not-too-sweet chocolate chip rye cookie in Paris. I take mental notes with every bite. I think about the flavor profile, the texture, the ingredients. And then I go home to my own kitchen to attempt to recreate what I just ate.
The first thing I do is set a baking goal. What is the ideal version of the bread or baked good I’m trying to make? What are the qualities that I remember so vividly? What should it taste like? What ingredients do I know are in it?
Then I attempt to find a recipe as a close approximation, if I can’t find the restaurant’s actual recipe online. I typically start by searching King Arthur Baking since their recipes are straightforward and well-tested by experts. They also have informative blogs that explain the technique, which is essential for helping me know where to make tweaks if I want to change anything.
After I’ve selected a base recipe, I get to baking. I follow each step precisely as instructed. This is where the Embiid-mentality starts. I write down everything I do in my “bread journal,” a small notebook where I keep a detailed record of my baking and cooking projects.
Documenting each step helps you take a more methodical approach. It can help you sort through vague instructions (Cut to: Great British Bake-off contestant reading a technical challenge recipe, “It just says, ‘Make the dough!’). I start to fill in the details. I take note of things like what order I added the ingredients, what speed setting the standmixer was on, how long it took for the dough to reach the windowpane stage or any other pieces of information I think I’ll need next time around. Other items I include: the temperature outside (weather greatly affects rise times!); the feel of the dough (was it stiff, sticky, soft, wet?); the time it took to double in size. All of these are data points that help me get closer to my bread goal.
I first started a bread journal more than two years ago when I found myself making the same recipes but getting different results each time. Instead of asking, “Is this what it was like before?,” I could look back in my notes to find the answer. By tracking my actions, I could identify mistakes I was making and fix them the next time around.
The note-taking doesn’t end when I’ve finished my first attempt. In fact, the real work begins once I pull my creation out of the oven. I record my thoughts on how close I got to what I was attempting to achieve. How does it taste? What’s missing? What could be better?
I formulate a hypothesis to make it better: What if I used a different higher-fat butter? Would more rye flour give it better flavor? What about using milk instead of water to make it softer? Would a longer knead time help with the gluten structure?
Finally, I draft a plan for my next bake. I make small changes, like trying molasses instead of honey or combining brown and granulated sugar instead of just one. It’s important not to make too many modifications so that I won’t be able to determine how each one affected the final result.
For example, when I wanted to make a sandwich loaf akin to those packaged, pre-sliced whole wheat loaves, I started with a basic recipe and began tinkering with hydration percentages (the amount of water relative to the flour). Then I moved onto sweeteners, trying out honey and brown sugar before settling on molasses because of how it added the caramel color I wanted. And finally to achieve the loaf’s pillowy softness, I subbed in 40g of potato flour – a number I settled on after experimenting with various amounts.
How to know what adjustments to make? You can either take a wild guess or read up on baking science in publications like Cook’s Illustrated to formulate ideas. King Arthur is also a great source, especially with their product recommendations. Even unrelated recipes can provide ideas, too. Sometimes you’re making an entirely different bread product and want to apply a technique or borrow inspiration.
Keeping a bread journal has made me a more confident baker. I’ve become more methodical, too. Writing down ingredients and steps as I go helps me keep track of where I am in a recipe. And I’m less afraid of making mistakes because they’re just a part of getting closer to my goal.
So the next time you start baking, think about it more as a process toward championship bread. And if anyone knows about trusting the process, it’s Joel Embiid.