Akili Li wrote: ↑Feb 3rd, '25, 16:47
I've heard multiple people say that, but I learned all my baking from my folks going, "Here, when you're making X, the dough should look like this. If it starts going dryer/wetter/tougher/softer/whatever, it'll turn into dough for Y. Here's how you adjust it back to what you want."
Or,
"Making batter for Z, if you're out of this other thing and want to substitute, here are your options and how they affect the batter so remember to compensate by doing such-and-such"
And,
"When you're doing the actual baking, here's how to tell which spots run hotter and which spots run colder, and how you move the baked goods around to keep them baking evenly"
although honestly these days nearly everyone has an oven that runs off gas or electricity and you can set the temperature and it's pretty even heat, unlike baking in the older ovens with fire and coals which can be a lot trickier.
Point is, pretty much my whole experience of baking is how to adjust it as you need or as you please, and it's hard for me to understand why everyone says it is very strict.
Baking takes a lot of practice to be able to eyeball it. Like I'd eyeball a pancake or a pound cake but don't ask me to make macarons that way.
I have found it's a lot easier to gain experience with cooking, it's also easier to adjust on the fly, which you can't do with baking.