If you spend any time around cooks, you might hear some version of this comment: “Cooking is an art. But baking… ooh, that’s science.”

What people mean, usually, is that baking requires precision and relies on chemistry. Neglect kneading your bread dough, and you’ll forego the development of the protein strands that give bread structure; forget the acidic buttermilk in your pancakes, and you’ll miss out on the release of carbon dioxide that gives them a fluffy lift.

When we bake, we rely on these processes mostly without knowing that we’re doing so. Recipes lead us through managing those crucial chemical reactions largely without bothering to explain what is happening or why. But what if you wanted to change a recipe?

Science writer