Baking bread seems very straight forward at first glance. It is made with flour, yeast, sugar, fat and water. But do you know how many different kinds of bread there is, each requiring different proportions of these ingredients? And how many leavening agents there are and how they react to different flour and sugars? In fact, in order to achieve the best results when baking it is necessary to understand the reactions taking place involving different acids and fats and such processes as mixing and gluten development. You might also be working with and have to understand the behavior of a ten-year-old sour dough starter or have to invert sugar or use acids to control crystallization. Sounds a little like science class. That is why professional bakers work with formulae and measure very carefully. Take a cup of flour for example. Some people tap the cup while others might pack the flour in. The end result is that a cup of flour always has a different weight. Professional bakers bake by weight not by the 'cup'. There is room to play and to explore new methods and creations in baking but consistent success relies on understanding the properties of your ingredients and their careful measurement as you follow the baking formula to complete your 'science project'.