While baking I discovered that I steer off of the path a little when it comes to following the recipes I use. I try really hard to follow every step because I have been told by many chefs that baking is a science and you have to follow each step to make a successful baked good. While cooking is different, you can “go with the flow” and add in your own style when cooking. But I have added my own style to baking. Sometimes I use less sugar than asked because to me the sugar that is asked seems like too much. Also, now that I have learned some tricks from Jesus and Harris, they are stuck in my mind I have been using their advice ever since spending time with them. For example, I always strain/sift my all-purpose flour before using it because Jesus told me that it can get dirty very easily. I have also noticed some negative habits of mine, such as baking late in the day and sometimes getting in my mom’s way when she’s cooking. I need to bake at an earlier time so I don’t get in her way anymore. I take pictures of every step in my baking process, I lay out all my ingredients first and put them away as I use them so I don’t have to later. I also noticed that I write my posts better at night, and I always gain great connections with all my interviewees. I also noticed that I prefer company while volunteering because there are not that many volunteers, and sometimes it’s only me.

For my essential question about my understanding of baking, I have learned so much about how much to use of my ingredients, and tips on how to make things taste better and make the process run more smoothly. But I really want to know how some ingredients work, what do they do for the things that I’m baking, and when do I use them regularly? I don’t know what adding only a pinch of salt will do to a cake or a pie. I don’t know how yeast works, or what the difference between bread flour, almond flour, all-purpose flour, and self-rising flour is. I want to learn the more technical sides of baking now, I follow the steps, and add my own flavor when I want to, but how does everything work together to make these treats? For my second essential question about food accessibility, I have learned a lot about the homeless population in New York, but I don’t know about the rest of the country. How has food accessibility changed since covid in other states? I also don’t know much about sustainability and how to make healthy treats. I’m really excited to learn about all these things that have been unanswered so far for my senior project.