Baker's Math Formula System - Why Isn't the Flour Mass in Corn Bread Formula 100%?

Question

I am currently in the middle of a challenge to bake every formula in the Bread Baker's Apprentice book (BBA). This book describes a principal called the Baker's Math Formula System where all ingredients are compared to the total flour weight in the formula as a ratio. (BBA referes to recipes as formulas.) By definition (or so I thought), the ratio for the total flour weight in a given formula is always supposed to be 100%.

The author includes this analysis for each formula in the book. Just last night, I looked at the Baker's Percentage for the Corn Bread formula in more detail and found that the ratio listed for the flour is actually 51.1%. How could this be if the total flour weight is supposed to be 100%? Would this have anything to do with the fact that this is a chemically leavened bread?

Answer

I decided to try to e-mail my question to the author, Peter Reinhart. As it turns out, there is a typo in the book!

"Together, the flour and cornmeal should equal 100%. It's the flour % that's listed wrong, not the cornmeal, because the total is 14 oz and the flour is listed as 8 oz. If you divide 8 by 14 you get 57.1%, which means the cornmeal is correctly listed at 42.9% So change the flour percent -- that's a typo I can see can easily happen since 1 and 7 are kind of similar looking and easily overlooked."

Check more discussion of this question.

What are Good Resources for Baker's Percentage Ranges?

Question

I would like to try to apply the baker percentage concept to create my own baked good recipes (cakes, cookies, muffins, etc.). However, I can't seem to find any resources that indicate appropriate ranges for each type of recipe. I have found many resources that explain the baker percentage concept, but none that provide appropriate ranges. What are some good resources that explain baker percentages for various baked goods?

Answer

You are confusing terms here. Baker's percentages are used for bread and bread only. In pastry baking, ratio is even more important as in bread, but traditionally, nobody calles it "baker's percentages".

The book you want is Ruhlman's Ratio. It gives exactly the information you want for pastry and some other things (noodles, mayonnaise). About the only common ratio he doesn't explain is ice cream. It also has some recipes, but the main focus is on the exact proportions of flour, sugar, fat and liquid you need for each type of baked good.

Check more discussion of this question.