The Importance of Practice

There's an old saying, "Practice makes perfect", and this past weekend I had faced that reality again. As much as I want to keep this blog impersonal, the following story will serve as a reminder that as humans, we get better at things by repetition; practice.

I am currently enrolled in HOSF 9134 Baking – Basic and have a wonderful chef as my instructor. As with my previous experience with culinary arts, HOSF 9088 Culinary Arts I, I have proven (sufficiently to myself anyway), that I know my way around a kitchen and I am quick to learn new skills. Recently we had made some soft rolls in class, and I had planned to reproduce the creation for my family to enjoy. While we do not have a professional quality kitchen at home, I did not think that it would affect the outcome. The reality is that even though I scaled down the recipe as per my mixer's capacity, the dough that I produced was not of the same caliber as in the classroom. I partially attribute the outcome to the fact that this was my first attempt outside the controlled environment of a classroom, however, I would have to say that the I was missing a key ingredient: practice.

The following are some photos.

Classroom results

Baking at home