In 1986, a major branded cookie and cracker company attempted to capture the expertise of the master bakers who would soon be retiring. The hope was to capture and catalogue the vast baking knowledge they had accumulated over the years with some method of artificial intelligence.
After months of trial, the project was scrapped. One of the main reasons was that the long-time bakers could not completely agree on steps required to troubleshoot specific problems. The science of baking is predictable. However, the variables presented with agricultural commodities are not. Many factors may contribute to similar-acting problems in the finished product. To understand the basics of troubleshooting bakers must understand both the art and the science of baking.