Baking Bread with AI: A Fun Experiment in the Kitchen
Sunday, August 18, 2024
In this post, I decided to bring AI into the kitchen with me to see how it could help streamline a classic bread recipe. I’ve baked this bread loaf recipe several times, so I know the steps well. However, I rarely want the big cookbook out while I’m baking. It takes up too much counter space, and honestly, the recipe is far too detailed for what I need at this point. When I first started baking this bread, those lengthy descriptions were helpful. Now, all I need are the ingredients and the basic instructions.
Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America's Most Trusted Cooking Magazine
Since I’m trying to use AI for everything these days—partly to understand its strengths and weaknesses better, and partly just for fun—I thought this might be a perfect opportunity. I uploaded the photo above and asked the AI to simplify the recipe.
Simplifying the Recipe
Voila! The AI provided me with a list of ingredients and basic instructions. Perfect! But as I reviewed the output, I realized I wanted something even more streamlined. Specifically, I wanted the ingredient quantities combined directly into the instructions, so when it said something like “combine flour, yeast, and salt,” I wouldn’t have to look up the quantities.
So, I updated my prompt and asked the AI to combine the ingredient quantities into the instructions. Voila again!
Dealing with AI Hallucinations
However, upon closer inspection, I noticed it increased the amount of melted butter from 2 tablespoons to 3. Hmmm… The AI had made an error—what’s known as a hallucination. When I pointed this out, it apologized and provided me with a corrected set of instructions. This was great, but it highlighted the importance of keeping an eye on the details when working with AI.
Refining the Process
Next, I realized something was missing—the boiling water. I brought the omission to the AI’s attention and asked if this step was superfluous. It explained that the technique, called steaming, is crucial in bread baking as it helps create a better crust by adding moisture to the oven. The AI then updated the instructions to include this important step.
But here’s the thing: the steaming instructions it provided were a bit confusing. I had already simplified this step in my head by simply placing a small saucepan of boiling water directly into the oven with the bread dough, rather than pouring the boiling water into a second hot loaf pan.
Right. This is good. I appreciate your help. It’s a little confusing that you say place the pan on the bottom rack OR the stone. The stone is ON the rack, and should have been there from step 1. I don’t care if we move the rack up after the initial rise before baking.
When I explained this and asked if I could just put the pan into the oven, the AI adjusted the instructions and even added a caution about handling hot pans—better safe than sorry!
Markdown for Easy Access
Since I like to keep my recipes organized in my note-taking app, Obsidian, I asked the AI to provide the instructions in markdown format.
Any chance you could put that in markdown format or even give me a file I can just add to my Obsidian notes?
It did, and even provided a link to download the file. Now, I’ve got a concise recipe that’s always available on my phone, ready for the next baking session.
A Fun Collaboration with AI
After the bread was baked, I uploaded a photo of the finished loaf to the AI just to see how it would “react.”
A fresh loaf
It responded:
“There’s nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread filling the kitchen. When you do slice into it, I hope it tastes as good as it looks and smells. Enjoy every bite! 🍞”
It was a fun process, and the results were exactly what I needed. This little exercise reminded me of something important: when working with an AI, it’s crucial to work with it rather than just giving a prompt and complaining when the first response isn’t perfect. The problem often lies in the prompt or in your expectations, but if you refine your prompt and clearly communicate what you need, you’ll get much better results.
Creating the Hero Image
For this blog post, I asked the AI in the same conversation to draft a prompt for another AI, DALL-E, to generate a hero image.
Please draft for me a prompt for Dall-E to generate a hero image for our blog post about baking bread with AI.
Here’s the prompt, and you can see above what it generated:
Prompt: “Create a hero image that combines the warmth and homeliness of traditional bread baking with the futuristic elements of AI technology. The scene should feature a freshly baked loaf of bread on a rustic wooden table, surrounded by baking tools like a rolling pin, flour, and a mixing bowl. Above the bread, digital lines, binary code, and subtle holographic elements should swirl, suggesting AI integration into the baking process. The background should be a cozy kitchen with warm lighting, contrasting with the cool, sleek digital elements, blending the old-world charm of baking with modern technology.”
I’d highly encourage you to use AI if you aren’t already. Explore its capabilities, see how it can assist in everyday tasks, and get a feel for where it excels and where it might need a little help. In Ethan Mollick’s excellent book ”Co-Intelligence,” he suggests Four Rules for Co-Intelligence, or for using AIs: always invite AI to the table, be the human in the loop, treat AI like a person (but tell it what kind of person it is), and assume this is the worst AI you will ever use. This bread-baking experiment was my way of putting those principles into practice, and the results were pretty excellent.
Now if only it could actually bake the bread.
Here is the simplified bread loaf recipe:
Instructions:
Prep Oven: Place a baking stone on the middle rack of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°F. Once the temperature reaches 200°F, turn off the oven.
Mix Ingredients: In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, combine 1 cup whole milk (heated to 110°F), 1/3 cup water (heated to 110°F), 3 tablespoons honey, and 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter.
Combine Dry Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix 3 1/2 cups (19 1/4 ounces) bread flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast, and 2 teaspoons salt.
Form Dough: Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients while mixing on low speed. Let the dough come together, about 2 minutes.
Knead Dough: Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
First Rise: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, form it into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the warm oven on the middle rack and let it rise until doubled in size, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Shape & Proof: Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Press the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick, then roll it into a log, pressing the seam to seal. Place the log in the pan, seam side down. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat for Baking: While the dough is proofing, remove the bowl and baking stone from the oven. Place the baking stone back on the middle rack, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a heatproof saucepan on the stove.
Bake with Steam: Place the saucepan with the boiling water directly on the oven floor or on a lower rack. Place the loaf pan on the preheated baking stone. Close the oven door quickly to trap the steam. Bake the loaf for 40 to 50 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the internal temperature registers 195°F.
Cool: Remove the bread from the pan and cool on a wire rack for 2 hours before slicing.
Disclaimer - Obviously, ChatGPT helped me draft this post.
Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America’s Most Trusted Cooking Magazine, page 586