Michael Ruhlman: Ratio

Michael Ruhlman discusses his new book, Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, which is all about the fundamental ratios behind recipes:

I like the bread dough ratio mentioned in the video (5 parts flour, 3 parts water) because it shows how a ratio takes the mysterious art of bread baking, and by paring it down to the essential balance of two ingredients, renders it the opposite of mysterious, and therefore, I hope, not so intimidating. With this bread dough ratio, you don’t have a single recipe, you have a thousand. Ratios are the launching point for infinite variations.

Ruhlman's "__ of a Chef" trilogy of books (Reach of a Chef, &c.) are some of my favorite books ever about food and cooking.