"We're going to have to combine two classes this week, I'm afraid if LJ and my internet connection ever stay up long enough for me to effing post, but you'll get muffins and cookies out of it, so I don't think you'll complain too much, right? Anyway, today we move on into baking. Baking is complicated. It doesn't just matter which ingredients you use--which, it does; there are chemical reactions involved in baking and if you mess around with them you can go astray very easily. You have to be very careful about amounts of ingredients, so be sure to measure instead of just throwing things into a bowl. And the technique you use to combine those ingredients matters, too. It sounds like a lot, but as long as you follow instructions you should be fine.

"Now, everyone preheat their ovens to 350 and let's get started.

"Today we're going to talk about how to make quick breads, such as blueberry muffins, with what our good friend Mr. Alton Brown calls the 'muffin method' and how to make things such as chocolate chip cookies with the creaming method. Or, more accurately, Alton Brown is going to tell us all about it. So first we'll watch his episode on muffins, then follow his recipe for blueberry muffins. Then we'll watch the chocolate chip cookie episode while the muffins bake, and you can make thin, puffy, or chewy cookies by following his instructions. I have all the recipes printed out for you, so don't worry about that. Just pay attention to the videos and then get to work."