How I write improvement notes
The goal is to treat cooking and baking as iterative development: make something, write down what happened, apply it next time. Lightweight and consistent beats thorough and occasional.
What to capture
After each attempt, note:
- What changed from last time (numbered list helps compare attempts)
- What worked - even if the overall result was bad, some things went right
- What didn’t work - specific, not vague (“bottom burned at 450°F” beats “baked wrong”)
- Parameters that mattered: temperature, time, hydration %, flour type, proofing duration
- What to try next - while it’s fresh
When you’ve had enough attempts, add a Best results so far summary: the specific combination of choices that produced the best outcome. This becomes your starting point next time instead of re-reading all the attempts.
What not to worry about
- Prose. Bullet points are fine.
- Completeness. A partial note is better than no note.
- Formatting. Getting the note written matters more than how it looks.
Template
## Recipe name (link to source)
### Attempt N
Changes from last time:
1. ...
Worked well:
- ...
Didn't work / to try next:
- ...
### Best results so far
- ...
Signs a note is useful
- You can reconstruct roughly what you did from the note alone
- You know what to do differently next time
- If it went well: you know which specific choices made it work