Nice article in Folia about Baking Lab & UvA Culinary Science lectures
Baking Lab collaborates with scientists — and for good reason! Recently, we supported two educational projects for the University of Amsterdam (UvA). In the summer of 2025, we gave a lecture and workshop for students of the UvA Pre-University Honours Programme: Sustainable Thinking. In addition, Janine Kers (Mathematics student) and Jechiam Gural (Biologist) from Baking Lab together with physicists Prof. Daniel Bonn, dr. Antoine Deblais and dr Ioana Ilie from the UvA Soft Matter Group, delivered an interactive lecture on the science behind bread making. This was part of the UvA lecture Culinary Sciences, series. Matthias van der Vlist wrote a article about it in Folia: “Students bake bread in class: full house at course on the science behind cooking.”
Craft and science are, in a sense, inseparably connected. Craftsmanship provides a rich sensory experience and stimulates curiosity and wonder. Science adds depth, explanation, and coherence. Together, this leads to even greater inspiration and knowledge.
In this context, Baking Lab offers students a unique work environment. They are encouraged to translate their artisanal tasks and experiences in our circular bakery into educational programs that emphasize the valuable connection between craft and science. The insights that emerge from this process are incorporated into the programs we develop within our new School for Circular Innovation.
Four and water are the basic ingredients of bread dough,” says physics professor Daniël Bonn to the students at the start of his lecture on bread making. He then explains how remarkable it is that molecules in dough “hold on to each other,” allowing you to knead dough into all kinds of shapes. The forty students attending the course Culinary ScienceCulinary science is the science behind how cooking techniques and ingredients influence the taste, texture, and quality of food. learn about the physical and chemical processes behind bread making during this lecture, while at the same time getting their hands dirty by actually kneading dough…. read the full article in the Folia