&gt;  I would think that people that were baking all the time would build up so much practice and experience that they could probably be surprisingly consistent.<p>I used to live round the corner from a baker that was still doing most steps by hand. I could tell from the shape of the rolls whether he was up long the day before. Practice makes you pretty consistent, but there are so many factors influencing the result that it&#x27;s never exactly the same - which is part of the appeal.