Best Chocolate Dessert Making
The recent availability of bittersweet chocolates coupled with our access to a global food market and unique ingredients has created an increased interest in artisanal chocolates. Andrew Garrison Shotts, former pastry chef for Guittard Chocolate and owner of Garrison Confections, has broken new ground in the chocolate industry with the development of his artisan chocolate line.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Arrive fast and please with the book."
"I loved everything about this book."
"Fantastic and really informative."
"Has nice table of tempering temperatures for different brands and kind of chocolate."
"Best book about chocolate."
Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned candy maker, you will find mouthwatering recipes and expert tips to inspire you—and satisfy your sweet tooth. —Candy-making essentials: all you need to know about equipment, ingredients, and techniques, including step-by-step lessons on pulling taffy, rolling truffles, filling peanut butter cups, and more. When she's not playing with sugar in the kitchen, she can be found running the trails around Los Angeles with a piece of candy tucked into her pocket.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Great for getting started!"
"Book is in like new condition."
"Got some good ideas from this book."
"Gave book as gift to my sister and she found a lot f tips and candy she makes as a chef and some new ones."
"Best candy book I've ever bought."
"The recipes just seem blah."
Chocophiles are discovering what professional bakers such as Alice Medrich and David Lebovitz have known all along: Guittard, San Francisco's oldest continuously family-owned chocolate company, makes some of the best premium chocolate available. Alice Medrich is a lauded baking instructor and award-winning cookbook author, who received her formal training at École Lenôtre in France.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"basic just great chocolate ideas..it has a variety of ideas though along with the usual brownies....chocolate cooking techniques are great and in depth.... always great information."
"So many great recipes, and this is the only chocolate I by to make cakes, frosting, and ganache."
"This collection of chocolate recipes zeroes right in on all my chocolate hot spots."
"Great chocolate recipes and tried the molten lava chocolate cookie, the Choco persimmon cake and the pistachio sables.I gave few to my Co workers and said they were amazing."
"Beautiful!"
"Easy recipes to follow."
"Great book."
Best Dessert Baking
Or ending dinner on the high note of a Chocolate Chess Pie, because you always need a little something sweet to finish it off, whether a meal or a day. In Sweetness , Christy Jordan shares 197 recipes for sweet things to eat and drink—recipes that are deeply delicious, rich with tradition, often reaching through generations, and designed with today’s hectic schedules in mind. “Like a warm hug from Grandma, the recipes in Sweetness will bring comfort and joy, making it the perfect addition to any baker’s bookshelf.” — Booklist.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This is one of if not the best recipe books on southern sweets that I "have ever" read. They take me back to when I was a little girl growing up in Kentucky in my grandmother kitchen. Meme, was the one that taught me all about good southern country cookin. Christy, thank you for reminding me of my grandmothers kitchen and the love that put into her baking and the love that she showed to me every day that she was here with us."
"It is a beautifully written memoir of what it means to sit around the table with family and friends, enjoying those recipes that have been handed down and shared from generation to generation."
"I'm looking forward to trying each of the recipes and reminiscing about days gone by while I share all the delicious goodies and memories with family and friends."
"Love, love, love Christy's new cookbook Sweetness."
"It will make a wonderful Christmas present for friends and family."
"Reading his work by Christy Jordan put me right back in my Grandma's kitchen, at the big red table, waiting for the magic to unfold and wrap me up in that comfy blanket of love."
"I like reading her books, but I haven't made any of the recipes."
"I had checked this book out of the library and tried several of the recipes all of which came out fantastic!"
Best Cake Baking
Her famous Salted Caramel Dark Chocolate Cookies won Nestle’s Dark Chocolate contest in 2013, and now, in her first cookbook, Sally shares her baking secrets with fans everywhere. This is my “accidental” brown sugar pound cake. The vanilla and chocolate batters are made from the same brown sugar base, so it’s an easy dessert to throw together. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until combined. Pour one-third of the vanilla batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. 4 eggs 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar 1 cup (240 ml) milk 1 cup (240 ml) vegetable oil 1 tablespoon vanilla extract seeds scraped from ½ vanilla bean 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder. Obsessed with peanut butter, yoga, and apple pie, Sally left a career in finance to dedicate herself full-time to the millions of fans that follow her increasingly popular blog and her books, Sally's Baking Addiction and Sally's Candy Addiction .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love this baking book."
"I gave this as a gift to my sister in law this Christmas and I may just have to order one for myself 😂 Some tasty looking sweet treats in there!!"
"Simply Love Sally and her baking recipes !!"
"Add in Sally's fun and enthusiastic attitude about all things "sprinkles" and you are sure to love this book."
"I have made many of Sally's recipes from her blog and was thrilled for the cook book."
"Everything I have made from Sally's blog has turned out amazing!!!"
Best Cookie Baking
Baking addict and food blogger, Sally McKenney blew our culinary minds with her debut cookbook, Sally's Baking Addiction , and she indulged our confection fantasies with Sally's Candy Addiction . Obsessed with peanut butter, yoga, and apple pie, Sally left a career in finance to dedicate herself full-time to the millions of fans that follow her increasingly popular blog and her books, Sally's Baking Addiction and Sally's Candy Addiction .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Our family has been very happy trying out the recipes and we have had great results so far."
"Very good."
"I love love the cookie book-she gives great cookies receipes-what supplys you need-make ahead tips-lots of bookmarks on cookies I want to bake."
"The pictures are just beautiful and every recipe is a tried and true recipe!"
"I especially recommend the gingerbread, buttery shortbread, shortbread bars, and the oatmeal raisin cookies."
"Great ideas and new recipes."
"Sally's recipes are always a hit."
"This book has the best recipes for baking cookies!"
Best Pizza Making
This revised edition also includes more than thirty brand-new recipes for Beer-Cheese Bread, Crock-Pot Bread, Panini, Pretzel Buns, Apple-Stuffed French Toast, and many more. “Every step of Zoë and Jeff's adventures in bread has been fascinating and delicious for us, the home bread bakers who follow them, but this book might be their most exciting yet because they've incorporated years of readers' questions, problems, and discoveries into every chapter. He developed a love of great bread growing up in New York City in the 1960s and '70s and began traveling to bread-loving countries like France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Britain, and Morocco, to sample and learn.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I've been baking bread with the original edition of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day since January 2011 and I have literally become renowned in my neighborhood and at work for baking amazing bread. One by one I've had half the dads in my neighborhood over and taught them how to bake amazing bread. For the basic recipe, you mix yeast, salt, water, and flour in a big tub and put it in the fridge to rise and chill overnight. And besides the initial rise, you only need to let the formed loaves (I always bake more than one) rest and un-chill for about a half hour before you bake them. I rarely make the dough and bake it on the same day, because the dough is stickier and harder to work with at first. Although you CAN form and bake the loaves after the initial three hour rise, it's a lot simpler to let the dough chill overnight before you try to bake with it. Or if you prefer the simplicity of the master recipe, it's easy enough to stick with the master recipe and just slightly modify it by adding other ingredients. If you find that the dough is coming out too dry, add just a touch more water and cut back a half a cup of flour at a time until you find your perfect blend. Another simple thing to do is start with the master recipe and just add your favorite seeds to the top before you bake. Once you feel comfortable with the basic "master" recipe, it's very easy to branch out to the other recipes in the book. Instead of just listing the measurements in cups, they are listed in U.S. units (cups, tablespoons, etc. They've done a nice job in this edition of adding some extra recipes suggested by or inspired by these fans. (Was pumpernickel listed under The Master Recipe or Peasant Loaves? I am obviously a huge fan of this technique and these recipes. I've personally coaxed dozens of my friends to buy the first edition and try baking for themselves. It's been a blast to see regular guys like me learn to bake amazing breads for our families."
"In the first edition of this book, when measurements were only given by volume, I wasn't always sure I was getting the right amount of flour, and would sit down and work out weight calculations by hand. They have a regularly updated website where readers post questions and comments and recipe variations. For example, the "tips and techniques" chapter has been significantly expanded to address a variety of issues that have come up over the last several years (such as "What do I do about changes in the dough toward the end of its storage life?")."
"We are a family of 7 and this is by far more delicious, cheaper, easier, and faster than running to Panera. Last night I made 4 good sized pizzas and my family of 7 all agreed they were the best pizzas I've ever made and the best they'd had EVER. I started out the pizzas on my USA Pizza Pan for 5 minutes on the bottom rack and then slid them off with my pizza peel to put them directly on the rack for another 6-8 minutes."
Best Pastry Baking
Or ending dinner on the high note of a Chocolate Chess Pie, because you always need a little something sweet to finish it off, whether a meal or a day. In Sweetness , Christy Jordan shares 197 recipes for sweet things to eat and drink—recipes that are deeply delicious, rich with tradition, often reaching through generations, and designed with today’s hectic schedules in mind. “Like a warm hug from Grandma, the recipes in Sweetness will bring comfort and joy, making it the perfect addition to any baker’s bookshelf.” — Booklist.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"It is a beautifully written memoir of what it means to sit around the table with family and friends, enjoying those recipes that have been handed down and shared from generation to generation."
"Love, love, love Christy's new cookbook Sweetness."
"I had checked this book out of the library and tried several of the recipes all of which came out fantastic!"
"Great recipes!"
"I can't wait to try some of the wonderful sounding recipes!"
"Christy Jordan is one special lady ."
"Christy Jordan has written another great book!"
"The stories she shares from her childhood are a sweet sentimental touch."
Best Bread Baking
From Portland's most acclaimed and beloved baker comes this must-have baking guide, featuring recipes for world-class breads and pizzas and a variety of schedules suited for the home baker. Winner, IACP Awards 2013- Baking: Savory or SweetWinner, James Beard Foundation Award 2013 -Baking and Dessert “If books full of stunning bread porn — all craggy crusts, yeasty bubbles and floured work surfaces — are your thing, here's Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.”. —Eater National. "Legendary Portland baker Ken Forkish (of the watershed Ken's Artisan Bakery and much-loved Ken's Artisan Pizza ) has joined the ranks of the lauded letterers with his mammoth new cookbook Water Flour Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza. "Owner of Ken’s Artisan Pizza and Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Portland, Ore., Forkish begins by telling of the trials and tribulations of opening up shop (people didn’t want to pay $2.50 for a cup of herbal tea). Divided into four sections (“The Principles of Artisan Bread,” “Basic Bread Recipes,” “Levain Bread Recipes,” and “Pizza Recipes”), with recipes broken down by breads made with store-bought yeast, breads made with long-fermented simple doughs, and doughs made with pre-ferments, the book presents recipes accessible to novices, while providing a different approach for making dough to experienced bakers. The man abandoned his past, courageously stepped off the cliff and followed his passion, and the result has been a gift to all of us: great breads, fabulous pizzas, and now this beautiful book—Flour Water Salt Yeast—in which he reveals all.”. —Peter Reinhart, author of Artisan Breads Every Day and The Joy of Gluten-Free, Sugar-Free Baking “Ken nails it, end of story, when it comes to the best levain bread or the thinnest, most perfect pizza crust you’ve ever had. He moved to Portland, Oregon, and opened Ken's Artisan Bakery in 2001, followed by Ken's Artisan Pizza in 2006 and Trifecta Tavern in 2013.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"First off, if you are looking for a book of great, simple recipes that you can throw in the breadmaker real quick once you get home, this is NOT the book for you. You will learn how to literally use temperature and times as ingredients and how these can make bread made with the very same ingredients VERY different. The recipes are for lean dough, non-enriched breads, made straight, with delayed fermentation, and finally as pure sourdough. This book is a fantastic stepping stone for more varied texts (Bread Bible, Bread Baker's Apprentice, and the all but sacred bread text "The Taste of Bread" by Raymond Calvel)."
"But what Ken Forkish has done here is not simply to give you recipes, but to teach you to think with the flexibility that bread baking demands, and to also demand creativity out of you to go past what's in the book. There's a fantastic section on how to make recipes your own, whether it be about flour choices (and the different hydration requirements that some flours require), rearranging schedules to make your bread revolve around your life, the various options you have with levains, how to document your experimentation so that you can reproduce the results the next time."
Best Muffin Baking
Traditional Breads Include: Elizabeth offers alternatives for all the important bread varieties in an easy to follow and visually appealing book. The first great thing about this book is the section which tells us how to make the perfect bread. The book continues to be great from there.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The photos on the front and back cover don't reflect the actual recipes in the book."
"Of special note, are the ingredient substitutions, suggestions to tweak the flavors , and a handy chart for UK/US measurement and temp conversions."
"I only give three starts because the ideas are there, so you can google it and watch videos in you tube to learn how to make it right."
"Good recipes and a great intro to low carb baking."
"I am an experienced baker and have tried only the sandwich bread recipe, as it was worth the price of the book to find some good bread."
"Step 4 after whisking the egg whites to a stiff peak fold the butter mixture into the egg mixture . Step 5 Pour half the mixture into the loaf pan. The recipe just read to pour the mixture into the baking pan now in the next step you say pour half the mixture into a loaf pan."
"I bought this book because of the pictures of the boules on the front and back."
Best Pie Baking
-Easy-to-follow recipes for fruit pies, chiffon pies, custard pies, ice-cream pies, meringue pies, chocolate pies, tarts and tartlets, turnovers, dumplings, biscuits, scones, crostadas, galettes, strudel, fillo, puff pastry, croissants (chocolate, too), Danish, brioche, sticky buns, cream puffs, and profiteroles. Here are a few: Flaky Cream Cheese Pie Crust, Flaky Cheddar Cheese Pie Crust, Miracle Flaky Lard Pie Crust, and Flaky Goose Fat Pie Crust; Bittersweet Chocolate, Coconut, Ginger, and Sweet Nut Cookie Crusts; and Vanilla, Gingersnap, Chocolate, and Graham Cracker Crumb Crusts. The ideal pie crust, she writes, "has light, flaky layers, but also ... is tender, and nicely browned, with a flavor good enough to eat by itself." Precision is the trademark style of Los Angeles Times-syndicated food columnist Berenbaum, a baking and chocolate industry consultant and author (The Cake Bible) who demystifies the art (and science) of pie and pastry making. Exacting instructions in this compendium of sweet and savory "how-tos" (achieve the flakiest pie crust, shape and bake croissants, apply decorative techniques, etc.). Accompanying sections to recipesA"Pointers for Success" and "Understanding" (notes on food chemistry)Aclearly detail the scientific underpinnings of the baking process. Indeed a "bible" for novices and serious amateurs alike, this time-tested encyclopedic tome distills Berenbaum's 21 years dedicated to the pastry arts in a clearly written, thoroughly documented manual.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I'm a home cook, but pies and tarts are my favorite: I'm always the one who brings the showstopper pie or tart wherever I go. Her recipes are creative: for example, her Blueberry Tart, which is one of my "blue-ribbon" standbys, has a genius method of ensuring that the blueberry filling is not just blueberry "jam," but actually has whole, beautiful blueberries. I've done this for the recipes I make over and over ("Open-faced fresh blueberry pie," "Pecan pie," and "Fresh strawberry and rhubarb tart," all of which I make as tarts, I finally wrote this review because I just wrote a 2-star for another pie book, in which I mentioned PPB."
"Rose Levy Beranbaum is my all time favorite cookbook author for the clarity she brings to measurements & techniques."
"It's a very good source for baking pies or tarts!"
"The lemon meringue recipe is spot on."
"I loved Roses cafe in Portland and one of my first cookbooks was her first."
"From the history to the clarity and comprehensiveness of explanations this is the book for pastry practitioners and beginners."
"Another exhaustive compendium that should ( with the same author's Cake Bible ) be on any cook's bookshelf ."