Readings:
This page is for the student that wants to go beyond what we will be doing in this project.
For Interim, reading will come primarily from two required texts, the Cook's Illustrated website, and distributed recipes.
However, student should be aware of the wealth of other resources available to them.
This web page is a brief listing of some of the many resources available to the home or professional baker.
We will add to this page as the course progresses. Titles in bold are particularly recommended.
There are dozens, if not hundreds of general introductions to baking. Here are a few to get you started.
- BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking with Over 200 Magnificent Recipes
by Shirley O. Corriher, Scribner, 2008.
A good introduction (and required for this course), Corriher is a good introduction to the whys of baking.
- Baking Illustrated by Cook's Illustrated Magazine Editors, America’s Test Kitchen, 2004.
This book was just edged out by Bakewise as the text for this course.
Cook's Illustrated Magazine is an extremely reliable source for recipes.
- The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook
by Brinna B. Sands, Countryman Press, 1992.
All of the King Arthur Flour books are reliable sources of information.
- Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan William Morrow Cookbooks, 1996.
For Julia Child fans.
- Advanced Bread and Pastry by Michel Suas, Delmar Cengage Learning, 2008.
For professional cooks, this is massive (over 1000 pages) and expensive.
- The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition by Bo Friberg, Wiley, 2002.
Also for professional cooks, this is massive (over 1000 pages) and expensive.
- The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg, Wiley 2003.
Also for professional cooks, this is massive (over 800 pages) and expensive.
Here are a few of my favorite bread books and websites. Any of the first three books are great places to start.
- The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread
by Peter Reinhart, Ten Speed Press, 2004. A great place to start!
- Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes
by Jeffrey Hamelman Wiley, 2004. Another great place to start!
- The Bread Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum, W W Norton & Co., 2003.
Yet another great place to start!
- Crust: Bread to Get Your Teeth Into (With DVD)
by Richard Bertinet, Kyle Books, 2007.
This provides a good introduction and includes a DVD.
- Dough: Simple Contemporary Breads (With DVD)
by Richard Bertinet, Kyle Books, 2005. From the same author as Crust ,
this also provides a good introduction and includes a DVD.
- Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor
by Peter Reinhart, Ten Speed Press, 2007.
If you are interested in whole grain breads, this is a good place to start.
- Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
by Peter Reinhart, Ten Speed Press 2009.
This is Reinhart's latest book.
- The Italian Baker
by Carol, William Morrow Cookbooks, 1985.
As the title suggest, this is for Italian breads including pizza, focaccia, etc.
- American Pie: My Search for the Perfect Pizza
by Peter Reinhart, Ten Speed Press, 2004.
This describe's Reinhart's quest for the perfect pizza.
- Flatbreads and Flavors,
Jeffry Alford and Naomi Duguid, Morrow, 1998.
This is the definitive book on flatbreads of from around the world.
- My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey, Norton, 2009. Lahey is the patron saint of the no-knead bread movement.
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For the cook with a sweet tooth, here are some good choices:
- The Cake Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum, William Morrow Cookbooks, 1998.
- The Pie and Pastry Bible
by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Scribner, 1998.
- Rose's Christmas Cookies
by Rose Levy Beranbaum, William Morrow Cookbooks, 1998.
- The French Cookie Book: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Easy and Elegant,
by Bruce Healy and Bugat, Paul, William Morrow Cookbooks, 1994.
While out-of-print, this is still a great book. You may be able to find it through Amazon's partners.
- In The Sweet Kitchen: The Definitive Baker's Companion
by Regan Daley, Artisan, 2001.
This has great coverage about ingredients.
- Bittersweet: Recipes and Tales from a Life in Chocolate
by Alice Medrich and Deborah Jones, Artisan, 2003.
Medrich is another very reliable author.
- How to Make Cookie Jar Favorites, by Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Boston Common Press, 1998. A tiny little book with great recipes.
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If you want to go beyond the mechanics of cooking,
these books will provide you with more information:
- How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science, 2 edition
by Paula I. Figoni, Wiley, 2007.
- On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
by Harold McGee Scribner, 2004.
This is the classic text of food science for the non-scientist.
It is required reading for the serious cook.
- Understanding Baking
by Joseph Amendola, Nicole Rees, and Donald E. Lundberg, Wiley, 2002.
This is a readable but through introduction to the science of baking.
- Bread Science: The Chemistry and Craft of Making Bread
by Emily Jane Buehler, Two Blue Books, 2006.
A pleasant, readable book devoted to the science of bread.
- The Taste of Bread
by Raymond Calvel, Springer, 2001.
Another classic, but expensive.
- What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained (Reprint Edition)
by Robert L. Wolke, W.W. Norton & Co., 2008.
This collection of essays provide a pleasant introduction to food science.
- What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures In Kitchen Science
by Robert L. Wolke, W.W. Norton & Co., 2005. More Wolke!
- I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking
by Alton Brown Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 2004. An entertaining, but science-lite introduction to baking.
- Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking, Michael Ruhlman, Scribner, 2009. Introduces the idea that much cooking can be reduced to simple ratios. I don't fully endorse the ideas in the book, but they are interesting and there is much than can be learned from the book.
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Consider anything from Cook's Illustrated or America's Test Kitchen (but skip Cook's Country). Other standards include:
- Cookwise by Shirley O. Corriher, William Morrow Cookbooks, 1997.
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