I have never baked before but want to learn baking. Recommend a book please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
If you want to learn how to bake get this book.You will learn everything you need to know and make really really good of stuff. It's a professional book but easy and well thought out. You do not have to read the whole to make something. It tells you why you are doing and how.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Professional-Pastry-Chef...0_&refRID=1BB3MGWBYWT3AKPARMWZ

The Professional Pastry Chef: Fundamentals of Baking and Pastry, 4th Edition



I have this book. I would not recommend it for a novice.

Go get a kid's cookie recipe book from the library, and try a few. The secret of baking is that you must follow the directions *exactly*. Once you get good, you can riff and improvise, but the only way to learn is to do it by the book.

I have this book and would recommend it for any novice. If you can not follow this books recipes ...I do not know what you could follow.

[Anonymous]

OP, I wouldn't recommend this book for a total novice, but if you decide to specialize in cakes, Rose Levy Bernbaum's The Cake Bible is as its name suggests.

She lists ingredients by weight. She explains the thinking behind her ingredient ratios, how the cakes are mixed, the temperatures, everything.

Baking is more scientific than cooking. It's more about chemistry. Unless you're a master chef and are creating your own recipes, it's all about following directions. Once you've bought all the necessary equipment and gotten past the learning curve, it can be very satisfying to see the results. It's also fun to bake for family and friends, especially when you can make something that looks impressive. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

On using your oven - just set the temperature to the one called for in your recipe. If you can't figure out how to make your particular oven do that then look up the instructions for your model online (on mine you press bake then the temperature, on my mother's it's something random - I can never remember how to set hers and have to ask again every time I visit.)

Real bakers will tell you to get an oven thermometer to tell you if the actual temperature is what you set it to be. This probably makes baked products better, but starting with simple cookies and brownies you can get away with just assuming your oven temperature will be close enough to the temperature you set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I wouldn't recommend this book for a total novice, but if you decide to specialize in cakes, Rose Levy Bernbaum's The Cake Bible is as its name suggests.

She lists ingredients by weight. She explains the thinking behind her ingredient ratios, how the cakes are mixed, the temperatures, everything.

Baking is more scientific than cooking. It's more about chemistry. Unless you're a master chef and are creating your own recipes, it's all about following directions. Once you've bought all the necessary equipment and gotten past the learning curve, it can be very satisfying to see the results. It's also fun to bake for family and friends, especially when you can make something that looks impressive. Have fun!

+1. The recipes look long and scary, but they are just really thorough and assumes nothing. Since using it, my baking approach has changed 100% for the better. I used to 'wing' recipes a lot (& still do for anything but baking), but changing to weights and being organized and methodical is the path to success with baked goods.

[Anonymous]

Take a couple of classes at Sur la Table. They have them pretty much every day, you work in a small group, and it's quite helpful. They give you technique tips-it's not just about the recipe of the day. Nothing like hands on experience.

Where are you from that doesn't use an oven? Seems like most cultures have some form of bread, and in Asia there isn't much bread but there are cookies and desserts. Just curious.

[Anonymous]

Delia Smith (uk) you'll need a conversion chart for measurements, possibly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Take a couple of classes at Sur la Table. They have them pretty much every day, you work in a small group, and it's quite helpful. They give you technique tips-it's not just about the recipe of the day. Nothing like hands on experience.

Where are you from that doesn't use an oven? Seems like most cultures have some form of bread, and in Asia there isn't much bread but there are cookies and desserts. Just curious.

Seconding the bolded above. I took a pie-baking class this spring (not at Sur la Table, but probably a similar experience), and the hands-on aspect, as well as watching what a professional was doing, and hearing her say "here's where you think you're going to screw up...but you're not!" were absolutely invaluable. I was terrified of making pies before the class, and now I'm very confident. I've made three pies in the comfort of my tiny apartment kitchen since then, which I never thought I would have done. A cookbook wouldn't have given me that experience or confidence.

[Anonymous]

Martha Stewart's Pies and Tarts. The book has pictures of what the crust should look like at each step. Really helped me learn to make pies.

[Anonymous]

Another vote for Rose Levy Beranbaum. I have the Baking Bible, Bread Bible and Pie and Pastry bible. The recipes look complicated but she breaks it down well.
These books are easily available at local libraries.

[Anonymous]

If the book's recipe do not list the ingredients by weight do not get it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Visit the King Arthur's Flour website.

+1 and get their cookbook.