Your Time to Bake: A First Cookbook for the Novice Baker - Hardcover

Blakeslee, Robert L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0757003559 ISBN 13: 9780757003554

Publisher: Square One, 2011

Synopsis

Best-selling author and talented cook Robert Blakeslee has done it again. In Your Time to Cook, Robert crafted a true first cookbook  that teaches kitchen basics and cooking fundamentals. Now, with Your Time to Bake, he has taken the same comprehensive approach to turn non-bakers into successful creators of cakes, cookies, pies, and other delectable baked goods.

The book begins with helpful information on baking essentials ingredients, equipment, and common baking techniques and terms. A fantastic array of easy-to-prepare recipes follows, including a delectable assortment of cookies, brownies, pies and tarts, cheesecakes, muffins, quick breads, and puff pastry creations, as well as luscious frostings, fillings, and toppings. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions accompanied by beautiful fullcolor photos to ensure that even the most inexperienced baker enjoys success every time. A chapter devoted entirely to decorating techniques guides you in putting the icing on the cake as well as the frosting, edible fondant flowers, and much, much more.

Here is the perfect blend of instruction, advice, and humor to make the art of baking both easy and enjoyable.

About this title

About the Author

Robert L. Blakeslee
Earned his bachelor's degree in fine arts at the California College of the Arts (CCA) in Northern California. He has been a college professor at the International Fine Arts College in Miami, Florida, and is an internationally published award-winning graphic designer, art director, and creative director. His first book "Your Time to Cook" won the national Benjamin Franklin award for "Cookbook of the year" from the IBPA.

Reviews

Using the same comprehensive, visual approach as his first book, Your Time to Cook, Blakeslee includes “step by step photo instructions, with a finished shot of each recipe,” making this collection extremely easy to navigate and use. He provides recipes for every simple sweet treat imaginable, and even the most inexperienced, wary baker will be inspired to whip up an array of brownies, such as marble, soufflé, blondies; an assortment of cookies like chocolate chip, biscotti, ginger snappies; and pies, muffins, cakes, and more. Explaining that baking is “more about chemistry,” Blakeslee includes a section in the intro “Before You Bake, Read This” that discusses “important baking variables and how to control them,” with helpful tips: measuring ingredients exactly and making sure ingredients such as eggs and butter are the correct temperature. Also very helpful are sections on essential items needed for baking—such as different flours, sugars, spices and cheeses—important equipment, and baking terms from A to Z. In this solid guide, there are more than 150 recipes, 1,500 color photos and illustrations, and a final chapter on decorating cookies, tarts, and cupcakes and making fondant. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

INTRODUCTION

How exciting that you've decided to try your hand at baking! With just a few ingredients, some basic techniques, and little practice, you'll be amazed at what you can create with a bowl, a wooden spoon, a baking pan, and an oven.

Your Time to Bake is the perfect starting place for the novice baker. With its comprehensive, reader-friendly, eye-catching approach, anyone can develop the skills to become a successful creator of all sorts of delectable baked goods. What makes this book especially helpful lies in how it guides you visually through full-color photos and illustrations (there are more than 1,500!), which are designed to make all of the information clear and accessible, whether it is showing you how to separate an egg, frost a cake, or add a top crust to a pie.

Kicking off the book are three "primer" chapters that provide helpful information on baking essentials—ingredients, equipment, and common baking terms and techniques. What follows next is a fantastic array of easy-to-prepare recipes, including a delectable assortment of cookies, brownies, pies and tarts, cakes and cupcakes, muffins, cheesecakes, quick breads, and puff pastry creations, as well as luscious frostings, fillings, sauces, and toppings. Each recipe includes clear, step-by-step instructions—and each step is accompanied by a full-color photo to ensure that even inexperienced bakers will enjoy success every time. Rounding out the book is a chapter devoted entirely to decorating your delicious baked goods. Simple instructions will guide you in putting the frosting on the cake—as well as beautiful borders, edible fondant flowers, and much, much more.

With Your Time to Bake in hand, you will quickly discover how easy it is to become the baker you want to be—and have fun in the process. So grab your whisks and mixing bowls, ladies and gentlemen, and let's get started . . .

* * * * * * * * *

BEFORE YOU BAKE, READ THIS

When learning any new craft, whether it’s baking a pie or riding a bike, most people learn through experience . . . and by making mistakes. To help keep your baking experiences enjoyable and to minimize those inevitable errors, keep the following advice in mind:

You must follow orders!

When it comes to cooking, you can usually let yourself get creative and make changes to a recipe and still wind up with a great dish. Baking, however, doesn’t allow such freedom. Think of recipes for baked goods as formulas that must be followed exactly. They rely on the chemical interactions of ingredients for successful results.

For this reason, it is important to prepare the recipes exactly as written. This means using the specified ingredient amounts and carefully following the given instructions. It also means using the recommended baking pans, and paying attention to factors like oven temperature, timing, testing, and ingredient preparations as described in the recipe.

Read before you start

Before you start preparing a recipe, read through it first. Start by taking out all the ingredients you need. (You don’t want to realize you’re out of something while in the middle of the preparation.) And familiarize yourself with the instructions—make sure you are aware of any advanced prepping that may be required.

Hot, warm, and cold

Ingredient temperature is an important factor when preparing baked goods. Butter, for example, will bind to flour differently when it’s cold, softened, or melted. Unless otherwise specified, ingredients like eggs, dairy products, and most liquids should be at room temperature. Eggs at room temperature blend better with other ingredients.

A few words about eggs

 When raw eggs are used in a recipe, choose pasteurized varieties. Whipped raw egg whites, for instance, are used in a number of recipes, including no-bake pie fillings. Like milk, eggs that are pasteurized have been heated to reduce the risk of causing a food-borne illness.

 Egg size also matters. Always use large eggs unless the recipe calls for a specific size.

 Never crack an egg directly into a batter or other mixture. Crack it into a clear bowl or glass, and then carefully inspect for broken shells.

 If you drop a raw egg on the floor or counter, sprinkle it liberally with salt, which will make it clump and become easier to clean up.

Use the parchment

When a recipe recommends lining the pan or baking sheet with parchment paper, be sure to do it. This moisture- and grease-resistant paper, which is able to withstand high oven temperatures, prevents food from sticking to it, so it is especially helpful to use when baking certain cakes and sticky cookies. And it makes cleanup a snap!

Testing, testing . . .

Temperatures can vary from one oven to another by a few degrees. This means baking times can vary as well. To avoid overbaking or underbaking those cakes, cookies, or other baked goods, always begin checking on them for doneness a few minutes before the time indicated in the recipe. And be sure to check for the visual signs of doneness (page 66), which vary from recipe to recipe.

Altitude is everything

Unlike cooking, successful baking relies on air pressure, which has a dramatic effect on the way baked goods rise (and fall!). Air pressure varies depending on where you live—the higher the elevation, the lower the air pressure. For basic formulas and helpful tips on high-altitude baking, see page 70.

Keep ahead of “boilovers”

Because pie fillings (especially fruit pies) sometimes boil over during baking, it’s a good idea to place the pan on a cookie sheet to catch any drippings before they land on the oven floor and create a burnt-on mess. I also recommend covering the cookie sheet with foil, which both protects it (the boiling hot sugar and fruit juice can cause it to discolor) and makes cleanup easier. This is also a good idea for cheesecakes, fruit cobblers, and other baked goods that may rise too high and spill over the sides of the pan.

Have no fear

Remember to have fun with your baking experiences. Enjoy your successes and learn from (and laugh at) your mistakes.

How to Read the Recipes

The recipes in this book all contain common elements that are arranged for easy reading. The “Stuff You’ll Need” box shows the utensils and cooking vessels you’ll need to create the recipe. An ingredient list, yield information, and clear step-by-step instructions with photos are also included. Then all you have to do is follow the instructions. If you do it right, the finished product should like the finished recipe photo. Many of the recipes also have helpful Important Tips—these pointers will help you make better baked goods or save you from making mistakes that could ruin them.

Edition details

• Publisher: Square One
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0757003559
• ISBN 13: 9780757003554
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400