Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World [Hardcover]

The object of the book is to examine home baking around the world with recipe and anecdote and to encourage its preservation. As such, the book makes a rare good use of large, lush photographs to evoke a sense of time and place in this oversize format. The publisher, Artisan, has used this format several times before with works authored by Eric Ripert and Thomas Keller. While these volumes have been attractive, they have not succeeded quite as well as this volume.

Needless to say, all this good eye candy would have been of little value in a $40 book without good content. And this content is very, very good. This book will easily join my other favorite `go to' baking book `Baking With Julia' as the first stop when I want to try something new.

It is not surprising to find a book of such quality from these authors, as they have produced other books that have received high critical praise. What may be surprising is their subject, after having done two books centered on Asian savory cooking. The surprise disappears when you realize that their very first book, less well known than `Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet' and `Seductions of Rice' was a book on flatbreads of the world.

As good as this book is, it is important to be aware of its range. At about 440 pages, it is smaller than the shortest of Rose Levy Beranbaum's three `Bibles' of baking. It is also shorter by far than the very good King Arthur `Baking Companion'. So, it's value does not come from technical depth, although what general technical material it covers is an excellent introduction to various baking modes, and a delightful invitation to explore the subject more thoroughly in the more detailed books like those by Beranbaum. The discussion on pastry crusts is a perfect example. Dozens of books give different kinds of tie and crust recipes, but never explain with any authority the whys and wherefores of all the different options. This book explains why some crusts have shortening and some do not; why some crusts have egg yolk and some do not; why some have water and some do not. And, the key to the presentation is that it gives just enough information to pull together what we have read in a dozen books on piecrusts. To acquire more details, the authors have included one of my favorite features, a very good bibliography.

The authors always remain very pragmatic in their recommendations. Like the taxonomy of piecrusts, they discuss the influence of different flours on baking results, but do not get into some of the gritty details. They say that as much as you may benefit from using pastry or cake flour or vegetable shortening, you will probably always have all purpose flour and butter, so that is the pairing of choice for many ingredients lists. As important as buttermilk is as an ingredient, the authors effortlessly include a substitution in recipes where necessary, saving one an extra trip to the megamart. Also, while I have applauded recipes using weights in other books, with equal enthusiasm I congratulate these authors for leaving this technical detail below the horizon. I do urge you, however, to be aware of the issues in measuring and suggest you consult Ms. Beranbaum for the scoop on measuring.

All this is not to say that the book is simplistic. Some of it's recipes include some of the most challenging products of baking known to chronic Food Network junkies. It stops short of giving a recipe for phyllo dough, but it does include recipes for strudel dough and puff pastry. It also includes many less well-known local favorites. My personal favorite is the Hungarian walnut cake which is made primarily of finely ground walnuts and breadcrumbs rather than with any flour.

The chapter organization follows our traditional understanding of the major kingdoms in the world of baking. The four principle titles are `Pastry', `Bread', `Smaller Breads', and `Cakes and Cookies'. This manages to cover everyone's favorites, including sweet and savory pies, festive breads, artisinal breads, rolls, bagels, pancakes, cakes, cookies, and sweet buns. While the introductions to each of the four major topics are inspiring and informative, all the recipes are self-contained. You do not have to do a lot of flipping around to get all the information you need.

For those of you unfamiliar with baking recipes, be warned. By their nature, baking recipes are much longer than the average recipe for savory cooking, and they should be followed with greater attention to detail. Another surprise may the time it takes to achieve superior results. A workable pie crust can probably be put together in 30 minutes, but a great pie crust needs a lot of resting and care to get it to come out right. And, that doesn't even touch the surface of the time required to work up a good artisinal bread starter. The authors do not let this deter them and offer encouragement at every turn, explaining how some long waiting times can be put to your advantage, such as the fact that the waiting time for a dough's rise may not be critical and that a longer time unattended will actually improve your result.

If you have any interest at all in baking, this book is a must. Very highly recommended.

There's a straightforward bread lesson, explaining why a slow rise in a cool place produces better tasting bread that can be made around your schedule. Snowshoe Breads, a favourite of mine from Flatbreads and Flavours, is reworked in an improved version to brown the top. I love the Bread Baker's Fruit Tart - rinsing the rhubarb as directed reduces the tartness, meaning you need much less sugar. This book will join the other books by Alford and Duguid on my everyday cookbook shelf, but for now, is out on the table because it's too alluring to put away!