The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book [Ring-bound]

America's Test Kitchen (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008

Featuring more than 700 kitchen-tested recipes, 800 step-by-step photos, opinionated product ratings, and at-a-glance tutorials that guarantee success every time you bake.

A companion to the bestselling America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (with more than 550,000 copies sold), this comprehensive cookbook delivers the foolproof recipes, step-by-step instructions, and troubleshooting guides that have become the hallmark of every book published by America's most trusted test kitchen. For anyone who has made pie dough that seemed impossible to roll out, bread that failed to rise, or a birthday cake that couldn't be served, this book will be a lifesaver as well as a lifelong and trusty baking companion. And with 22 chapters, this book is packed with recipes that will keep you busy (and your family and friends happy) for years to come.

Here you'll find recipes that range from easy and approachable (simple bowl cakes, quick breads, no-knead bread, and no-bake cookies) to more ambitious and demanding (artisan breads, wedding cakes, fancy layer cakes, and pastry). So whether you are an accomplished baker looking for a great collection of new recipes or a beginning baker looking for a practical step-by-step guide and easy recipes to bake for your family, you'll find what you want here.

In addition to the recipes, The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book is full of test kitchen tips that explain how or why a recipe works (and where you can go wrong), recipes at a glance (where we provide mini tutorials with photos), and illustrated troubleshooting guides (where we highlight the most common baking problems and their solutions). A practical guide to baking basics with information on key ingredients and necessary equipment (along with the test kitchen's favorite brands), The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book will help anyone get started on the right track.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Expert bakers and novices scared of baking's requisite exactitude can all learn something from this hefty, all-purpose home baking volume. The editors of America's Test Kitchen, known for their painstaking recipe testing, offer more than 700 recipes, helpfully illustrated by 1,000-plus color photos. The recipes themselves are indeed family appropriate—no architectural restaurant-style desserts here, but rather appealing basics in a wide variety of categories, including breads, pizzas, cookies, cakes, pies, pastries, custards and toppings. Easier items, such as Simple Drop Biscuits, Peanut Butter Blondies, and Red Velvet Layer Cake are labeled great for beginners; potentially intimidating confections, such as Croissants, Grand Marnier Soufflé and even a Classic Three-Tier Wedding Cake have step-by-step instructions that make them accessible. While the tone of the book is decidedly technical, the vibe isn't cold. And the info-packed introduction, with details on ingredients and equipment (the editors get specific and suggest their tried and true favorite brands) is worth reading carefully. (Sept.)
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Product Details

• Ring-bound: 552 pages
• Publisher: Boston Common Press; Lslf edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933615222
• ISBN-13: 978-1933615226
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9.4 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (128 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,804 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

America's Test Kitchen is a 2,500 square foot kitchen located outside of Boston. It is the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines and is the workday destination for over 3 dozen test cooks, editors and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes until we understand how and why they work and arrive at the best version. We also test kitchen equipment and supermarket ingredients in search of brands that offer the best value and performance. You can watch us work by tuning in to our public television show, America's Test Kitchen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

169 of 172 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They've done it! It's absolutely PERFECT!!! (Details follow) October 1, 2008

By Patrick W. Crabtree TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Ring-bound|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Move over Betty Crocker...

I was astounded when I unboxed this brilliantly conceived cookbook (baking book). It is instantly recognizable that this one is near-perfect... and when one gets a chance to really look it over and use it, you additionally discover that, in fact, it's TOTALLY perfect! Here's why:

1. There are 700 high-quality, well-tested recipes.

2. This book is STURDY and lies open to your recipe perfectly.

3. The recipes are bound with 5 strong clasp-type binders, allowing you to remove the individual recipe that you wish to use (or, to add your own!)

4. The text is easy to read.

5. The organization of the text is terrific with "quick tabs" which stick out from the pages so you can go directly to the section that you want (17 of these, and you can read them from both sides).

6. The paper stock is heavy (no ripping of the page holes) and is of a slick texture as to resist stains from spills.

7. There are HUNDREDS of beautiful color illustrations throughout the text which illustrate techniques, "common mistakes," finished dishes, etc.

8. The substitution, equivalency, and conversion charts are all located on the inside of the front and rear covers.

9. There are nice sections on kitchen equipment (illustrated), basic techniques, and ingredients.

10. Beginners' recipes are so noted.

11. There's a beautifully-organized one-page table of contents.

12. The recipes are mostly one per page so there's no hassle with having to flip pages as you try to prep ingredients or bake.

The baking recipes here are comprehensive but you'll be absolutely certain to find every old stand-by that you need such as Banana Cream Pie, Red Velvet Cake, Baguette (bread), Biscuits (multiple versions), Pizza, Calzones, Parker House Rolls, Soufflés, and many more. Trust me, ALL the baking recipes that you'll ever require are found in here.

I do not award stars easily for cookbooks (you can check my reviews of such texts) but this is the first cookbook of any sort in which I can find nothing whatever to critisize -- it's simply marvellous.

I'm a very experienced home cook (I cook from scratch every day and have about 300 of my own recipes posted on Recipezaar ["Bone Man" over there]; I have also been responsible for multiple large restaurant operations and have cooked in commercial kitchens. I can assure you that this fine baking book will fulfill your every recipe need in the home and commercial chefs would notably benefit from owning this fine text as well.

The outer dimensions are 10" x 9 1/4", and the recipe pages are nice and large at 9 1/2" x 6 3/4". The books weighs 4 1/4 pounds and there are 544 pages in all, not counting "tab" pages.

Most highly recommended!

70 of 74 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Destined to be a Classic! September 24, 2008

By Biblioholic Beth VINE™ VOICE

Format:Ring-bound|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

This is one of those cookbooks that you can use forever and then pass down to a loved one. The recipes are classic and anyone, from novice up to experienced baker, can find something new to do or to learn.

A few of the things I found most impressive about the cookbook:

1. It's very solid. The construction is not cheap and will help it last through many years of baking, flying flour and all.

2. There's a terrific pantry section in the front that covers the most common baking ingredients - it describes (and pictures) what the ingredient is, how it's used, and if applicable, any substitutions or ways to make your own.

3. Following the pantry section is one called "Bakeware and More: Stocking Your Kitchen". It shows pictures and describes what to look for in equipment, as well as listing test kitchen favorites and their prices. Each category shows several items, with the "must-have items" having a light yellow background to make them easy to pick out. Then come the specialty items, and just as important, the "10 Baking Gadgets You Don't Need".

4. The recipes cover the whole spectrum from basic to complicated and everything in between. Basic recipes are easy to pick out - they have a spoon and "great for beginners" in red. This would be a great cookbook for those with children to teach them the basics of baking. I plan on using it with my own two kids!

5. There are a TON of photos, hints and tips. Even if you've been baking for years, there will be *something* to learn.

Ok, so there are more than a few reasons I like this cookbook. All the more reason to add it to your collection!

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cookbook Heaven! September 24, 2008

By bezoarrn VINE™ VOICE

Format:Ring-bound|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I give it ten stars! Where oh where has this cookbook been all my life? I have been looking for this type of comprehensive baking cookbook for years but have been very disappointed with every one I find. Not any more. I can honestly see myself spending the rest of my life cooking my way through every recipe in this volume.

OK - why am I so in love with this book? Because the baked goods are everyday, homestyle, "like Momma used to make" recipes. Most cookbooks are a variety of everyday recipes mixed with what I call "fantasy" baking - nice to look at but not practical to make - or eat. Not this volume. There's not one intimidating recipe in the entire book. These items are the memories of my childhood. They are also the recipes that I never tried but always wanted to make. Plus there are elegant baked goods and rustic breads that will make you look like a super star instead of a super snob. Everyone will love them.

Where do I start with my praise? The photos. The cookbook is full of color photos - not the occasional giant, glossy photo of finished products - but smaller, relevant color photos for each section, each recipe, each baking food or product recommended, and each process. Almost EVERY recipe has its own set of instructional photos that follow the recipe through it's steps to the finished product. Where has this book been all my life?

Besides the excellent compilation of recipes, another big selling point of this cookbook is its "accessibility." Everyone from the most novice cook to an experienced baker will find something to admire in this volume. A novice baker will find lists of ingredients essential to baking along with photos, explanations about each item, and brand name recommendations. The same is true for a list of the most essential tools used in a baker's kitchen - including a "don't waste your cash" list of over-hyped products. There's even a price list (which will become dated) so you will know what you are getting into before you hit the stores.

Each recipe also has a tip section. These address common mistakes many cooks make BEFORE you make them, with photos of course. There are also remedies and explanations of common mistakes and mishaps AFTER they happen, again complete with photos!

This amazing cookbook is in a large ring binder, which I love. I can take out pages and make copies for family and friends that want my recipes instead of handwriting them or squishing a volume into a copier at Kinkos. As a cookbook freak, this will come in very handy.

What else can I say? There is tons of info, advice, guides, charts, conversion, etc. throughout this thing. If you like to bake, this is FOR YOU. If you've never baked before but want to try, this is FOR YOU.

I've eyeballed the recipes and the proportions and combinations look good. I haven't baked anything from it yet, but I have been baking from scratch for over 40 years - so I think I can recognize a good recipe when I see it. When I start baking from this volume this weekend, I'll come back and edit this review with a critique of the recipes themselves. After all, that's what we buy cookbooks for in the first place.