Customer Reviews

Baking 9-1-1: Rescue from Recipe Disasters; Answers to Your Most Frequently Asked Baking Questions; 40 Recipes for Every Baker

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you love to bake - BUY THIS BOOK! I read it for hours the first day I received it & thoroughly enjoyed the hundreds of tips & chemistry `lessons'. Alton Brown once said - "while cooking is art, baking is not -- it is mostly chemistry" - & as such, this book helps you understand why your brownies fell in the middle or why your whole wheat bread isn't rising... It takes you step-by-step into the how's & why's of baking unlike any other book I've seen.

Also, don't hesitate to use the author's great "Ask Sarah" website if you have a problem that isn't covered in her book (www.baking911.com). Sarah is very quick to respond. I am a professional baker (we manufacture Java Bites Espresso Cookies sold here on Amazon) & she helped me out of a jam during the early recipe developement of this cookie line.

One note of caution: If you are looking for another recipe book - this is not it. While the recipes in her book are excellent, you won't find them in abundance. This is more of a how-to-bake-practically-anything book, with a sampling of recipes to support all the tips. You can find a plethora of recipes on her site though.

Good luck - & happy baking!

I bought this book because I was just the average cook searching for a cookbook that would tell me what to do exactly and why. I learned so much from this book and now I consider myself a good baker. My family and friends and people I don't know want me to make them deserts. I consider this to be a great accomplishment and exactly what I was looking for. If you want to be a good baker buy this book you won't be disappointed and you will learn the proper way to do it. The baking911.com site is fantastic and if you want to know more ask Sarah. I've never met this woman, I consider her to be a good friend and a fantastic chef. She has done alot for all of us who are learning and explains it in layman terms. She even has a online school at baking911.com and I have taken the classes. A major plus. I believe this is the best cookbook I own and I have more than 50 and at the best price.You will find many pictures and more recipes at the web site. Baking Friend Mystie Richards Florida

I am an excellent cook and baker--Trial by error. However, upon reading and purchasing this book, it added to my knowledge and explained why certain things occurred. Normally, I would know certain procedures to follow just through trial and error, however, this book tells you why. It gives you the nuts and bolts. You know how parents would say "do, this or that, and really didn't say why, they just knew. Well, sarah says, do this and that and then tells you why.

I have over 125 cookbooks and some are never used. I use this one all the time, and it never fails. Sarah's instructions are clear and concise and really work. The tips and explanations of common baking problems and questions fill in so many blanks. It all makes sense now. The recipes are great, too. Delicious sponge cake and chocolate chip bars. Thanks, Sarah!

Whatever your level of expertise, this book can help you. Whatever your question, you will find the answer in this book. Sarah makes the world of baking less intimidating to the novice while also addressing more sophisticated techniques for the more skilled baker. No baker should be without this book in the kitchen!

As a frequent baker, I am always searching for recipes that create wonderful cakes with great ease. Sarah's book is a blessing! I can honestly say that I haven't had a failed recipe. Sarah makes sense of all those rules of baking, and it's much more fun and relaxing for me. My copy of her book is splashed with butter and chocolate and who knows what else..a sure sign of a well-loved cookbook. Thank you Sarah for the great book!

Kelley Farrell

This is a really fun book to read, use and learn from. I like to cook, and think I'm pretty good at it, but baking has never been my thing. Honestly, the title of this book made me buy it, as it seems that I always have problems when attempting to bake anything. Baking 9-1-1 is a really easy to use cookbook and it's fun to read. Sarah has a no-attitude approach to baking, as she assumes that you don't know much about baking and she covers all the basics ranging from utensils to ingredients to techniques. But the book is not so basic as not to have interesting recipes.

There are two chapters dealing with ingredients and techniques. Sarah's recommendation on ingredients is to buy the best possible, as you'll get better results. But, she's also practical in that she recommends products that are easily available in supermarkets rather than gourmet shops. And, the techniques section is really helpful. For example, I never knew what "folding" batter meant, and Sarah both explained what it is and how to do it easily. And, she recommended that you assemble all your ingredients before starting to bake, rather than measuring as you go along. All her suggestions are practical.

The rest of the book has chapters on cakes, cookies, pies, chocolate and breads, among others. In each chapter, Sarah first outlines some basics, then offers suggestions on ingredients and preparation. The recipes then follow. These chapters are fun to read as Sarah has, throughout the text, mixed in separate sections with answers to commonly asked questions related to the chapter. She also has small "Sarah Says" sections with quick tips. The recipes themselves are, thank goodness, easy to follow and, to me, were logical, and there's suggestions on storage which I found very helpful.

I have baked a number of the recipes in the book. Everything turned out great. Some of my favorites are "Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars," and "Lemon Blueberry Cake Muffins." The cookie bars were easy to prepare (Sarah recommended this recipe for beginning bakers) and were delicious, and the muffins had a yummy and unique flavor, something completely unexpected from a muffin recipe. And, I'm next going to make the "Dulce de Leche Swirled Cheesecake" that sounds fantastic. And I'm going to try the chocolate chip cookie recipe...mine always turn out flat and Sarah promises thick and chewy. And at the end of the book Sarah listed some web sites related to baking, some of which I had never heard of but have found useful.

I recommend this cookbook for people who like to cook and are trying to become good bakers. Sarah's book is full of useful and practical suggestions. She covers all the basics that you need to know to become successful at baking. The recipes are really creative, easy to follow and I've gotten great results. You can also read the book for fun, as there's loads of answers to commonly asked baking questions. The book is easy to read and doesn't have a snooty attitude that some baking books have. I'm happy that I bought this book and recommend it to you.

This book is a wonderful book. The recipes are written in such a way that no one can make a mistake. The recipes are delicious. There are plenty of tips throughout the book for most kinds of baking errors and these tips prevent these baking mistakes. Sarah has put her heart and soul into this book and I don't think anyone who buys the book will be disappointed. I have tried several recipes and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. And I will continue to try each and every recipe in the book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves to bake. The book is also a pleasure to read and written in very easy baking terms and has lots and lots of baking information, ingredients, baking materials, all aspects of baking. A must have for any home baker.

Written in a clear and organized style and format, this delightful book answers all those "how to" and "why" questions about baking ...even those you haven't yet thought about. Baking 9-1-1- is an essential reference for all bakers from novices to the very experienced.

I have to offer unbridled praise for this book. I've only had it for a month but it's already covered with batter stains and the spine is broken - it automatically falls opens to the double fudge brownie recipe which I have memorized at this point. I'm afraid of making cakes (due to a traumatic baking experience as a kid - a cake with an impossibly soggy middle) but I may well give it a shot again just to try Sarah's recipes which are extremely accessible to nervous bakers like myself.

Plus it's cool to have access to the author at her exceedingly comprehensive website baking911.com with information she gathered in her years of developing recipes for corporations and cookbooks. I can ask never-ending questions about the recipes, to which she ALWAYS has an answer, no matter how dumb I feel asking. (That's not something you can get from most cookbook authors!)

Add it to your cart now! You won't regret it!