Customer Reviews

The Modern Baker: Time-Saving Techniques for Breads, Tarts, Pies, Cakes and Cookies

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The recipes in this book are good and have produced great results, but they are wrought with errors. I have found misspellings, errant directions, omitted directions and an incomplete index. I can't imagine a first-time baker having any success with this book.

For example, I made the instant Puff Pastry (which was great) but found the directions lacking in many areas: there was no mention of the necessary capacity of the food processor (which I found out the hard way when mine overflowed), there was no descriptive of "pulse" which may mean 5 seconds to me and 10 seconds to the author, there were no descriptive qualities of what the dough should look like once it was pulsed and/or rolled out (large butter chunks, small butter chunks, etc.), and when I finally got to making the strudel there was a folding direction for the bottom layer that was misleading and I eventually discovered was completely wrong.

After a couple of weeks I decided to go back and try again with croissants. Too bad they were omitted in the index.

I'm a bit of a cookbook geek with over 300 in my collection. I have purchased several of Nick Malgieri's books through the years. I have to say that "The Mondern Baker" is by far his best yet. It seems like the book he was meant to write. As with all his books, the instructions are clear and the recipes well tested to make sure they work every time in the home kitchen. What sets this book apart from his other works and most other baking books on the market is the wide range of recipes. They really do resonate with the modern cook. I highly recommend this book and I hope more people will give it a try.

Nick Malgieri's books are always a delight, and this latest one is no exception. His recipes are wonderful, directions crystal clear. My only complaint (and this complaint is against other baking book writers as well), PLEASE put weights of ingredients in as well as cup amounts. Many home bakers weigh now, and we would love to have more precise measurements.

I tried the blueberry crumble pie and it is heaven on a plate. Big hit with my church group. It was the best pie I have every tasted and I am excited about cooking more recipes from this book. Many cookbook authors claim to be able to give you the benefit of professional techniques in a home kitchen. Malgieri really does. I would match my homemade pie with any professionally made product! The credit goes to Malgieri because it was such an easy recipe.

by the way, this is a very well formatted and well-designed cookbook. You can go straight to the recipes themselves or study the extra material that the author provides on ingredients and tools, it is up to you. The print size is just fine.

I took this book out from the library and quickly found many recipes that looked appealing-many tarts, muffins, waffles, etc. I picked a Banana Walnut Tart recipe and after reading it before making it I realized the recipe is incomplete. It says to bake the tart until the crust is baked through and the filling is set... but gives no indication of how long that might take. 10, 20, 30 minutes? I have no clue. Then the last step says to let it cool completely before filling... the problem is the recipe already told me to fill the tart and bake it. It makes no sense.
I have to agree with others that the Ingredients list for the recipes is in the tiniest font and is hard to read, and I am 23. The photos are great and the recipes sound wonderful but there needs to be more revision.

I'm basing my review on having checked this book out from the library. I've decided NOT to buy it because the type and layout is just frustrating as heck, and I know it would be one of those cookbooks I dread using. I've decided to copy out and reformat the recipes I really enjoyed so that they'll be easier to read. I'm only forty, by the way. My eyesight's not that bad. Really, it's a poorly designed book: The typeface of the ingredient list requires me to lean in about eighteen inches from the page, the text is nearly as small. Gorgeous photos, and I like that they have one recipe per page or per two page spread, which shows some planning. It's just a shame they used such a miniscule typeface. Quite a shame, since there are several great recipes.

This is a great cookbook!! I love cooking and I'm always looking up new recipes to try and I have my staple cookbooks for baking (Cake Mix Dr, Betty Crocker, and two church cookbooks)and I have never seen recipes like these. They are very detail-oriented on the technique and it's a total no-fail way to cook (even if you're a total klutz in the kitchen) . If you have the basics of baking down and are looking to get a little more adventurous and learn how to use typical ingredients in new ways and rethink the familiar, or even try your hand at baking something new for the first time, this is your go-to, for sure!!

I checked this book out on my school library's website (University of Miami), since it was featured as E-book of the month and I liked what I saw so much that I'm thinking about ordering my own copy

The only reason I take one star away is because some recipes have random ingredients, like cocoa nibs, but it's never a core ingredient and the recipes are super easy for substituting any obscure items out (like I did--I used pecans instead). The whole book is definitely not full of obscure ingredients like that, just a few. I made the brownie recipe and it was AMAZING! The best brownies I've had to date!!

Get this book and revamp your baking life!! It's really great,even if you feel like you've made it all. This book will show you some new tricks!

I was awfully excited to purchase this book and the very first recipe I tried - One Step Croissants - was horrible.
We followed every instruction to the letter and they came out as glorified biscuits... just... awful. I'm not sure who tested these recipes, but I could have obtained similar results from a recipe sharing website - and realized I was taking a gamble. From Nick Maglieri? I had more confidence. Read: Had. I'm not sure I'll be making anything else from this book...

I love this book, every single recipe I've tried has turned out fantastic. I can't stop baking from it.
My review is for the graphic design of this book, its readability and ease of use. It is really awful. Readability is just a joke. The graphic designer (or maybe just an intern?) went for a "modern" look, never minding to ask his or her mother if she managed to understand the text. he ingredient lists are set in very tiny type and it's a headache to make out what they say. If you're reading the recipe while baking you will probably miss something. What I've resorted to doing is transcribe the recipe and then use my notes while baking. Going back to the book is a nightmare.

Also a recipe for a cake with frosting should have in my opinion two clear procedures. What if I only want to make the frosting? well, I will have to go spelunking through the bad typography to see if I find what I'm looking for. I hope the editor hires a proper typographic designer and fixes these issues. Nick deserves it.

In short: Interesting to read, easy to follow, in-depth background information, all surrounding a wealth of standard recipes, and unusual recipes. Excellent. I am considering buying several as gifts.