Customer Reviews

The Secrets of Baking: Simple Techniques for Sophisticated Desserts

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Sherry Yard, pastry chef at Spago Beverly Hills, has written the very best book for the amateur baker. If you bake, I advise you to stop reading this review and order this book from Amazon. Do it now ....

If you are still here, I'll tell you why I believe this book is so good.

First, there is the simple, illuminating organization which breaks major baking products down into twelve master recipes and explains all the things which distinguish each category from others and explains the factors which make these preparations work and which actions can lead to unsatisfactory results. There are so many good books on baking that promise this kind of systematic treatment but don't deliver. I was disappointed, for example, in reading Nick Malgieri's book, `How to Bake' when I saw that it was not much more than an organized collection of good recipes. Another recently reviewed book did an excellent job of presenting `modular' recipes where various preparations could be mixed and matched, yet they failed to advance our understanding of baking technique by proper grouping of, for example, cheesecake with custards rather than with cakes.

The twelve topics in this book are Ganache, Caramel, Curd, Vanilla Sauce, Pate a Choux, Pound Cake and Genoise, Financier, Cookies, Pie and Tart Dough, Brioche, Laminated Dough, and Fruit.

Second, the grouping of recipes makes learning several recipes within a group much easier than if each were tackled independently. The discussion of each preparation begins with a `family tree' which shows the relation between different recipes which fall within that method and the variation to the method which produces the branches to the tree. The first general method, ganache, has three variations. The medium consistency recipes give us soufflé, fondue, truffles, and sabayon. The firm (more chocolate) consistency gives us tortes, frosting, and candy bars. The soft (more cream) consistency gives us whipped cream, hot chocolate, sauce, and mousse. This presentation reveals connections between old favorites and new possibilities. I am particularly fond of making and eating carrot cake, and I have been quite happy with my recipe from Nick Malgieri. But, I was delighted to find that carrot cake is just one species of a baking genus called `financier'. If I were a professional pastry chef and I did not know about the virtues of financier, I may be willing to sign over my next year's salary to Ms. Yard for revealing the secrets of this batter. It seems that financier batter can accept all sorts of leftovers when it is mixed. It can then be stored in the refrigerator for many days, to be pulled out in an emergency to be baked up into a delightfully moist cake. The fact about the recipe that creates this moistness is it's using unwhipped egg whites that have more moisture and relatively more stabilizing protein than either whole eggs or whipped whites.

Third, the book explains virtually everything important about the science of baking. It has quite effectively done for baking what Alton Brown and Shirley Corriher have done for savory cooking in providing a roadmap to baking technique. This is not mere handwaving. Most culinary authors make reference to acidic (vinegar, citrus, buttermilk, cream of tartar) versus basic (baking soda) ingredients. Some advanced writers may refer to the fact that untreated chocolate is acidic and this needs to be balanced by baking soda in recipes. Ms. Yard gives us the whole 14 yards, covering the entire pH scale from battery acid (1) to Drano (14) and how all of this is relevant to baking. One most interesting fact is the relative acidity of lemon juice to orange juice. The two practical advantages of this presentation is that it gives you the means for rescuing recipes from problems and it gives you a safe path to developing your own baking recipes.

Fourth, the book explains the reasons behind small differences in technique. I have read a dozen recipes for the pair of doughs, pate brisee and pate sucree and perfectly good explanations for what the two different doughs are best used. No one, up until now, has given me a really good explanation for the difference in technique based on the fact that the sugar in the pate sucree is replacing part of the LIQUID ingredients in pate brisee. My hero Alton has often explained that sugar is treated as a liquid ingredient, but he has never explained in such depth what it is that makes both sugar and butter act like liquid ingredients and not like solid ingredients.

After you contemplate dealing with all these details, you may fear that Ms. Yard's recipes will be more complicated than others. The opposite is true. After a dozen recipes for pate brisee have advised me to add water to flour and butter as if I were working with explosives, I am surprised to see Ms. Yard splash all the water into the blender in one fell swoop and pulse away with abandon. On the other side of the coin, her discussion of pate brisee versus pate sucree points out that the resting time in the fridge must be longer for the sugar dough than for the dough without sugar, due to the hygroscopic nature of sugar. Ms. Yard's recipes are no more complicated than any others and, by providing an understanding of what is going on, they can be done with more confidence in the success of the outcome.

The final chapter gives the reader recipes for combining preparations like puff pastry combined with vanilla sauce to give Mille-Feuille Napoleon for example. The book ends with superior appendices on baking terms, tools, and ingredients.

The book does not deal with every baking subject in detail. Only an excellent chapter on brioche represents bread baking. But, there are several excellent books on bread. Ms. Yard would be sure to recommend the book by Nancy Silverton.

If you bake, buy this book. You will not be sorry!

Sherry Yard, 2002 James Beard winner for Best Pastry Chef and Executive Pastry Chef for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide has absolutely scored an A+ with this book. Forget everything you know about cookbooks - chapter after chapter organized by type of dessert or flavor with little instruction or explanation of the science involved and the inspiration behind the dish - this book is a revolution. She has organized the book in chapters based on the basics that every pastry chef needs in their repetoire. She teaches you those basics (master recipes as she calls them) and then lets you vary and combine them to make signature desserts of your own. She throws in a few signature desserts of her own just to get you started. Beautifully photographed by Ron Manville (James Beard and IACP Winning photographer) and expertly explained in terms that normal folk will not only understand but absorb. Her generous personality and infectious charm are evident throughout. The recipies are simply explained and all totally do-able. She is cheeky, irreverant, fun and entirely dedicated to her craft. I can't wait for another book from this author!

I own a fairly extensive baking library and believe that this book one of the best I have. The book is fascinating and fun to read. More importantly I believe that the layout of the book helps to provide a firm foundation for a better understanding of how complex desserts are created. The explanations for how and why steps are done in a certain way and in a certain order are clear and concise and make sense. And the recipes just plain work. But the biggest benefit I personally derived from this book is that I'm feeling much more confidant about creating my own desserts, which is something I always wanted to do but was too intimidated to try before.

I used this book before I attended culinary school in New York, studying pastry arts. This book pulls a trick common to celebrity chefs- intentionally not revealing the complete/accurate recipe (insecurity? job preservation?). During school, after learning techniques that are not explained adequately (or at all), I was able to achieve better results on those recipes lacking technical instructions. Others (lemon pudding cakes) I remade over 6 times to ensure it was not my fault, since I really wanted to make that recipe. The end result was always a flop.

I understand that most home cooks don't use mass metrics (grams) to measure ingredients like Europeans do (which is much more reliable and convenient), but since these are "pro" style dessert platings, she could have included the mass metrics. I do think the flavor combinations are appealing and the designs are attractive, so, since I couldn't sell this book on Amazon after waiting 3 months or so, I kept it. I can look at other trustworthy recipe books (e.g. Rose Levy's The Pastry Bible) to prepare the components to be used in one of Chef Yard's completed desserts. Hopefully the second book will be more helpful in technique, utility, and accuracy.

Truth be told, I have a massive cookbook collection and this is the only one I have ever tried to get rid of.

For all you baking enthusiasts, experienced or beginner, this is got to be the the VERY best book I've seen on the subject. The author breaks this book into technique catagories and then explains the hows and whys of each technique.

Wonderful recipes! Every one I have tried so far has come out perfect! And the information she gives allows you to adapt the techniques to create your own masterpieces. Very well written, well organized and what an education on baking science. Sometimes I like to just sit and read this book just for the pleasure of it. If I could only own one book on baking, this would be it!

I love this book. And I've read it cover to cover. I'm an amateur baker, this book had given me a lot of tips that no other books had detailed. If you're a baker and would like to get serious with your baking skill, this is the book for you! The only negative comment I have for this book is; the book is organized in such a way that if you'd like to bake a fruit tart, you have to look up sweet dough, and pastry cream in different chapters. You have to really have to figure out what exactly you'd like to bake and find the pieces of puzzle in the book and put them together. That's why I've given it a 4 stars instead of 5!

I own quite a few cooking books (close to 90!) and I rate The Secrets of Baking among the best! Recipes are easy and written in a simple, yet well organized way. And I really appreciate how willing she is to share many of the baking little secrets with the readers. I truly recommend this book!

I had hardly started this book when I ran across some baking information that I had not really thought about. Actually looking at the size of my oven to see where my racks should be when baking different desserts. To my surprise I discovered that my racks were too high for baking cookies...something I then tested and ended up with the most beautiful cookies I have ever made! This book is a joy for any baker and should be used as both a lesson book and a guide for preparing simple, yet seemingly extravagent desserts.

I love this book. I'd considered myself an intermediate baker, and it makes a world of difference to understand the science of baking. The chapter on ganache alone is worth the price of the book several times over. It has opened up the doors for me in terms of being able to create my own recipes and variations. An important facet of this book also is Sherry Yard's style. Noticably absent is the air of condescention some authors adopt when deigning to speak with the amateur baker. Her comment at the end of the explanation of simple syrup: "See why they call it simple"?

I have to pack up all my things in storage for about 6 months (including my big cookbook collection), but this book is one of two that I refuse to be without.

I really enjoy books like this one that not only provide recipes, but give comments and notes from the chef as to how and why they created them, and how they ended up with the final version. All of this information truly helps non-professionals like me understand the science and art of baking better, and inspires me to reach for the next level. I really like the way this one is set up by Master Recipes - this shows the progression from a basic type of recipe and how it can be changed into other varieties. For example, the Caramel chapter begins with a Master Caramel recipe. Caramel is caramel, right? Wrong! In this book, one sees how caramel is the base for traditional caramel sauces and candies, how it can be whipped with cream, how it can be hardened into sugar garnishes and lots more. And that's only one chapter! Highly recommended.