Customer Reviews

The Simple Art of Perfect Baking

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Flo Braker's `The Simple Art of Perfect Baking' is being reissued after serving as a manual to millions of home bakers for almost 20 years as well as a model to emulate by important baking authors such as Gayle and Joe Ortiz of Gayle's Bakery and authors of `The Village Baker's Wife'.

It is important to note that while in English, `baking' suggests pastry, cakes, and breads, this book is truly only about what the French call patisserie. It is even more accurately described as primarily a book about cake baking, with approximately a quarter of the book dedicated to pastry. Everything said about the book must be understood to be referring to only torts and tarts.

On average, I think books on baking seem to reach a generally higher level of quality than comparable books on savory cooking. One reason is probably that you can't fake it in baking. A small misstep in measurement, equipment, or procedure can lead to something entirely different from what you intended.
Of course, Braker makes the humorous, but very sound suggestion to never throw away your mistakes. You never can tell when you may have happened onto the recipe for something very worthwhile to eat. Above all, don't tell your guests that their dessert is the result of a mistake.

The baking enthusiast's book buying is also simplified by the presence of a few very highly respected names such as Maida Heatter, Nick Malgieri, Lindsey Shere, and Flo Braker. To this distinguished list, I must add Sherry Yard, author of the great `The Secrets of Baking'. I do not have the pleasure of having read or reviewed books by Maida Heatter or Lindsey Shere, but I am quite familiar with cake and pastry books by Nick Malgieri, Gayle Ortiz, Sherry Yard, and several others. In this company, Flo Braker deserves all the acclamation she has received.

Any foodie worth their salt knows that the big distinction between baking and savory cooking is measurement, but few probably know why this is true or are fully aware of the consequences of ignoring precision. Not the least of Braker's accomplishments is to teach you how to be precise, teach you how avoid mistakes in measuring, and impress on you the importance of weighing instead of measuring by volume.

The most valuable aspect of this book is it's `modular' approach to recipes. While there are hundreds of different cake recipes, all of these hundreds are presented as distinct variations on two basic types, butter cakes and foam cakes, with sponge cakes further divided into genoise cakes, sponge cakes, angel food cakes, chiffon cake, meringues, and dacquoise. To make this highly effective approach even more agreeable to the amateur, the author does not burden us with a single master recipe for, for example, genoise, followed by a dozen paragraph long variations whose expansion into a full recipe is left to the reader. Every single one of the twenty-three (23) genoise cake recipes are spelled out, including notes on why a brown sugar genoise has different ingredients and is made with a different method than a classic genoise. The `baker's notes' at the end of each recipe are simply not to be overlooked.

The modular approach extends beyond the cake baking to the final construction of the cake from layers, fillings, frostings, and decorations. A full third of the book is devoted to each of these subjects individually, in such a way that one can easily mix and match cake, filling, and frosting to create something customized entirely to your personal taste of that of your family or guests. This middle section also contains two important chapters devoted to working with chocolate and sugar. The section on chocolate cannot replace books dedicated to the subject and I think Sherry Yard's discussion of caramel is more illuminating, but these sections are invaluable in supporting the other topics in the book.

The chapter on pastry covers all the usual bases: unsweetened short pastry, sweetened short pastry, puff pastry, and cream puff pastry. While this section and the book as a whole does not have a lot of pictures depicting methods, I am really happy to see diagrams illustrating the fraisage technique for pressing butter into pastry dough. I have read many descriptions of the technique and few manage to make sense without an accompanying picture. The details for measuring continue in pastry making, as when the author stresses the importance of a 1/8 inch thickness for a rolled pie crust. The only technique I know which seems to get a less than thorough treatment is blind baking. The technique is used, but little explanation is given for why it is done and under what circumstances it is important to use it, and when it is not necessary. I will point out that the author's preference for fat in basic piecrusts is vegetable shortening. If, like me, you happen to be a butter person, I recommend you consult Sherry Yard's Master Recipe for 3-2-1 pie dough.

It seems almost heretical to say this, but it is possible that this book and other teaching books such as those from Rose Levy Beranbaum may simply not be your cup of tea. If you are already a successful, accomplished baker, you may be happier with a book that simply gives lots of different recipes. I make this warning because people have occasionally objected to excellent books because the recipes were too involved or too talky. But, I think a baker who aspires to great pies and cakes should have at least one book like this and all the homey books on regional recipes you can find. Where else are you to find a great recipe for Shoofly pie!

Highly recommended cornerstone volume to your pie and cake-baking library.

As a professional baker, I have had several opportunities to use this highly informative book-and every time it was incredibly successful. The recipe for the chocolate angel food cake (low-fat!) is worth the price of the book. Flo explains baking in precise terms, but very understandable & user-friendly. She is an excellent teacher as well as a great writer. Highly recommended! Her other book on miniature pastries is a classic that is coming back into print

This is an absolutely wonderful cookbook. Not only are the recipees delightful, but it contains detailed instructions, and carries you through enough basic techniques and undestanding of ingredients that will help you beyond this book. The recipes range from simple to complex. She also includes recipees for various sauces, syrups, icings, purrees, etc etc that can be mixed and matched to create different cakes with different presentations. This book, however, is primarily about cakes. While it does have a small section on pies and tarts, it is not extensive in that area. If you are looking for an all-encompasing baking book, this may not be the book to purchase. However, if you like cakes, (like me!), this is a great book to read and to work through.

Flo's book is excellent and when I'm looking for a cake that has a different twist but excellent quality this book is where I turn. Flo features a lot of recipies that use almond paste or ground almonds which is rare. However it gives cakes a different swing without being weird. She also provides weight of the ingrients which gives you accurate measurment for her recipes. I think she needs a website. Her books sweet minatures is also great. She is very creative and I would buy any of her products.

Flo Braker is not only a superb baker but also an out- standing teacher and the author of a popular baking column in the San Francisco Chronicle. Julia Child once listed this as one of among the ten cookbooks she'd take to a desert island. The recipes appear long at first glance, but that is because Braker guides you so carefully. Worth the purchase price for the explanation of pie crust techniques alone. My cookbook collection numbers in the hundreds, but this is one of the few in which every recipe unfailingly produces wonderful results.

I bought this book when I had just begun my journey as a baker. I opened it up, started to read and didn't stop until the last page! Flo Braker is a stickler for proper technique and ingredients -- exactly what you ought to be exposed to before you start making a mess of everything.

Some of the recipes are challenging, even with her incredibly detailed instructions, but worth every single second when you eat your lessons!

I have owned this book for about a year, and everything I have made has come out just as it should. I've made several of the cakes, including the one on the cover, and they were all wonderful. That cake on the cover is the most heavenly chocolate cake ever. Very light, very moist, dark and luscious, not too sweet. I actually made it as a birthday cake during Hurricane Gustav, and the power went off while it was in the oven. You never saw two men move so fast to finish getting the generator hooked up! I had about a pound of imported Belgian chocolate that I used for the frosting, and garnished with a few sliced almonds and a cherry, it was beautiful. I've also modified the recipe, taking out the baking soda and using baking powder and cream of tartar to accommodate some Pernigotti dutch processed cocoa and it was almost black, with a well-rounded rich chocolate flavor.
The basic butter cake is very light and tender, with a nice crumb. I also made the butter almond cake in a rose-shaped bundt pan with the glaze, which was a HUGE hit. I've used that recipe for two-bite cakes and it's worked just as well.
The decorator sliced almonds are unbelievably simple and so delicious and pretty!
I give it just under five stars because I wish it had more photos of all the recipes. Some of them sound so heavenly that you just want a photo to compare to. I will say that if you follow the directions and don't deviate, everything you make will come out great. The only time I don't follow her mixing times are when I'm using my hand mixer. It's a Lectrix, nine speeds, and number nine sounds like a jet engine, so number one is not as slow as slow normally is, medium is a little closer to high, and I have to go by the look of the project and not the timer on the mixer (everyone needs a timer on their mixer!!). If your equipment is not quite what's considered 'normal' kitchen equipment, you might have to adjust a bit.
It also doesn't give other methods that may be available like some other baking books that I would consider 'pro' books, it just tells you how to do the recipe as is, and that's it. I guess that's not really a bad thing when everything turns out right in the end, though.

This is a wonderful book for experienced and inexperienced cake bakers alike! I learn something new from each recipe I try. I especially love her conceptual approach to baking, by explaining the whys and hows of why we would use a scale versus a measuring cup or why you may want to brush your cakes with a flavored syrup, she really opens your eyes to concepts that I've blown off in the past simply because no one had taken the time to explain why this works over that. It's just so insightful and such a good read that I find myself using this book like a reference book, so it's my new Cake Bible.

I am not a professional baker, and at first glance, the recipes seemed a bit intimidating. However, after reading through them I realized that the instructions were so precise there is no way for even a novice like myself to mess up! My personal favorite is the Buttermilk Cake - Yummy!

This cookbook is wonderful. I have always had cake "issues", but I would go back to baking every now and again because I was determined to get it right somehow. This book is the key! My husband thought I was studying from a textbook because I broke out my highlighter and read all of the introductory information first. Then I went out and got some kitchen scales, a triple sifter, and a few other tools. When I made my cake I weighed all of my ingredients and followed the directions EXACTLY and I got a great result. I have made 2 different cakes and 2 different frostings and they have all been good. I made the Devil's Fudge Cake and it was awesome! I am so pleased to have a book that spells out all of the details of good baking, not just the basic ingredients. A great resource for the baking disabled.