The Art and Soul of Baking [Hardcover]

Sur La Table (Author), Cindy Mushet (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 21, 2008

2009 IACP Cookbook Awards Winner!

Nominated for a 2009 James Beard Foundation Award.

Sur La Table teamed with pastry chef and baking teacher Cindy Mushet to bring you the ultimate guide to baking. Beautiful photographs and more than 250 easy-to-follow recipes lead you into a world of alluring aromas and light, flaky pastries. Illustrated asides take you step by step through important techniques, from carmelizing sugar to working with croissant dough. Plus, you'll find invaluable information on over 100 ingredients and 50 baker's tools. A true pleasure for anyone who loves to bake.

Each selection of the Gourmet Cookbook Club is handpicked and road-tested by the editors of Gourmet magazine, so readers can cook with confidence, knowing the recipes really do deliver. Online at Gourmet Book Club you can find videos of the authors demonstrating recipes, share your thoughts on the cookbooks in the forums, and learn more about each book's topic.

BENEFITS:

* The ultimate book for bakers.

* Professional tips and tricks are made easy for the home baker.

* Step-by-step techniques of baking.

* 100 photographs, 250 foolproof recipes and variations, and information on over 100 popular baking ingredients and over 50 pieces of baking equipment.

Praise for The Art and Soul of Baking

"...when a baking book in which the recipes perform as flawlessly as they do in The Art and Soul of Baking comes out, we're particularly impressed." --Gourmet magazine, October 2008, Cookbook Club selection

"If you buy just one new baking book this season, make it this one. ...covers everything from essential equipment...and pantry staples to chapters on savory breads, quick breads, tarts, pies, cookies and cakes.... The recipes are exceedingly detailed and include do-ahead tips, notes on equipment needed, advice on storing the finished treats and suggestions for variations." --Associated Press, September 2008

"Mushet's invaluable lessons in ensuring oven accuracy, incorporating butter into dough for layered pastries...and the causes of falling souffles will get novices up to speed.... Those already comfortable with baking will get the most out of the book's 250 recipes, but there are plenty of dishes well within the reach of those new to creme brulee and lemon bar construction, making this a great volume to learn and grow with." --Publishers Weekly, August 2008

"Many elements combine to make a great cookbook, all of which are in The Art and Soul of Baking. ...the book possesses the singular quality that lifts a cookbook above the rest, and that is the ability to inspire. The Art and Soul of Baking inspires." —inmamaskitchen.com

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Veteran pastry chef Mushet puts her decades of experience to work in this dense, informative baking guide from Seattle-based gourmet cookware retailer Sur La Table (thankfully light on advertorials), opening with a comprehensive overview of crucial equipment and a 30 page guide to pantry stocking (butter, flour and sugar get three pages each, chocolate gets five). Covering all aspects of the baking spectrum, Mushet gives yeast-based breads, quick breads, cookies and bars, layered pastries and other specialties their turn, doing admirable work with standards like pizza dough and dinner rolls, as well as trendier riffs like pesto rolls and rustic olive and thyme bread that give cooks room to stretch in each category. Mushet's invaluable lessons in ensuring oven accuracy, incorporating butter into dough for layered pastries (with step-by-step photos) and the causes of falling soufflés will get novices up to speed, and experts ready to tackle Mushet's compelling cheesecake batter-in-a-food-processor technique will find her inventive hors d'oeuvre Stilton Cheesecake with Port-Braised Pears a big hit at the next cocktail party. Those already comfortable with baking will get the most out of the book's 250 recipes, but there are plenty of dishes well within the reach of those new to Crème Brulee and lemon bar construction, making this a great volume to learn and grow with.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Malgieri is director of the baking program at New York's Institute of Culinary Education and author of numerous other cookbooks, including How To Bake, in many ways the predecessor of this ambitious new title. He begins with an introduction to ingredients, equipment, and techniques and follows with eight recipe chapters. Chapter introductions provide helpful general tips on the various techniques involved, and recipe headnotes offer more specific information. Despite the subtitle, streamlined techniques do not seem to be a major focus, as many recipes rely on classic, time-tested methods. The recipes, many shown in color photographs, include both traditional favorites like Date Walnut Bread and more contemporary creations such as Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuilles, with ethnic specialties from a wide range of cuisines. For most baking collections.Mushet, a talented pastry chef, cooking teacher, and author of the excellent Desserts: Mediterranean Flavors, California Style, presents the latest book from the Sur La Table team, following Things Cooks Love. Like Malgieri's book, it covers both sweet and savory baking, but it includes far more information. Two lengthy introductory chapters cover techniques, equipment, and ingredients, and dozens of sidebars on "Tips for Success" and "What the Pros Know" offer further helpful insider advice. Recipes range from basics such as Quick Puff Pastry and Classic Sugar Cookies to unusual and appealing treats like Malted Milk Chocolate Tart; most of them include make-ahead information, and many also have variations. There are striking color photographs throughout, as well as step-by-step technique photos. Mushet's style is engaging and never intimidating. Essential.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0740773348
• ISBN-13: 978-0740773341
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cindy Mushet has been a pastry chef and culinary instructor for nearly 20 years, beginning her career at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA. She has since headed pastry kitchens in restaurants and bakeries from Napa to San Diego and has taught professional training courses at Le Cordon Bleu, the Culinary Institute of America, and the New School of Cooking, among others. She has also taught hundreds of recreational classes across the country.

For five years she wrote and published the highly regarded Baking With the American Harvest, a quarterly baking journal with subscribers nationwide and was a contributing writer to The Joy of Cooking, The Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies, and The Baker's Dozen Cookbook. Cindy's recipes and articles have been featured in magazines and newspapers across the country, including Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking, Gourmet, Country Home, and The New York Times. In addition, her recipes were among the few to be chosen for The Best American Recipe books.

Cindy lives in Los Angeles, where she is a patisserie chef-instructor in Le Cordon Bleu program at the California School of Culinary Arts, and she consults regularly with restaurants and bakeries on menu development and staff training. Cindy is a regular guest on KCRW's Good Food radio show. She has been a spokeswoman for the American Butter Institute and a guest chef at food conferences across the country.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb in every baking way! December 18, 2008

By Toni VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If it would have been possible to wish a "10 Star" rating on this tome of baking, it would have been done. Trying to figure where to start to describe this giant gastronomic baking tool is the second wish I had, because there is so much packed into this, it isn't possible to include everything within its covers.

Sur La Table is a long-respected and well-known center of sincere kitchen ware. Part of their evolution has been to have cooking/baking classes as well as accompanying books that their faithful customers have asked for over the years. This book is absolutely one of their best yet.

Having met Chef Cindy Mushet on her Sur La Table baking/promotional tour, she is the real deal. Very simple, very honest, very practical and very ready to share anything that has to do with baking. Hence, the perfect pairing of chef and company.

If I had to wrap up everything she taught that night into a nutshell, its that you HAVE to measure everything as the recipe states, using the appropriate measuring tools for solids and liquids. Having said that, all the recipes have all their ingredients measured. Having tried that concept on a couple of the recipes already, everything has been 100% perfect. For a budding chef and/or beginner, guess-timates don't seem to work because that will inevitably lead to some failure, but with Cindy, its "measure, measure, measure". Roger that.

The book contains 454 solid, heavy pages of knowledge about everything, and along with the recipes, are the steps needed for that category of foodstuffs. The photography of Maren Caruso is superb, and it helps convey that which Cindy can express in words.... For time and space constraints, I'll mention the type of recipe categories within rather than all the recipes, though you could go through the "Learn More" section of this book on the Amazon page. The Foreward is written by another great baker, Alice Medrich, who herself taught many a class at Sur La Table over the years. Her kindness in describing Cindy proves a far greater opinion of her talents.

The Introduction gives a quick overview of each chapter and what to expect within.

CHAPTER ONE
"The Bakers Kitchen" is my bible and/or encyclopedia; you only need to be familiar with this to get the foundations of success in which to build your skills. How to read recipes, how to measure (!), weights and equivalents (with their ounces per cup), mixng equipment, pans and their volumes, and all the other ktichen tools that you might use, are listed in this section.

CHAPTER TWO
"The Bakers Pantry" is self-explanatory; the foodstuffs that you will need and use as well as how to use them, are given fair attention and description. Spices and herbs, as well as the sweeties used in baking, are also included.

Throughout each subsequent chapter of recipes and excellent teaching, there are "what the pros know" sidebars, which are little hints and tips to make your experience easier. There is also clear, sharp photography of the steps you should be expecting while en route to your dish destination.

CHAPTER THREE
This is such a great chapter on "Yeast Rolls and Bread". Breadmaking is not easy especially if you are beginning; knowing what to do with yeast and how to coax it to "grow" and turn your flour and water into something magnificent, is described with terms such as "poolish" and "bigs". The "gluten windowpane" is another great visual and worded sidebar to teach you whether your bread is ready. The recipes include dinner rolls, rustic breads, pizza dough, coffee cake, buns, etc.

CHAPTER FOUR
"Layered Pastries" is just that; layers and layers of light and fluffy pastries that will absolutely melt-in-your-mouth when tastebuds meet dough! How to layer, fold, etc are shown both in print and word and eventually lead you to phyllo recipes, coffee cakes, puff pastries, baklava and the like.

CHAPTER FIVE
"Quick Breads" are the equally-appreciated cousins of raised breads and those include scones, biscuits, muffins, and cornbread.

CHAPTER SIX
"Pies, Turnovers, and Dumplings". Ah yes.......the elusive perfect piecrust!! Well, no longer a problem if you follow Cindy's directions. Apple, banana, pumpkin, etc pies get a show as well as pot pies. Tarts, turnovers made with chocolate, creams, fruits, and other meats and cheeses will beg you to bake them!

CHAPTER SEVEN
"Tarts" has all the shortcrusts, tartlets and such that contain fruits as well as veggies and cheeses. Try the absolutely incredible "Potato, Onion, and Gruyere Cheese Galette"; it was absolutely out of this world! (The crust was so flaky and just a joy to relish with each bite!)

CHAPTER EIGHT
"Fruit Desserts" usually needs no introduction. Crisps, cobblers, and shortcakes were part of the repetoire.

CHAPTER NINE
"COOKIES"!!! These can be a challenge if you don't know how to handle the dough, whether its being warm enough or chilled enough, etc. Biscotti, tuilles, brownies, and bars are all here for the offering.

CHAPTER TEN
"Cakes" makes its luscious presentation; I noticed that there was a bit more in this chapter than most because of the complexities of the different types of cake batters possible. The basics of yellow and chocolate were given along with fancy and more high-end flavors, in addition to Cakes little cousins called cupcakes.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Custards, Bread Puddings, and Cheesecakes" makes the omplexities of creams and custards more understandable. Flans, puddings, pot de cremes, and the likes of bread puddings are all addressed. My favorite is "Cheesecakes" and you can make them as dense or fluffy as you want.

CHAPTER TWELVE
"Souffles, Meringues, and Pate a Choux" is a great chapter but one that requires time and patience. They are light and sweet and worth it. There are custard sauces, honey-lavendar creams, eclairs, gougeres, and cream puffs.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"Basic Recipes and Finishing Touches" is an appropriate and lavish chapter in which to end this book. To create something is an accomplishment but to create a presentation to wow people is an art and Cindy will be your "ar-teest" in residence. Frostings, buttercreams (and how to fix them if they break), icings, curds, sugared flowers, and sauces are part of this amazing chapter. I thought that the crowning touch of this chapter was making "spun sugar" which is actually quite easy and an spectacular way to make a presentation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (from both Cindy and the CEO of Sur La Table)
INDEX

Enjoy, all compliments of Sur La Table and Cindy Mushet. Read more ›

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Details, details December 13, 2008

By Sienne

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As others have noted, this is a truly beautiful book that does justice to the content. There is generally enough information that a relative novice can feel comfortable putting together the recipes. There is a "however..." In some cases, details are omitted. There is sufficient information in the pie crust instructions, for example, to blind bake a pie shell. If you have to fully bake the shell, neither the general or specific crust recipes indicate how long the shell needs to be in the oven.While a small oversight, for a pie crust, there's just no way to test to see if the shell is done.

One clear strength of this book and one which sets it apart from many others, is the level of instruction. The detailed information about ingredients, even the basics like types of flour, sweeteners, etc. is very helpful.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive, Beautiful and Full of Great Information and Recipes October 7, 2008

By Lizzie

Format:Hardcover

This beautiful cookbook is amazing. It is just packed with great information. It is 440 pages full of tips, instruction, gorgeous photographs and fabulous recipes. This cookbook covers everything from the basics to information even experienced bakers will find of use. The information and instruction is presented in a very non-intimidating, approachable way. This cookbook covers yeast and quick breads, pastries, pies, cookies, cakes, tarts, fruit desserts, custards and puddings, plus souffles, cheesecakes and more. Each section begins with helpful information about ingredients followed by techniques and instruction. The recipes include time saving tips called "getting ahead" and storage tips. The recipes are all followed by possible variations. I am not a novice baker but not a pro either. I feel this cookbook will give me the skills needed to tackle even the most ambitious baking project as well as the more basic baking. This cookbook is truly empowering!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reliable and detailed information March 9, 2009

By shoe aficionado

Format:Hardcover

I've had this book for 6 months and I love it so far. I bought it so I could amp up my baking skills. I was surprised by the amount of valuable information in here. It has excellent practical tips for preparing ingredients for foolproof baking. No more over-melted butter or cold eggs for my baked dishes!
There is such a wide variety of recipes in here with sufficient depth in each category. Every recipe has advice on making ahead, storage and variations.
I'm the reckless sort that tries new recipes for parties but this book has not let me down so far. I just tried the Clafoutis recipe yesterday and it worked out perfectly. Their whipped cream recipe has the perfect cream-sugar-vanilla ratio.
The detailed instructions have given me a better understanding of the science behind each of these recipes. I feel a lot more confident while baking and this makes me want to be creative in this space... which is exactly what I was hoping for when I purchased this book.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars good general baking book that falls a bit short December 1, 2011

By J. Janssen

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I like this book for what it is; a good generic baking book with lots of tips coupled with a number of good recipes spanning many categories. It's strong on technique and tips, but perhaps a little lacking in the breadth of the included recipes. I think it's aimed to be part instructional and part inspirational, and perhaps marketed for the intermediate baker. If you aspire to move on from Betty Crocker, this would be a good place to start. However, it suffers in a couple areas that potential purchasers should be aware of.

Any book covering such a broad swath is going to be challenged by bakers that may be looking for more in specific categories, and so it is with this effort. Each section covers specific dessert types as you might expect, but the purchaser looking for an expansive selection of, let's say, layer cakes is going to find a section limited to just 12 basic cakes, only about a third of which are layer cakes. There are short sections on how to alter the recipes, but the selection offered in this major category is pretty limited at best and disappointing in a 450+ page magna opus. They do better in the pies and tarts categories, but in the end you can't get away from the fact that this is a pretty generic book. While Sur La Table doesn't present it as anything but, I suspect a great many purchasers will assume it offers more focus on jaw dropping desserts than it actually does. Additionally, many of the individual selections refer back to a "master recipe" rather than give the complete instructions. While this may save a few pages of paper it tends to hide the actual complexity and time needed for a given dessert. Again, it just seems to be an odd choice to make in a large comprehensive book and only complicates the task at hand....

While this is a profusely illustrated book I think they could find a better use of the photo block-ins than to litter the pages with endless stock shots of eggs sitting in stainless steel bowls, unwashed muffin tins, whisks captured in dramatic black and white and other motifs designed to cast the book as "gourmet". Not all of the numerous recipes included in this large volume have a photo of the end product and I'd forego the atmospheric pics for one good color shot of each recipe, finished and cut as the writer envisioned it to be. A great many cooking books are deficient in this area, so perhaps I'm more sensitive than others about this failing. I mentally gave this 4 stars for what it actually is; a nicely written and inclusive general baking book covering a variety of pies, tarts, cookies, cakes, etc., dragged down by the lack of specific photos for all of the recipes, as well as a somewhat cluttered and confusing layout. At the same time the limited number of recipes I've tried have rendered very good results and, while I'm sure there are some mistakes in the numerous recipes, I've not found one yet. Additionally, the included instructions and tips are worthwhile, even for seasoned bakers.

While I only gave this three stars I'd still recommend it to someone looking for an instructive baking book that splits the difference between a culinary text and a coffee table picture book. If they added in a few more selections to certain categories, stopped continually referring back to "master recipes" and, instead repeated the complete instructions so that users would have a thorough understanding of the complexity and time involved, and then cleaned up the photos to present color images of every baked item, this could be a 5 star product. Perhaps Sur La Table will see fit to issue an updated and revised edition. Read more ›