The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook [Hardcover]

Griffith Day (Author), Cheryl Day (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2012

Fire up your oven with recipes from what Paula Deen calls one of the "must-eat-at-places" in Savannah

Nationally recognized and locally adored for its decadent homespun desserts and delicious rustic breads, Back in the Day Bakery is a Savannah landmark. As Paula Deen says in her foreword, Cheryl and Griff Day "bake decadent treats, but they also bake wonderful memories that stay with you forever."

To celebrate the bakery's tenth anniversary, this duo has written a book filled with customers' favorite recipes. It's packed with Cheryl and Griff's baking know-how plus recipes for their famous Buttermilk Biscones, Old-Fashioned Cupcakes, Chocolate Bread, Cinnamon Sticky Buns, S'more Pie, Almond Crunchies, Drunk Blondies, Pinkies Chocolate Lunch-Box Treats, Rustic Cheddar Pecan Rounds, and much more. Irresistible full-color photographs of food and behind-the-scenes bakery shots will give readers a glimpse into the sweet daily life at the bakeshop. Celebrating family traditions, scratch baking, and quality ingredients, The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook is like a down-home bake sale in a book.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Home bakers first and bakery owners second, Paula Deen darlings the Days here inventory recipes for every season and sweet tooth that even the most amateur among us can feel comfortable in attempting: cinnamon-sugar-doughnut muffins, Mexican hot chocolate shortbread, and a shortcut piecrust that the Days promise will impress. Necessary special tools are clearly noted, and the tips, commentary, and notes are as fun to digest as these southern sweets look to be. One particularly funny inclusion is a customer’s ode to the “Pecan Sandra,” written after not finding his favorite cookie in the cases. The book is as pleasantly, cohesively stylized and visually appealing as the Days’ Savannah outpost. Drool-inducing photos featuring the impressive yet decidedly unfussy baked goods (with a special section devoted to savories as well, such as baked eggs and pancetta-fontina bread pudding) placed beside carefully culled vintage kitchenware and objets d’art of the cooking persuasion are works of art in themselves. --Annie Bostrom

Review

“Down-home and fabulous, the recipes . . . are classics with a little something extra.” —Food & Wine

 

“A delightful marriage of the sweet and savory . . . Cheryl and Griff honor these time-tested classics even as they infuse them with vibrant, unpredictable layers of flavor.” —Savannah Magazine

 

“Old-fashioned American treats with a healthy dose of Southern flair . . . A well-rounded baking book suitable for home cooks of all levels.” —Library Journal

 

“The tips, commentary, and notes are as fun to digest as these Southern sweets look to be . . . Impressive yet decidedly unfussy baked goods.” —Booklist

(multiple )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (March 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579654584
• ISBN-13: 978-1579654580
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts
  • #32 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > U.S. Regional

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

107 of 108 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best baking book I've ever had! May 3, 2012

By D. Gasteiger

Format:Hardcover

I stumbled upon this book a few weeks ago and fell in love with it! I am a scratch baker myself, self taught just for the love of it! Thankfully I come from a family who helped show me the way. I love everything about this book. I've made six recipes so far from this book - Brown Sugar Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Red Velvet Cake, Cherry Pie Bars, Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Bacon Jam. I also had the pleasure of going to a baking class here in California with the lovely Cheryl and Griffith Day and got to sample their Chocolate Heaven Cake, Blueberry Buckle, Drunken Blondies, Coconut Cream Pie, Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting, and they made the Bacon Jam too. Everything that I have baked myself from the book as well as what they baked for us that day has been beyond delicious! Most to the point of incredible!! I have to say the Coconut Cream Pie was the best I have ever tasted as well as the Red Velvet Cake. I have made about 5 different red velvet recipes trying to find one that is perfect and their recipe is finally the winner! I tried Paula Deen's, Bobby Flay's, Alton Browns, etc. and their recipe blew them all away. I also have to say that I made the Cherry Pie Bars thinking they would be good but wasn't expecting anything spectacular but they were. I wound up using a mix of cherries, blackberries and raspberries from Trader Joe's and the guys that tasted it said I should enter it into a contest somewhere, it's that good! Don't even get me started on the Bacon Jam! It is one of the best things I have ever tasted! I personally thought it sounded weird and thought the bacon might be rubbery or something after all that cooking down with the liquids but it isn't.

Truly this is the first book I have ever owned that I feel I could bake everything from. Everything! There is so much love in this book and the recipes are ones that you will treasure. There is nothing really fancy about it, they don't try and reinvent the wheel, these are just incredible good old fashioned American desserts that have stood the test of time and will hopefully continue to inspire new generations to get back to scratch baking rather than buying manufactured baked goods that are filled with artificial ingredients and certainly made with no love. Do yourself a favor and get this book!!! It's written for anyone, whether you bake all the time or haven't ever made anything from scratch. This is certainly one that will never sit on a dusty shelf!

56 of 57 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The BEST Southern baking cookbook!!! May 15, 2012

By Island Lady

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband is from North Carolina and we have lived in Hawaii for 40 years. I'm always on the lookout for good Southern cookbooks because he's very appreciative when I make Southern food. Cheryl and Griffith Day, authors, own Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, so this cookbook caught my eye. I took a chance and preordered it back in March. And boy am I glad I did! My husband says it's "just like back home cooking!"

I've tried several recipes so far and every one has turned out beautifully. The recipes are very easy to follow, ingredients are "every day" items you probably already have in your pantry. All I had to purchase was mace, whole nutmegs, and cardamom. But it's well worth it because these are used in several recipes in this book. I've made the sweet potato pie twice and my family absolutely loves it. I'd never even eaten a sweet potato pie before, so I had no idea what it would taste like. Wonderful! So easy to bake. Their homemade jam recipe is so easy and instructions are thorough and detailed. I made it using strawberries, both fresh and frozen. Turned out great both times. So much better than store bought. I've made the Southern Corn Cakes, Baked Vanilla Custard, Bourbon Pecan Pie (to die for!), Bourbon Bread Pudding (my Mom's favorite), and Blueberry Biscones with Lemon Glaze. Their special recipe for shortcut piecrust is amazing - buttery, flaky and so very easy to prepare. My next treat will be the lemon bars. Can't wait!

Everything I've baked so far was perfectly yummy! I never considered myself a baker, but with successes like these, I've come to love baking and making treats my family enjoys.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Photographs and Recipes April 20, 2012

By E.M.

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

With so many cookbooks that I've lost count, with most of them focusing on baking, it is not often that I come across a baking book that has interesting or innovative takes on the same old cookies, bars, and cakes. I was on the fence about adding a new book to my repertoire and actually used the "Look Inside" option on Amazon to try a recipe before purchasing. I made the Doughnut Muffins, and purchased the book immediately that day. I've had the book for one week and already made five recipes: the Doughnut Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Mocha Oatmeal Muffins, Pecan-Chocolate-Espresso Coffee Cake, and Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. I can say with certainty that every recipe has been a winner. The baking times are almost true to what is written, which is also not something you find often.

Aside from the recipes that I've tried, what really caught my eye with this book was the interesting take on cookies, savory foods, and bars. We've all heard of Mexican chocolate, but Back in the Day Bakery has developed a cookie made with almond and all-purpose flour as well as chocolate and cayenne pepper for kick, which is one recipe I cannot wait to try. They also include a recipe for Bennecake Thumbprint cookies, which uses Benne flour, local to the Low Country of South Carolina/Georgia. If that doesn't pique your interest, then the Lemon Pie Bars, Drunk Blondies, Almond Crunchies, and homemade Sno Balls might catch your eye. Still not convinced? Savory foods such as Pancetta-Fontina Bread Pudding and Vegetable Potpie are also included!

The biggest complaint for cookbooks are those that don't include enough photographs. Back in the Day Bakery has a photograph on nearly every page, and you can clearly see what the end result should look like. Every recipe is incredibly easy to read and follow- just ask my 7 year old, who helped make the Espresso cake and Bundt cake. I can't say enough good things about this cookbook, and I am so glad that I purchased it. Highly recommended.