What could be more satisfying than presenting friends and family with a perfectly crafted homemade dessert, fresh out of the oven? Yet for many, the idea of baking is intimidating; rolling out pie dough or making a cake from scratch is akin to climbing Mount Everest. THE FEARLESS BAKER is a beginner's baking guide written to empower home cooks with spot-on advice and a cache of go-to recipes. Renowned pastry chef Emily Luchetti guides novice bakers through her amazing recipes to troubleshoot their most common pitfalls. Charming color illustrations and photographs of real-life beginning bakers in action complete the instruction, turning even the most tentative baker into a fearless one.
The Fearless Baker
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Emily Luchetti's desserts are four-star affairs." (Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle 2010-01-00)
"If your idea of baking is pleasure and chocolate (and why wouldn't it be?), you are in the best of kitchens with wizard pastry chef Emily Luchetti. Her dessert and breakfast recipes are easy-to-follow indulgences and oh so délicieuses." (author of French Women Don't Get Fat Mireille Guiliano)
"The Fearless Baker is like having a pastry chef answering all your questions alongside you as you whisk, roll, and stir. With Emily Luchetti's can't-fail recipes and lively sidebar commentary, bakers of all levels will be rewarded with sweet success." (author of Ready for Dessert and The Sweet Life in Paris David Lebovitz)
"Emily Luchetti is one of a handful of leading pastry chefs who have been setting the gold standard for restaurant desserts in the United States over the past two decades. Yet she also has the remarkable ability to impart her keen insights into flavor and technique to beginners. While her previous cookbooks have given rise to fervent admirers among culinary professionals (including us), this one is destined to inspire a whole new generation of home cooks to be fearless in the kitchen when it comes to baking." (James Beard Award-winning authors of THE FLAVOR BIBLE Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg)
"I love the friendly, chatty tone of The Fearless Baker--it's like having Emily right there in your kitchen cheering you on. . . . I want to take this book home, set up camp, and bake with my kids for six months straight." (James Beard Award-winning chef and author of Sunday Suppers at Lucques Suzanne Goin)
"If your idea of baking is pleasure and chocolate (and why wouldn't it be?), you are in the best of kitchens with wizard pastry chef Emily Luchetti. Her dessert and breakfast recipes are easy-to-follow indulgences and oh so délicieuses." (author of French Women Don't Get Fat Mireille Guiliano)
"The Fearless Baker is like having a pastry chef answering all your questions alongside you as you whisk, roll, and stir. With Emily Luchetti's can't-fail recipes and lively sidebar commentary, bakers of all levels will be rewarded with sweet success." (author of Ready for Dessert and The Sweet Life in Paris David Lebovitz)
"Emily Luchetti is one of a handful of leading pastry chefs who have been setting the gold standard for restaurant desserts in the United States over the past two decades. Yet she also has the remarkable ability to impart her keen insights into flavor and technique to beginners. While her previous cookbooks have given rise to fervent admirers among culinary professionals (including us), this one is destined to inspire a whole new generation of home cooks to be fearless in the kitchen when it comes to baking." (James Beard Award-winning authors of THE FLAVOR BIBLE Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg)
"I love the friendly, chatty tone of The Fearless Baker--it's like having Emily right there in your kitchen cheering you on. . . . I want to take this book home, set up camp, and bake with my kids for six months straight." (James Beard Award-winning chef and author of Sunday Suppers at Lucques Suzanne Goin)
About the Author
Emily Luchetti has developed a nationwide following for her innovative yet approachable dessert creations. She is executive pastry chef at Farallon and Waterbar in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has authored five successful cookbooks, and contributed to The New Joy of Cooking and The Farallon Cookbook. She won a 2004 James Beard Award for Outstanding Pastry Chef.
Lisa Weiss is a food writer and stylist whose work has appeared in such publications as Cook's Illustrated and Cooking Light. She has co-authored six cookbooks, including The Farallon Cookbook, the James Beard Award-nominated The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco with Cecilia Chiang, and the bestselling Complete Meat Cookbook with Bruce Aidells.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I first heard about "The Fearless Baker" through Sur La Table's "Fearless Baker" cooking classes, and was intrigued. I'd expected the recipes to stick to simple (read: bland) beginner's recipes like sugar cookies, but far from it: you'll find exotic touches like cardamom shortbread (cardamom is a popular seasoning in Scandinavian baking as well as a staple of Middle Eastern dishes), pine nut fig cookies, and orange date ricotta tartlets. Emily gives new bakers the tools to learn and master baking techniques (toasting nuts, cutting butter into dough for pie crusts, etc.) through a series of clever sidebars consisting of dialogues between Emily and her Fearful Bakers (FB).
When I first started out on my own as a baker in 2006, I had precious little baking experience other than licking the spoon or dropping cookie dough onto waiting cookie sheets as a kid. After several years living overseas or in dorms without a kitchen, I finally took the plunge and began baking, first with simple quick breads, then Bundt cakes, then on to yeast breads and laminated dough. There were several messy (and occasionally expensive) mishaps and missteps along the way, and I only wish that Emily Luchetti's "The Fearless Baker" had been around at the time!
There are nearly 200 recipes to choose from. I'm more of a breakfast baker myself (I love a good coffee cake, babka, or muffin), and curiously enough, the breakfast section is the very last one in the book. You'll find a tempting array of scones, muffins, breakfast breads, sticky buns, and more to get your day off to a sweet start. This might be the best place to start if you're brand new to baking; there are very few steps (or dirty dishes involved) to whip up quick bread or muffins.... Read more ›
When I first started out on my own as a baker in 2006, I had precious little baking experience other than licking the spoon or dropping cookie dough onto waiting cookie sheets as a kid. After several years living overseas or in dorms without a kitchen, I finally took the plunge and began baking, first with simple quick breads, then Bundt cakes, then on to yeast breads and laminated dough. There were several messy (and occasionally expensive) mishaps and missteps along the way, and I only wish that Emily Luchetti's "The Fearless Baker" had been around at the time!
There are nearly 200 recipes to choose from. I'm more of a breakfast baker myself (I love a good coffee cake, babka, or muffin), and curiously enough, the breakfast section is the very last one in the book. You'll find a tempting array of scones, muffins, breakfast breads, sticky buns, and more to get your day off to a sweet start. This might be the best place to start if you're brand new to baking; there are very few steps (or dirty dishes involved) to whip up quick bread or muffins.... Read more ›
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By B. Davis
Format:Hardcover
Written for the beginner-cook, The Fearless Baker is packed with easy, yummy recipes: cookies, bars, and bites; cakes; pies and tarts; fruit; no baking required; dessert sauces; and breakfast treats. I especially like the 3:00 PM Chocolate Pick-Me-Up Cookies that are made with chopped pecans and dark chocolate. Each recipe also comes with question and answers for the cook who might be just a bit lost in the kitchen setting. I definitely give this one 5 stars*****
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Jan
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have baked several items from this book. It is easy to follow and the baked goods have gotten rave reviews from the people who have eaten them.
19 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I got an electronic version of the book, so the final version might be somewhat different.
I am not a baker. I cannot prepare desserts unless I follow instructions; so the cookbook needs to be very specific for my desserts to turn out.
The author dedicates some pages to the type of equipment that we should have. I wish that they had included photographs, as I had a hard time finding some of the equipment.
The book is divided into several chapters that cover: cookies, bars and bites, cakes, pies and tarts, fruit, No oven required, Best Dessert Sauces and Breakfast. It also has chapters on Sources, Metric Equivalents and Acknowledgments (people who helped with recipes and tasted them).
The first recipe that I baked was Blondies. They turned out great. The flavor was great and they were easy to prepare. The second recipe that I tried was the Cardamon Shortbread. It kind of flop on me because my mixture was not like "wet sand". I tried it again and had much better success with it. Both of them tasted good but I would have liked to see the final product to compare with what I baked.
This book is for the person who has a clue on baking. The lack of pictures makes it very hard for people like me that do not bake.
I am not a baker. I cannot prepare desserts unless I follow instructions; so the cookbook needs to be very specific for my desserts to turn out.
The author dedicates some pages to the type of equipment that we should have. I wish that they had included photographs, as I had a hard time finding some of the equipment.
The book is divided into several chapters that cover: cookies, bars and bites, cakes, pies and tarts, fruit, No oven required, Best Dessert Sauces and Breakfast. It also has chapters on Sources, Metric Equivalents and Acknowledgments (people who helped with recipes and tasted them).
The first recipe that I baked was Blondies. They turned out great. The flavor was great and they were easy to prepare. The second recipe that I tried was the Cardamon Shortbread. It kind of flop on me because my mixture was not like "wet sand". I tried it again and had much better success with it. Both of them tasted good but I would have liked to see the final product to compare with what I baked.
This book is for the person who has a clue on baking. The lack of pictures makes it very hard for people like me that do not bake.
By Dani T
Format:Hardcover
I have tried two of the recipes in this book: The gooey chocolate cake and the cinnamon sugar cookies. I enjoyed both and, more importantly, my husband enjoyed both!
My husband suffers from allergies to several foods (including most nuts), so a number of delicious desserts are ruled out for him. As anyone with food allergies knows, variety becomes a bit of a challenge. The great thing about this book is that it has many sweet treats that, while a little different from the same old same old, are not so out in left field as to be off-putting.
It is true that there are not step-by-step photos and even the illustrations are not great (the scale seems way off in some of them), but if you can follow the narrative, this book may certainly be suitable for bakers with limited experience.
The book is fun and the recipes are delicious. No reason not to rate five stars!
My husband suffers from allergies to several foods (including most nuts), so a number of delicious desserts are ruled out for him. As anyone with food allergies knows, variety becomes a bit of a challenge. The great thing about this book is that it has many sweet treats that, while a little different from the same old same old, are not so out in left field as to be off-putting.
It is true that there are not step-by-step photos and even the illustrations are not great (the scale seems way off in some of them), but if you can follow the narrative, this book may certainly be suitable for bakers with limited experience.
The book is fun and the recipes are delicious. No reason not to rate five stars!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Fearless Baker is great for a husband who is not a great cook and
his wife is away on vacation. It can get you through the process step by step.
his wife is away on vacation. It can get you through the process step by step.
2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By J. Chapin
Format:Hardcover
Finally an approachable baking cookbook. I love to cook but when it comes to baking desserts I'm hopeless and terrified. This is the first baking type cookbook that's truly and finally helping me to overcome my fears. I'm hoping to build up enough confidence to bake my childhood favorite that my Nana used to make for me - Lemon Meringue Pie. When I do then I'll know I'm truly fearless. In the meantime thanks for helping me get there one recipe at a time. Jennifer
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
buy this book!
Whether you are an experienced baker or a novice, you will find a lot you can get out of this book. The recipes are written for those who aren't fearless yet and you'll soon be... Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by allen
5.0 out of 5 stars
from a fearless baker!
Emmy Luchetti and Lisa rock! This is a great book to buy a young person just starting out int he world! Its easy to follow and inspiring.
A great grad gift! Read more
A great grad gift! Read more
Published on May 4, 2011 by Liz Palmetto
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love, love, love this cookbook!
This is one you need for your collection. There is such a variety of recipes and the techniques required are explained simply and in a very straightforward manner. Read more
Published on April 30, 2011 by W. Strei
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gained Weight Reading It
I haven't made a single recipe from this book, but I think I gained weight just reading it. Unlike the purported audience described above, I've always enjoyed baking and haven't... Read more
Published on April 26, 2011 by ruthjoec
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing
The best book yet for the novice dessert maker. Excellent descriptions, delicious desserts. Guarenteed to work recipes with a variety of ingredients. Read more
Published on April 26, 2011 by Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, a hard to miss invitation to the wonders of baking
Get the oven ready...
The fresh approach of The Fearless Baker lures you to that special paradise filled with aromas, flavors, richness and textures that we all crave for. Read more
The fresh approach of The Fearless Baker lures you to that special paradise filled with aromas, flavors, richness and textures that we all crave for. Read more
Published on April 17, 2011 by Bea
