Customer Reviews

The Village Baker's Wife: The Deserts and Pastries That Made Gayle's Famous

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love Gayle's in Capitola -- all the pastries taste exactly like those from your fondest childhood memories. In the past few months I've made several cakes from Gayle Ortiz' cookbook, and each one tastes just like Gayle's! Even somewhat complicated recipes are broken down into manageable components with easy-to-follow, detailed instructions. I have an embarrassment of cookbooks and baking manuals from four generations of avid bakers, and Gayle's combines the best qualities of all of them. As evidenced by another reviewer's comments, the inherent subjectivity of baking renders no cookbook foolproof. (I've made the pastry cream according to the directions several times, with no problems.) However, this cookbook is nearly foolproof -- my self-proclaimed "not-a-baker" boyfriend & his three children made the carrot cake for my birthday with no assistance, and it was wonderful -- just like Gayle's! (The one error I've found is that recipe's baking time seemed to be incorrect -- 30 minutes instead of the 50-60 mine needed to bake).

What a find! This book has some great recipes. It really caters to folks that know their way around the kitchen and have some knowledge of baking, even though the directions are very well written and each recipe has a refer to page to remind you of a technique that was explained early on in the book.

I've never been to Gayle's but I certainly won't pass it up if I'm ever in the area. Everything I have made, with the exception of the croissants, have been phenominal (the croissants were way too buttery and greasy - this was probably due to my handling of the dough rather than the recipe though). The pastries are to die for even though they took some time to make - no one believed I made them, they looked too perfect - exactly like the photo! The chocolate mousse cake is sinfully delicious and the key lime pie is the BEST I have ever had. Needless to say I have added a few pounds from all the experimenting in the kitchen.

The ingredients are easy to find, the recipes are the ones you'd want from a traditional bakery (danishes, pastries, cakes, cookies, pies). What a gold mind this book has been, I feel like Gayle's has 'revealed' all their secrets. I keep reaching for this book when I want to try a sweet treat.

This is a wonderful book! The recipes are well-written and easy to make, plus the results are as good as what's served at Gayle's Bakery. Included are short stories about the chef's and cooks who have influenced them, which are both charming and inspiring. As a professional baker, this is one of my favorite books.

The intro to the book states "an entire pastry shop between two covers", and that is the best way to sum up the book. Thank you Gayle for sharing a well written treasure trove of baking information. One of the best laid out formats, easy to understand delicious recipes, with cross references for each particular recipe. Good illustrations. Not for a beginner, but for myself, a novice, who has only attemped puff pastry one other time, I had excellent results following her instructions. This book is worth it's weight in gold.

This cookbook is, by far, the most influential book in my life of baking! I bought it shortly before my wedding a couple of years ago, and I was able to use several recipes for wedding events! For instance, I made the poppyseed cake with raspberry cream icing for my bridesmaids' luncheon, complete with the traditional "cake charms" for the perfect pink cake! I was asked by four people for the recipe, and in fact, I made it again when I gave a good friend her bridal luncheon last June! For my wedding reception, one of my own contributions to the reception table was the lavender shortbread. A truly interesting myriad of flavors, of course, but it got rave reviews! ("What in the world is IN these cookies?") Five stars!

This is my favorite of the dozens of baking books I own. The writing is entertaining, yet informative. If reading through the yummy array of recipes isn't enough, the photographs of bakery cases filled with beautiful baked goods will have you running for the kitchen. Everything I've tried from The Village Baker's Wife has turned out perfectly, which is a claim I can make of no other book. I can even boast perfect croissants on the first try!

This is the ultimate book for the home baker. It has instructions on how to do all the essentials that are often over looked but make such a difference in the outcome of the product. No detail is left to guess work. Everything you could want to bake from simple cookies to exotic pastries are in here. My first batch of chocolate chip cookies looked picture perfect and tasted even better. The results I've always wanted I've now found through the fine writing and inspiring stories in this book. You must have it in your library.

WHAT A SUPERB BOOK - PACKED WITH INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS RECIPES THAT MOST CHEFS WOULD NEVER SHARE WITH YOU. THANKS TO THE AUTHORS FOR SHARING MANY OF THEIR MOST WONDERFUL SECRETS AND HINTS - SO HELPFUL FOR ALL THE BAKERS (NEW AND EXPERIENCED). IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU COULD NEVER MAKE A PERFECT PIE CRUST, BUY THIS BOOK!!!! YOU WILL FIND ALL KINDS OF PASTRIES, SUCH AS RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE ALMOND DANISH, SUGARLESS RASPBERRY OATMEAL BARS, MOLASSES COOKIES, WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES, TIRAMISU, PECAN TASSIES, CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE, BEAR CLAWS, CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS, KEY LIME PIE, SOURDOUGH PANNETTONE, AND EVEN THE MOST WONDERFUL BUTTERFLAKE ROLLS. DO I NEED TO SAY MORE? I HAVE USED AT LEAST TEN RECIPES FROM THE BOOK AND EACH ONE OF THEM CAME OUT PERFECT AND EVERYONE KEEPS ASKING ME FOR THE RECIPES. THE BOOK HAS THE BEST BAKING TIPS YOU WILL FIND ANYWHERE. AND MUCH MORE!!! I AM NOW ON MY WAY TO BAKE A DAIQUIRI CHEESECAKE FOR TOMORROW PARTY. ENJOY!

My wife and I bought this bought when it was first published in 1997. We have probably made half the recipes in the book and have not found a bad one. This book will not fail you--not the recipes, the tips or techniques. It is one of those indispensible items you can truly call a "must have." Favorites: apple pie, danish pastry dough, scones, whipped cream! I've never been to their bakery but I'll bet it's as good as the book. Great job, folks--please write another!

This book come with a delicious assortment of recipes: poppyseed cake with raspberry whipped cream frosting, crocodiles (a tasty-sounding puff pastry made with nuts and brown sugar), banana split cake (banana cake layers filled with strawberry whipped cream and chocolate ganache), fresh fruit tartes, chocolate mousse cake, as well as croissants, muffins, cookies, and some savory items (such as a mushroom turnover with cream cheese pastry) as well.

My results, however, have been below expectations. The pastry cream was very thick (due to a lot of cornstarch) and not as flavorful as the pastry cream in "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook"; also, the crust for the fruit tart needed to be baked a lot longer than the 20 minutes called for.

More recently, I made the Florentine cookies and the results were horrendous! Gayle has you cook the cookie mixture way too long so that the cookies will not spread in the oven. After throwing the dough away, I found a Florentine recipe in my Fannie Farmer Baking Book and the cookies turned out excellent (cooking times were very different from Gayle's).