Customer Reviews

Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I saw this cookbook I just couldn't resist. It was William Sonoma after all, and looked like just what I needed to get started as a beginning baker. As far as presentation goes, this book is beautiful. The photography will have you drooling over many of the pages in no time at all.

Like most beginning cookbooks, this one has very nice sections at the beginning covering equipment and ingredients as well as basic techniques for things like measuring and preparing pans. But the real test of a cookbook is the recipes themselves.

There's a wonderful selection of classic as well as specialty recipes in all the basic categories, and the book included some of my favorites like Challah and Pumpernickel bread. And although delicious when successfully baked, the book suffers terribly from what appears to be errors in quantity. In the dozen or so recipes that I have attempted so far, about three quarters had significant trouble caused by issues that could only be attributed to the quantity of goods. Being new to baking, I assumed at first that this was just something to do with me or the way that I measured things. But after a while, and with the purchase of a very nice cooking scale, I had to admit that I was indeed measuring correctly. I am a guy and all, which makes me anal about such things to begin with. But I'm also a graphic designer who was raised by a mechanical engineer. Attention to detail, was my personal mantra growing up. It wasn't me.

After a few frustrating attempts with breads, I thought that much of the problem had to do with their tendency to simply be vague about certain key things. They called for 2-3 `extra' cups of flour in their Sourdough bread to get a "soft dough", and "the juice from one lemon" in their Apple Pie filling. Have they been to the store lately? You can get lemons any size from "golf ball" to "softball." And yes, it makes a very big difference.

I suspect that many of these errors are based on publishing, and not with the original recipes themselves. It would be very easy to introduce problems into things if you needed to have weight measurements tagged onto all the ingredients in every recipe throughout the book. If the original baker used only volume measurements, then they would have to find equivalents someplace. Stuff like sugar is pretty consistent whether it's by volume or weight, but not things like flour.

But if these mistakes weren't problem enough, I have already encountered instances of out and out errors to the basic recipe itself. For Apple Turnovers for example, they started with four large Granny Smith apples for eight small turnovers. That's half an apple per! No way. Somebody goofed.

So, does it mean the book is a flop? No. I have been able to adjust the recipes in most cases to produce an acceptable end product, and certain sections do not seem as prone to the measurement trouble (such as Cookies). But given that this IS a book for beginners (thus, `essentials of baking'), this is pretty unacceptable. A more experienced cook might see a problem coming and correct before it's too late, but not someone just starting into the art. It's also pretty appalling given that this is William-Sonoma as well as an expensive high-class publication and not some rough, first-time published baker trying to break into the market.

To put this review into perspective for you, it is written by a serious student of cooking that has been actively studying food on their own for 25 years. I have been focusing on Italian food for the last 10 years. My favorite cookbook is "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute of America.

If you are a frustrated baker who can't make your bread turn out right this is an excellent starting point for that purpose. The book contains all the bakery standards that you would expect and some that might be a new experience for you.

The Lavender-Polenta Coffee Cake is a very nice recipe. The Carrot Cake Recipe is also very good. Try adding a little maple syrup to the cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake. To quote my husband, Yum Yum.

The book does a nice job of outlining the various stages of the baking process in good detail with pictures. I think it would be very easy for a beginner to follow and make a nice loaf of bread the first time out.

I have shared the French Baquette recipe with a few novice bakers and they claim to have had good results.

If you are looking for a decent baking primer this is a good place to begin. The directions and the pictures are well done for those that need the guidance.

as a professional baker i would HIGHLY recommend this book for the amatuer and novice baker. the recipes are fanatastic! it is one of the best baking books i own!

I collect cookbooks and can never resist buying another one that sounds promising. This cookbook is a keeper. I have tried 12 of the recipes so far with perfect results and compliments from the eaters! I like a well-illustrated book with easy-to-read print and clear but not pretentiously over-explained directions. This cookbook meets all my criteria. I am very impressed. The Apple Cake with optional Maple Icing got rave reviews at a recent bake sale, and my grandchildren love it as a snack without the icing. The Vanilla Wafers are tender and delicious. The Lemon Chiffon Cake turned out looking exactly as illustrated. The recipes are all interesting but do not require one to be a professional chef to achieve professional results. Highly recommended.

From all the Williams and Sonoma books I have, this one is my favourite. Well explained, wonderful pictures and great recipes. The best book I bought last time I was in USA.

For sweet and savory and absolutely YUM recipes, this cookbook is a must! This book does not assume the reader has in depth knowledge of baking and details everything from necessary equipment, ingredients and techniques, all with beautiful photographs!

With recipes from breads, tarts, cookies, cakes and frostings, sauces and toppings, this book includes everything for you to make absolutely delicious treats at home. Highly recommended!

FYI: Since posting this review, I have made banana bread and creme caramel from this book and both turned out very well and were a hit. I used half and half instead of heavy cream in the creme caramel and it did not affect the taste.

I love this book! I'm trying to find more books as fab as this book. It goes into detail about the differences between all the ingredients. It even tells you what you might have done wrong if you didn't get ideal results. The book has great pictures and lots of step by step instructions. Also it is great because it tells you how to make each receipie with a variety of tools like by hand, or a mixer, or a food processor. I found the book to be very empowering for a new baker and super helpful. Also all the recepies have been a huge hit with those I have served. If you are a beginner who wants to learn and understand the art of baking and pasteries this is the book for you!

If you know someone (as I did) who was trying to learn to bake bread, cakes, cookies and muffins with only marginal success, then this is the book to buy. It is well organized, the type is large enough to read easily, the recipes are clear and concise and the photos are really helpful. The editors have chosen a good variety of today's popular baked items to make with common, every day ingredients that are easy to find at any market.

Williams Sonoma books are generally a cut above most and this one doesn't disappoint.

I own numerous cooking and baking books and this is one that fits right in with the Williams Sonoma line of books as far as presentation and recipes. Unfortunately, measuring quantities is a disaster. You would think that all means of measurement would be consistently correct. Totally wrong.

Just yesterday, I tried the Apple Cake recipe (p. 229). Simple; lets start with the flour: 2 cups, 10 oz, 315 grams. Toss my bowl on a food scale (available at Williams Sonoma), zero the scale and measure the grams. 315, perfect. For the heck of it, I toggled to the ounce scale and it measured 11-1/8 oz not 10 oz). Hmm, sugar: 1-1/2 cups, 12 oz, 375 grams. Measure 375 grams and it toggled to ounces and it read 13-1/4 oz (not 12 oz). Through investigation, the book seems to use 'troy oz' conversion instead of the typical 'avdp' conversion typically (should I say, always/almost always) used in the American measurements of quantities. A quick look at the butter: 3/4 cup, 6 oz, 185 grams. Right on the stick it states 113.4 grams for 4 oz which converts to 170.1 grams for 6 oz and not 185 oz. I don't have to Google this to see something is wrong.

I have several baking books by authors such as Rose Levy Beranbaum and Daniel Leader and both use the avdp ounce conversion. Not to beat a dead horse, I would think the best way to use this book is to measure volumes which is not the most precise way to do it. I would only hope that the newer edition of this book has corrected or at least clarified this. Or WS should sell scales using the troy oz conversion (kidding here). The 'weights and equivalents' table on p. 24 to me is not necessary if the conventional means of measuring are used and only adds to the confusion.

This is a book on baking and not simple cooking where you can throw an addtional half, maybe whole green pepper into a meatloaf recipe with no adverse effects. Measurement is key in baking. If this information were clarified, I would lean to a five star review since the information in the book is overall very good.

I love this book. I like that the recipes tell you how to prepare baked goodies by hand, stand mixer or food processor when appropriate. I also like that the measurements are in both ounces and grams. Like most Williams-Sonoma books, the illustrations and aids are terrific. All that said, the more challenging baked goods are more doable with this kitchen friend. Charlo