The Wooden Spoon Bread Book: The Secrets of Successful Baking [Paperback]

Marilyn M. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 1994

Featuring over 250 proven recipes, as well as clear, concise directions on everything from setting up the perfect bread-baking kitchen to creating your own unique recipes, this indispensable tool is for anyone who longs to create the satisfying delights of home-baked breads.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Moore, whose self-published Baking Your Own: Recipes and Tips for Better Breads (where some of this material previously appeared) became an underground success, offers here an authoritative work that is practical, methodical, meticulously researched and reassuringly down-to-earth. Her collection is wide-ranging: quick, ethnic and presentation breads, pancakes, waffles, muffins, biscuits, etc. She advises patience in breadbaking: if the dough is resistant, cover it with a towel and let it relax. All the recipes are simply written and easy to follow, even complicated ones like those for croissant and brioche. Some of the more intriguing include: sweet-and-spicy Swedish limpa, which incorporates an orange-zest syrup; numerous sourdough varieties; and rich Grand Marnier sugar rolls. This welcome volume will surely become a dog-eared favorite on the home baker's bookshelf. Illustrations not seen by PW. Better Homes and Gardens Book Club and Troll Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Unbound edition.

From Library Journal

Moore's book is remarkable for the variety of bread recipes and their organization and clarity. Supporting chapters include specifics of a baker's dream kitchen, a carefully detailed "learning loaf," and much information on baking basics. A list of sources for supplies and grains and a bibliography are both succinctly annotated. Moore gives us fresh tomato bread along with old friends like blueberry muffins. Crumbs and leftover breads become ingredients for cold cornbread soup, bread pudding, etc. Recipes, often from friends who are not food professionals, are carefully credited. Recommended. SP
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Unbound edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 418 pages
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press (January 6, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0871135051
• ISBN-13: 978-0871135056
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #551,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Complete Authority on Bread Baking!!, July 17, 2005

By 

Carolyn Rampone "Carolyn D'Amico Rampone" (Plantation, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wooden Spoon Bread Book: The Secrets of Successful Baking (Paperback)

There aren't any secrets in Marilyn Moore's "The Wooden Spoon Bread Book." She has carefully and lovingly shared them all in an easy to follow, step by step format. Whether you have baked bread for years or are just starting to think about it, "The Wooden Spoon Bread Book" will take you where you want to go. I actually have the older edition from 1987 so I can't comment on the new illustrations. What I can say is this book has never been stored away or replaced since '87 and has been a staple in my kitchen from the beginning. A true sign (for me) that a recipe book is a classic is its physical condition. If the pages are crisp and clean, chances are it hasn't seen much use, probably for a good reason. My copy of WSBB is worn and the pages have swelled from constant use. For close to 18 years, this has been the only book I have ever turned to for bread baking. That has to say something. Two of my all time favorite recipes are Beignets (page 229) and Classic Croissants (page 236.) Both take some time (overnight rising) but are simple and lead to professional results. If you buy the book for these two alone, you have made an investment in culinary pleasure for a lifetime. I am not exaggerating, they ARE that good.
I don't think there is a loaf of bread that has not been included in this collection. There are the traditional yeast loaves, international varieties, sweet breads and snacks. Marilyn Moore has produced a classic encyclopedia you will refer to time after time.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one gets it right!, September 24, 2002

By 

Matthew K. Morgan (Ruther Glen, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wooden Spoon Bread Book: The Secrets of Successful Baking (Paperback)

Several years ago I began baking bread as a hobby, and this hobby has now fed my family on a fairly regular basis. In an effort to expand my horizons and add good recipes to the collection I already had, I chose this book after perusing it on a store shelf. After looking at book after book after book, I found that this one was better than most.

Many books on bread rely on pictures and diagrams to sell themselves. This one is not so -- you will not find pictures in this book accompanying the recipes. What you will find, though, is a series of well thought-out and tested recipes that are clear, concise, and easy to follow. The author has done a fine job of keeping things simple, even on the most complex recipes.

I have not made all the recipes in this book; to do so would take more time than I have in the evenings. However, I have made many of them and all of the ones I have tried have been successful. One of the best recipes in the whole book is "Cut Vienna Loaf" -- if you try no others, I encourage you to try this one.

This book has an interesting organizational layout. It begins with a section detailing basic bread making, including a couple of recipes, some terminology, and a very short primer on how to create your own recipes by modifying other recipes that you already have. It then plunges into a section called "One Baker's Dozen" which is a collection of very good recipes that the author has chosen as her favorite. Sections following that one include white breads, quick breads, and even snack breads and crackers.

Many authors of bread cookbooks like to add their commentary on their personal experiences with the sections or even the recipes in their books; this one is no exception. Where this book differs is that the commentary is not fluffy, look-at-all-the-cool-things-I-have-done type of drivel that can be found in many other books. It fits with the sections and the recipes and adds a nice dimension to it. While certainly not necessary, it's not out of place here, either.

This book is well-suited for the beginner and the expert alike. Anyone who is interested in making good homemade breads will benefit greatly by having this book in the ready. It is clear and easy to follow, and the results are superb.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wooden Spoon Stands for Magic in Your Bread!, November 30, 2000

By 

J Keistler "[e-mail]" (Lake Jackson, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Wooden Spoon Bread Book: The Secrets of Successful Baking (Paperback)

I bought this book several years ago when it was first published. I have worn out the original and have purchased another copy. Bread has been a hobby of mine for about twenty years, yet I learned new techniques from this book. My favorite recipes in here are the Irish quick bread (great for making and taking to work) and the Granny Smith Apple Bread (great, period).

While the Clayton bread books are more comprehensive, I find that this reference is both more reable and easier to understand.

Whether you are new to bread or an old hand at it, this book will have something to offer you!