The Weekend Baker: Irresistible Recipes, Simple Techniques, and Stress Free Strategies for Busy People (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: weekend baker, high edge that rests, quarter turn several times, Sweetened Whipped Cream, Emergency Strawberry Sauce, Caramel Sauce (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What's a weekend baker? "Anyone who loves to bake, but gets tripped up feeling that it's too time consuming," writes Abigail Johnson Dodge in The Weekend Baker, her collection of 100-plus recipes for a wide range of sweet and savory baked goods. Formulas for the likes of Gingered Shortcakes with Jumbled Fruit, Soft Chocolate-Almond Oatmeal Cookies, and Chocolate-Banana Swirl Cake are immediately attractive, but the great value of Dodge's book lies in its organization, which takes readers from the simplest and quickest projects--"Baker's Express"--through "Baking in Stages," and finally "Productions," fuller-dress items like Four-Layer Carrot Cake and Overnight Brioche Braid; these are, nevertheless, well within the average baker's skill. In a world of baking books that offer the simplest and most traditional recipes only, or assume that readers have the time and technique to create multi-element extravaganzas, The Weekend Baker stands apart. Its approach is realistic without sacrificing good taste or recipe integrity. Dodge includes tips that cover familiar ground--get to know your oven, and the lik--but also offers, for example, "Bake It and Stow It," a detailed guide to storing sweets. Features like "Do-Aheads," and "Got Extra Time?," usefully further Dodge's quick-and-delicious approach. (She's also pleasingly droll; a really rich brownie is dubbed "prescription-strength."). With color photos, the book is a real addition to the harried baker's library. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Dodge believes that when it comes to the often-intimidating world of baking, one need not sacrifice quality for simplicity. Chocolate-Glazed Ricotta Cake, Old-Fashioned Berry Ice-Box Cake, Jalapeño Corn Bread Wedges—all are within reach, with a little planning. The author honed her skills at La Varenne in Paris, specializing in pastry, but despite her serious experience, her approach is relaxed and realistic. To Dodge, the weekend baker is the dinner party host who wants to accompany the meal with homemade focaccia, but doesn't get home from work until six; the mom who finds out her son needs cupcakes for Cub Scouts in an hour; or the low-maintenance sweet tooth who's ready to embark on a baking "production" on a Saturday afternoon, but doesn't know where to start. Supremely efficient, the book will help readers in any number of situations, whether they have a few days (Ready-When-You-Are-Chocolate-Raspberry Soufflés can be prepared and refrigerated for up to a day or frozen for up to two weeks before baking) or less than an hour (Nutty Cinnamon Elephant Ears use frozen puff pastry). Encompassing cookies and bars, cakes, breads, custards and pies, and sharing time-saving tips on everything from using the microwave to soften butter to keeping a well-stocked pantry, this is an excellent resource for cooks of all levels. Photos.
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393058832
• ISBN-13: 978-0393058833
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #678,981 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love baking again!, December 8, 2004

By	Lissa Ruger (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

After taking a long haitus from baking because of a busy work schedule, I suddenly found myself with a long-term houseguest who has a decided sweet-tooth, and this book has been a godsend! I have been baking cookies and brownies and cakes galore, to rave reviews: my husband and our guest have declared me a bloody genius! Everything I've tried has come out exactly as promised. Abigail Dodge's reassuring, conversational style is so refreshing, and she made me realize that I don't need huge blocks of time and a bunch of gadgets to get great results. I actually like to bake again. Thank you, Abigail!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weekend and Week-long Success with Baking, December 9, 2004

By	Stephen E. Mcdonald "BankrSteve" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The author's vast experience with baking comes through in this family-friendly treasure chest of recipes. She provides very useful guidelines for home baking in her chapter introductions and encouraging anecdotes and advice in her head notes. Each recipe starts with do-ahead steps, which are great for those of us whose schedules require that we bake in time installments. Let your dough rise in the fridge overnight! It will be perky and ready to shape into bread in the morning! We made the Buttery Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving, and everyone raved. The dough for the rolls was some of the easiest I've ever worked with. It was fun for the kids to see how successful dough is supposed to look and feel at each step. (Note: If you make the rolls plain rather than using one of the suggested herb or cheese flavorings, add an extra pinch of salt.) We also made the Velvety Pumpkin Tart. It's richness is balanced by the (easy!) gingersnap crust. We made it in stages starting 2 days ahead of Thanksgiving, following the do-ahead steps. Very convenient! We have a list of six more recipes we're dying to try, including Brandy Snaps, Three-Bite Whoopie Pies, and Pumpkin Half-Moon Pie Pockets. Large type makes the book easy to read, and wide margins left me room to write notes for the next time. Thanks, Abby!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to follow recipes, January 12, 2005

By	M. Thorpe "true believer" (Iowa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I love to bake but I prefer recipes that aren't very complicated (a little challenge is fine) and that contain common ingredients so I'm not running around the grocery store trying to find this one item no one has ever heard of. This cookbook has met my requirements!

She has it divided into three sections: the first being quick desserts to whip up for unexpected parties, guests, etc., the second being recipes that you can prepare parts of ahead of time (which she also shows you how to do that with other recipes in other chapters), and the last section are recipes that require a little more time.

At the beginning of the book she lists common cooking tools and ingredients that you might want to stock your cabinets with.

I have made the mini elephant ears which were eaten quickly and this week I am trying the chocolate chip cookies. I love how she explains the baking process in the recipes and I couldn't be happier with this book!