Cookbook Review: A Passion for Baking
Are you excited by the thought of baking decadent cakes, cookies, pies, and other convections? Enjoy the challenge of whipping up amazingly delicious breads in your own kitchen? If so A Passion for Baking by Marcy Goldman will bring you great joy when you add it to your cookbook collection. When you add this volume to your kitchen shelves, you'll have 220 recipes at your fingertips, each of which was designed with the interests and needs of home bakers in mind.
Whether you're a skilled baking hobbyist or a novice, you'll take delight in this book. Beginning bakers will greatly appreciate the "Baking Secrets" section at the beginning of the book, and I'll venture to guess that even those who are the most well-versed when it comes to baking will pick up a few previously unknown tips. You'll learn tips for how to plump dried fruit, facts about the different types of flour, details about various pieces of bake ware, along with a great deal of additional information that you're sure to enjoy gaining knowledge of.
Once you start flipping thorough the pages, the amazingly beautiful photography will have your mouth watering and your feet itching to pull out your stand (or hand) mixer and preheat your oven! You can find a selection of some of the author's favorite recipes on her website, BetterBaking.com, and you're sure to want to try them along with most, if not all, of the delicious recipes presented in this terrific cookbook.
Best Recipes (IMHO)
It's truly difficult to narrow down the amazing recipes in this book to just a few favorites. At the very least, it's necessary to separate my savory favorites from the best sweet treat recipe ideas. Of course, I haven't tried all the recipes yet, so this list is sure to change with time. For the moment, the best recipes, in my humble opinion, are listed below.
Savory Recipe Favorites
- Birdseed Bread
- Bretzels (this is not a typo, the recipe is for "Bretzels")
- Chianti and Parmesan Biscotti
- Hot Buttered Popcorn Bread (yes, it is made with popped popcorn)
- Pain Pesto
- Pancetta Layered Bread
- Pepperoni Pizza Rolls
Delightful Sweet Recipes
- Cheesecake Truffle Bombs
- Dark Fudge Bundt Cake
- Double Dutch Chocolate Scones (there are several awesome scone recipes)
- Giant Sweet Cheddar Biscuits
- Grand Funk Granola Bars
- Kitchen Sink Cookies
- Mudslide Cookies
- Vanilla-Apple Cranberry Muffins
- Vanilla Cheesecake Stuffed Brownies
Okay, if you're not starving by now, you truly don't have a sweet tooth and you certainly don't experience carbohydrate cravings. This is only a taste of the incredible recipes you'll find in this book. If you enjoy baking, you'll find yourself reaching for this volume again and again.