Cookbook Review: Inside the Jewish Bakery
Whether your interests lie in baking or Jewish traditions – or a combination of both – you’re sure to enjoy reading Inside the Jewish Bakery: Recipes and Memories from the Golden Age of Jewish Baking .
About Inside the Jewish Bakery
Written by Stanley (aka Stan) Ginsberg and Norman (aka Norm) Berg, Inside the Jewish Bakery: Recipes and Memories from the Golden Age of Jewish Baking is much more than just a cookbook.
The book does, of course, prominently feature a collection of recipes for traditional Jewish baked goods - as the title suggests. However, the book offers much, much more. Inside the Jewish Bakery can be described of an edible history of Jewish traditions that includes recipes that are well-suited for anyone who wants to bring traditional baking techniques into her own kitchen.
The authors of Inside the Jewish Bakery both grew up in largely Jewish neighborhoods located in the outer boroughs of Manhattan in the years immediately following World War II. Ginsberg grew up in a close-knit neighborhood in Brooklyn where he learned to cook from his grandmother, who instilled in him a love for baking Yiddish breads and pastries as well as other European-style artisan breads. Berg is a lifelong resident of the Bronx and has worked as a professional baker and bakery manager throughout his career.
By way of explanation of the reasons why the two decided to write Inside the Jewish Bakery , Ginsberg explains, “We wrote this book to celebrate the tastes and traditions of real Jewish baking and feelings of community they evoked."
Great Resource to Learn about Jewish Baking
Inside the Jewish Bakery is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to learn more about traditional Jewish baking as well as Jewish culture and communities.
If you want to remember the traditions of Jewish baking – or learn about them for the first time – you’re sure to find this book to be both interesting and informative. If you want to try your hand at traditional baking yourself, you’ll also find the recipes provided to be educational and written in an instructional, easy-to follow format.
Note: Thanks to Camino Books, Inc. for providing me with a review copy of this book.
