Baking

I bought this book while I was getting myself more professional material to play with. I must say I am very pleased with it.While it does shows you the steps of a recipe independently, the book is build around "one recipe, one technique" and the teachings you get while doing one recipe will apply to many more in the future. Which also means, you can easily combine your favorite cake with your preferred glaze, without fuss. It's well organized and can easily be navigated through.I don't get the people complaining about the lack of "troubleshooting" in this book. It is literally FILLED with all kinds of little notes and tool tips memos with all sorts of guidance. Plus, there are many pictures to show you all those tricky steps. Surely, those people must have quickly flicked the pages of this book. Also, it is important to realize as well, this book was not written for beginners, or even good home bakers. It's written for people aspiring to expert / professional level baking. How do I know ? The bad comments are what I used to complain about when my mother-in-law (a chef) would dictate a recipe to me; add enough of this ingredient, cook 'till texture is right, don't beat too much, etc. So, yes, not everything is illustrated, and yes, they are expecting a high level in their readers. But that is how professionals roll.I have used this book for now a few years and successfully whipped out many recipes, like the crème d'or, the chocolate sponge cake, the rolled pistachio buttercream cake, and they all came out perfectly. My favorite features are all the pictures explaining more complicated techniques, all the inspiration provided, and it also helped me lots with pastries, which requires more doigté and finesse than cakes. It's an impressive book, covering a wide range of subjects, but I believe it stands strong to it's name, and provides one hell of a baking education.

very good book...the recipes are very easy to follow and gave me the exactly results I was looking for

I love this book! I have made at least 10 recipes from it, and all were very successful.My favorite thing about this book is the very thorough explanation of technique together with excellent pictures.I love the apple pie recipe, my wife asks me to bake it all the time. The pie crust recipe in this book is the one i always reach for, even when cooking pies from recipes in other books.I am puzzled by the negative reviews i have seen. The only explanation I can think of for them is that either the reviewers did not read the material describing technique and jumped straight into the recipes, or that their ovens are not heating up to the correct temperature (be sure to check your oven temperature with an over thermometer, many ovens are off by 50 degrees Farenheit or more, which can make a big difference for some recipes.

If you are an industry professional or home cook this is definitely a book that you want for your collection. James Peterson broke down baking in this book to the essentials that will make your projects a success. He describes the technique behind producing successful baking products, and that is what cooking is all about technique is what leads to success. He covers more pastry than bread baking but, in the bread baking section does going to decent detail. If you're looking for a good bread baking book I recommend starting with “the bread Baker's apprentice “written by Michael Reinhardt

Even if you have never baked, this book will teach you the fine art. with step by step recipes that are easy to follow..This makes a great gift for beginners or to add to the collection of a seasoned baker. A must for anyone who loves to cook!

When I first saw this book in a library, I just had to check it out. A friend who was with me noticed how excited I was. Then, I just had to own it. I love the step by step instructions, pictorial demonstrations, etc. Having a culinary background, I found this book very easy to use, therefore, it's easy for me to think that a novice can and will find the same thing. I really do think so. It's incredible easy to use.

I must say that this book is gorgeous. I received the item as a gift and sat looking through the pictures the whole first night I ordered it. It wasn't until the following day that I had the opportunity to read through the recipes. The recipes can be intimidating on the read through, some being very complicated. Yet the author seems confident that all of them can be attempted by the home chef and ending in success. I found this book to be informative as well as beautiful. If you are a baker, you won't go wrong purchasing this book.

My sister is the sort who will toss off terms like, "Classic bottom-of-the bowl French salad dressing" over dinner. I, not being a cooking person until my celiac diagnosis, usually have no idea what she is talking about. Needless to say, she's taught me a lot about how to cook.When I started writing a gluten-free cookbook, she said, "You should look at basic baking techniques, to get an idea of what you're actually trying to accomplish." For that, this book is exactly what I needed: the author explains basic things like the fact that there are really only six types of cakes; there are directions on how to proof yeast--which is essential to gluten-free baking for structure and loft; there are clear explanations of the different kinds of breads; there are extensive instructions on fruit tarts, desserts, and the reason I really bought this book--how to make lemon bars.The photographs are beautiful; if you were to pair this with Bette Hagman's pastry recipe, a few gluten-free cake mixes, and a gluten-free bread mix, you would find that suddenly you can make the gluten free version, of any gluten containing bread, pretty easily.(And the lemon bars are perfect.)

To begin I never thought of myself as much of a baker. After a solid 9 months tromping through a sizable chunk of this book I feel I'm actually fairly competent. Even bread is demystified in a fairly organized and effective manner. I think the sections on cakes and breads are probably the best, though the others are not bad.That being said I have 2 major complaints:1st everything is measured in volumes such as cups. In particular, I'm not actually certain how he measures a cup of flour (scooped, sifted, etc). It would be wonderful for those of us who have invested in quality kitchen scales to get some use out of them with this book.2nd: There are some serious, recipe-ruining typos in here. In addition there have been 1 or 2 recipes that just don't seem to turn out well (I cannot recall which but one of the cookie recipes has, after 2 goes, been right bland and awful both times. I apologize for not being able to recall which).I feel like you may be able to do better, but I feel like many of the basic recipes and techniques I've gained from this book have contributed significantly to both my understanding and capabilities when it comes to baking.

The book is adequate for most purposes. I learned to bake using this book. I still have to find a better chiffon recipe though. The one in the book does not seem to work as well as the others. My mom bakes great chiffon cakes and her techniques seem to work better in my country. Otherwise, the book is fine.

Beautifully written with recipes easy to follow. I have Peterson's "Sauces" as well as "Fish & Shellfish" and both cookbooks deliver every time. The recipes have been well-tested and work easily. I'm sure these "Baking" recipes will perform perfectly.

This is a textbook on baking by a professional. I bought it to have on hand to guide me through any baking job I might have. There's the basics on everything and baked items you may not have ever eaten. It was written before the gluten-free craze and it's all about wheat flour. Still it's a great reference book.

My husband loves this book. It's one of the best baking books we've come across. It includes a list of equipment you will need but also includes tips on how to make equipment from what you have at home.

Baking is a good resource to have, but I find it is best used as a way to generate ideas, rather than as a go-to baking book. Some of the recipes I've tried, most notably the crumb topping for the coffee cake, have serious typos. In addition, I was puzzled that a baking book wouldn't have weight measurements alongside the volume measurements, given that baking presents an opportunity for precision. On the plus side, Baking presents several recipes followed by relatively-simple variations that can produce different tastes, and it helps categorize the various methods of baking to provoke experimentation quite nicely. I wouldn't start with this book, however. If you're looking for cakes, try something by Rose Levy Beranbaum; for breads look at Peter Reinhart. Baking serves as a nice supplement and helpful reading once you've already got the basics down.

I already own this book and bought this as a gift. If you enjoy baking, please buy this book. It is amazing and I look through it every time I want to make something special.