Baker's Dozen Cookbook: Become a Better Baker with 135 Foolproof Recipes and Tried-And-True Techniques

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Overview

More than ten years ago, cookbook author and teacher Marion Cunningham and professional baker Amy Pressman met occasionally to talk about the wonders and mysteries of baking. They chatted, exchanged ideas, offered suggestions, and ended up solving some of their difficult baking problems. Slowly a concept took shape. Suppose groups of like-minded bakers were to meet to exchange ideas and solve baking problems?

At the first meeting of The Baker's Dozen, forty people showed up with forty lemon meringue pies. The topic of the meeting was weeping and shrinking meringues and how to prevent them from happening. (The solution: Heat the egg whites and sugar while beating to avoid weeping; use more egg whites to solve the problem of shrinking.)

The word spread quickly, and The Baker's Dozen has grown to more than ten times the original number — there are now more than four hundred members in the Bay Area. The groups continue to have two simple goals: Share what you know about baking and learn from one another.

Now you can share the collective experiences and favorite recipes of The Baker's Dozen in The Baker's Dozen Cookbook, with recipes selected and tested by some of the most respected and most accomplished bakers in the business.

Lindsey Shere, co-founder and pastry chef of Chez Panisse, shares the secrets of tarts. Authors Carol Field and Fran Gage and baker Peter Reinhart offer their collective wisdom on yeast breads and flatbreads. John Phillip Carroll teaches about easy quick breads, coffee cakes, and muffins. Renowned author and baker Flo Braker and her team share their years of cake-baking experience. Carolyn Weil and her group offer the ultimate advice and techniques for pies and piecrusts. Robert Morocco and Julia Cookenboo divulge their trade secrets of making foolproof cookies equal to those of any quality bakeshop.

The Baker's Dozen Cookbook goes far beyond recipes. You'll benefit from what these bakers learned on their field trips. You'll learn tricks such as using dental floss to cut neat slices of creamy cheesecake. You'll learn the differences between a pastry bag and a parchment cone; between a pâte brisée, a "broken dough," and a pâte sablée, a "sandy dough"; between butter and shortening in determining the flakiness of a crust; and so much more.

So whether you simply want to become a better baker yourself or to form a Baker's Dozen group with others, all you need is The Baker's Dozen Cookbook. It puts four hundred of America's best bakers and everything they know right by your side.

For baking tips, recipes, and information on starting your own Baker's Dozen, visit www.bakersdozen.org

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Best known for The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, Marion Cunningham is as American as, oh, say, the Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Layer Cake in her group's latest compilation, which she introduces. Cunningham belongs to a group of bakers, calling itself the Baker's Dozen, devoted to sharing tips, talking shop and taking mouth-watering field trips to places such as the Guittard chocolate factory. Cunningham and 12 other members of the group impart just the sort of insider information to make readers feel part of an exclusive club. All the classics are covered here: cakes, custards, pies (with an excellent, comprehensive introduction to pie crusts), distinctive regional baked-fruit recipes and a chapter on cookies, with a recipe contending for "The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies." The book offers clear guidance to ensure consistently impressive results in the home kitchen, particularly in the "Cakes for Family and Friends" chapter. Building on the classics, there are several trend-worthy variations: try the Five-Spice Angel Food Cake for a novelty dessert, the Blood Orange Chiffon Pie with Chocolate Crust for a dramatic update of the venerable chiffon pie or the Sherried Zucchini-Currant Tea Loaves for a more sophisticated use of surplus summer zucchini. Chapters on bread baking (including quick breads) clearly explain potential pitfalls and how to sidestep them and turn what could be an intimidating process into a stress-free experience for first-time bread bakers. The professional baking tips, detailed recipes and extensive glossaries will have readers well on their way to mastering techniques for perfect pastry. (Nov.) Forecast: The book's top names will draw attention from home bakers, many ofwhom have already formed informal bakers' groups of their own. Simple word of mouth will help this book's sales. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The Baker's Dozen is an organization of West Coast bakers that started with a gathering of 40 people in 1989 and has grown to include more than 300 members. The group shares information, offers programs, and holds bake-offs: their angel food bake-off has become a familiar story in professional circles because 60 entrants followed the same recipe, yet no two cakes turned out the same. Their cookbook is intended to show home bakers how to avoid pitfalls and achieve great results at every turn. The detailed introduction covers ingredients and techniques, and "Testing and Tasting" boxes throughout provide more information; recipe chapters range from "The Basics of Cake" to "A Harvest of Fruit Desserts" to "Yeast Breads and Flatbreads." Although many of the classics are included, this is not a comprehensive collection and will not replace general titles such as Nick Malgieri's How To Bake (HarperCollins, 1995) or more specific baking books such as Carole Walters's Great Pies & Tarts (LJ 2/15/98). But with delicious recipes and dozens of useful tips from a roster of talented bakers that includes Flo Braker, Marion Cunningham, and Alice Medrich, it is recommended for most collections. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780060186289
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: 11/28/2001
Edition description: 1ST
Pages: 368
Product dimensions: 8.00 (w) x 10.00 (h) x 1.07 (d)

Meet the Author

Flo Braker, author of the award-winning Sweet Miniatures: The Art of Making Bite-Size Desserts (Chronicle Books, 2000) and The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, has been teaching baking techniques and her sweet miniatures across the country for more than twenty-five years. The Baker Columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle since 1989, Flo lives in Palo Alto, CA.

John Phillip Carroll has written numerous cookbooks, including California the Beautiful Cookbook and four books in the Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library series. His most recent work, The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook, won the IACP Julia Child Award in the Health & Special Diet category, as well as the award for Best Health Book at The World Cookbook Awards in Versailles.

Julia B. Cookenboo previously served as the Pastry Chef at Oliveto restaurant in Oakland, CA and at Zuni Café ©n San Francisco. Julie lives in Richmond, CA.

Marion Cunningham was born in Southern California and now lives in Walnut Creek. She was responsible for the complete version of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook and is the author of The Fannie Farmer Baking Book, The Breakfast Book, The Supper Book, Cooking with Children and Learning to Cook with Marion Cunningham. She travels throughout the country giving cooking demonstrations, has contributed articles to Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, and Gourmet magazines, and writes a column for the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. Marion is a founding member of The Bakers Dozen and lives in Walnut Creek, CA.

Carol Field, writer and journalist, is the author of five award-winning books about Italy and its food, all of which feature bread and baking including In Nonnaâ’s Kitchen: Recipes and Traditions from Italyâ’s Grandmothers, Focaccia: Simple Breads from the Italian Oven, Italy in Small Bites, Celebrating Italy, and The Italian Baker. Her latest work is Mangoes and Quince, a novel with recipes. Carol lives in San Francisco, CA.

Fran Gage owned the well-respected Fran Gage Pã¢tisserie Franç¡©se in San Francisco. She closed the bakery following a fire in 1995 and is now teaching and writing, with articles published in national magazines. Her first book, Bread and Chocolate, My Food Life In and Around San Francisco (Sasquatch Books, 1999) is a collection of stories about food with recipes to match. Fran lives in San Francisco, CA.

David Lebovitz is the author of the best-selling Room for Dessert, which the New York Times called ”brilliantly appealing (with) recipes so good it becomes clear what a master baker he is.Â” Named one of the ”Top Five Pastry Chefs in the Bay Area” by the San Francisco Chronicle, David teaches cooking nationwide and writes for major food publications. He trained at Chez Panisse restaurant. David lives in San Francisco, CA.

Alice Medrich is the only two-time James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award winner, for Chocolate: Extraordinary Chocolate Desserts and Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts, both Warner Books. Her forthcoming book, A Year in Chocolate will be published this Fall. Alice appeared in ”Baking at Juliaâ’s” on PBS and contributed to the New Joy of Cooking. Alice lives in Berkeley, CA.

Robert Morocco admits to being a ”cookieholic” for as long as he can remember. He founded Delices Cakes in California, which became known throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for elegant cakes, especially wedding cakes and, of course, cookies. Robert lives in Walnut Creek, CA.

Peter Reinhart is the founder of the award-winning Brother Juniperâ’s Bakery in Santa Rosa, California. One of his cookbooks, Wild Yeast Country Bread, was the 1998 recipient of the James Beard Award in the Best Baking and Desserts category. He also wrote and edited the bread chapter for the revised Joy of Cooking. For five years prior to teaching at Johnson and Wales, Peter was a full-time instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Peter lives in Santa Rosa, CA.

Lindsey Remolif Shere grew up on a family fruit and dairy farm in northern California, studied French language and history at Berkeley, and in 1971 joined Alice Waters to open the restaurant Chez Panisse, where she continued as Pastry Chef until her retirement in 1998. Her book Chez Panisse Desserts was published in 1985 and is still in print. She was named Pastry Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation in 1993. Lindsey lives in Healdsburg, CA.

Kathleen Stewart began what was to become a long and fruitful relationship with the Chez Panisse restaurant in 1975. In 1987 she and the pastry chef from Chez Panisse, Lindsey Shere, opened the Downtown Bakery & Creamery in Healdsburg, California. With her partners retired, Kathleen continues to run the bakery as well as writing articles for food publications nationwide.

Carolyn B. Weil is a founding member of The Bakers Dozen and an accomplished baker with more than 20 years of professional experience. She was the first pastry chef for Jeremiah Tower at Stars in San Francisco and then owned a bakery in Berkeley for ten years. Under her guidance, the bakery received local and national acclaim from Bon Appetit, Gourmet, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Carolyn writes about baking for The Washington Post and Fine Cooking. Carolyn lives in Berkeley, CA.

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Read an Excerpt

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Makes One 9-Inch Pie, 8 Servings

Ingredients:

Butter Pie Dough (page 123)or Shortening Pie Dough(page 124)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
11/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Instructions:

Following the instructions on page 120, line a 9-inch pie pan with the dough and flute the edges. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 400°F.
Remove the plastic wrap and line the pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil, then fill with pie weights. Bake until the pastry seems set, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and set the pie shell aside on a baking sheet. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
Whisk the brown sugar and eggs in a medium bowl, then whisk in the corn syrup. Add the melted butter, bourbon, vanilla, and salt and whisk to combine. Arrange the pecans in the shell, then pour in the filling.
Bake the pie on the baking sheet until the sides of the filling are puffed but the center is still slightly indented, 35 to 45 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a wire cooling rack. Let stand until warm, or cool completely. (The pie can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 2 days.) Serve at room temperature.

Baker's Notes

The pecans should be coarsely chopped — whole pecans make the pie impossible to cut.
Serve the pecanpie warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream alongside, or with a huge dollop of whipped cream.
Dark corn syrup and a splash of bourbon make this a pecan pie with backbone.
—Carolyn B. Weil

Flo's Angel Food Cake

Makes one 10-inch round tube cake, 4 inches high

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups (11 to 12 large) egg whites
1 1/2 cups sifted (150 grams) confectioners' sugar
1 cup (100 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

About 1 hour before baking the batter, place fresh, cold egg whites in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. (This will bring them to about 60°F, slightly below room temperature.)
Pour the sifted confectioners' sugar, sifted cake flour, and salt into a triple sifter and sift onto a sheet of wax paper.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 350°F.
In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and increase the speed to medium. Beat until soft peaks form. Continue whipping and gradually add the granulated sugar, until the whites thicken and form soft, droopy white peaks. Add the vanilla in the final moments of whipping.
Sprinkle one-quarter of the flour mixture over the whites, and with a rubber spatula, fold into the whites. Repeat this process with the remaining flour mixture, folding in only one-quarter at a time. Gently pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan.
Bake until the top is golden and springs back when gently pressed with your fingers, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Invert the cake pan onto the neck of a bottle or funnel. (If the cake tilts a little, that's fine.) Cool completely in the pan, 2 to 3 hours.
To remove the cake from the pan, slip a flexible metal spatula carefully down the side of the pan. Slowly trace around the perimeter to release the cake. When the sides are free, push up on the removable bottom to remove the cake from the sides. Tilt the cake and gently tap the bottom of the pan against the counter to loosen the cake, rotating as you do so, until the cake appears free. Cover the cake with a rack or a plate, and at the same time that you invert the cake onto the work surface, tap it firmly on the surface. Lift the pan from the cake. To serve, slice with a serrated knife using a sawing action.

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Anonymous

Posted December 10, 2001

Delicious !

I made the sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving and it turned out wonderfully. Both the crust and the filling were delicious. The pictures in this book show you what pie crust should look like at different stages. The Baker's Dozen can really help you learn to bake. These people can bake and they share their secrets!
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Baker's Dozen Cookbook: Become a Better Baker with 135 Foolproof Recipes and Tried-And-True Techniques

Overview

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Library Journal

Product Details

Related Subjects

Meet the Author

Read an Excerpt

Bourbon Pecan Pie

Flo's Angel Food Cake

Customer Reviews

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Delicious !