How to Bake

by Nick Malgieri, Laura Hartman Maestro (Illustrator)

Overview

"How to Bake makes me want to head for the kitchen and bake something new right now!  Nick is a generous teacher. Sweet or savory, his recipes are enticing, smartly written, and accessible. Practical, no-nonsense tips and advice are confidence inspiring — the book is a gift to new and seasoned bakers alike." — Alice Medrich, IACP and James Beard Award-winning author of Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies and Gluten Free Flavor Flour

One of America's preeminent bakers and baking teachers reveals the secrets behind creating professional-quality confections in this winner of the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Baking Book. Nick Malgieri shares scores of mouthwatering recipes for plain and fancy cakes; breads, biscuits, muffins, and scones; sweet and savory pies and tarts; brownies, macaroons, rugelach, and all manner of cookies.
In addition to his clear, detailed instructions, Malgieri offers helpful tips for variations on classic recipes as well as suggestions for everything from making a pastry bag to mastering cake and pie toppings. Presented in order from the simplest to most complex, these recipes from the collection of a great pastry chef will add a whole new level of sophistication to your kitchen repertoire.

"Everything you want to know about baking is in this comprehensive, and classic, book by Nick Malgieri. With never-fail recipes and masterful instructions, How to Bake has always had a prominent place on my bookshelf — and in my kitchen. From scones to pizza, and quiche to cookies, everything you want to bake is in this book!" — David Lebovitz, author of My Paris Kitchen and The Perfect Scoop​

"You are in the best hands with Nick Malgieri. Nick is the greatest baking teacher I know and How to Bake is one of my most treasured baking resources. Brimming with expert advice, foolproof recipes, and Nick's charming voice, this truly iconic book will help you master any baking project you set your mind to." — Cenk Sönmezsoy, author of The Artful Baker 

"This comprehensive baking book is a must for all bakers, amateur and professional. It’s well written with easy to follow recipes. I love that Nick explores American as well as European classics. You will want to make his Viennese “Saddle of Venison" cake as soon as humanly possible and have it with an afternoon cup of tea, as I have done.” — Miro Uskokovic, Pastry Chef

"What a wonderful gift, to have Nick Malgieri's landmark cookbook on the counter and the bookshelf in this handsome new form. In How To Bake, Nick shares his encyclopedic knowledge of the world of baking, from techniques and ingredients to utensils and traditions. A world-class professional pastry chef with the heart of a teacher, Nick has written the definitive work on baking, essential for both beginning bakers and highly accomplished cooks. I keep it near the oven and learn from Nick all year long." — Nancie McDermott, author of Southern Cakes: Sweet and Irresistible Recipes for Everyday Celebrations 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486835044
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	10/17/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	480
File size:	15 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Nick Malgieri is Director of the Baking Program at the Institute of Culinary Education and a frequent guest teacher at schools across the United States. His recipes and articles have appeared in The New York Times, Gourmet, Chocolatier, Food & Wine, and many other periodicals, and he is the American correspondent for the Italian magazine La Pasticceria Internazionale.

Read an Excerpt

Easy Italian Focaccia

One 10 1/2 X 15 1/2-Inch rectangular or 14-inch round focaccia, enough for 4 to 6 servings

1 1/3 cups warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt

One 10 1/2X 15 1/2-inch jelly-roll pan, or a 14-inch round pan, plus a second pan of the same size or larger to insulate the first pan if the bottom of the focaccia begins to brown too quickly

If you're pressed for time but still would like to serve a homemade bread, try this focaccia. Though you can't skimp on the rising time, the mixing and shaping require so little work that the focaccia practically makes itself.

Mix the focaccia. in the morning, then let it rise in the refrigerator all day. At the end of the day (or whenever you need to bake it) press the dough onto the oiled pan and let it rise before baking it.

A plain focaccia such as this one makes a great accompaniment to first courses or to an entire meal; one with a topping is an excellent hors d'oeuvre to serve with drinks.

1. Measure the water into a bowl and whisk in the yeast and 3 tablespoons of the oil. Measure the flour and 2 teaspoons salt into a mixing bowl and stir well to combine. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture until all the flour is evenly moistened, then beat vigorously for a minute. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

2. Spread 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining oil on thebaking pan. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto the pan and pat and press until the dough fills the pan completely. If the dough resists, let it rest for a few minutes before continuing. Cover the dough with a piece of oiled plastic wrap (oiled side down) and allow it to rise again until doubled, up to 1hour.

3. Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

4. Dimple the surface of the risen focaccia by using your fingertip to poke cavities in the dough at 2-inch intervals. Drizzle with the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle with the kosher or coarse salt.

5. Bake the focaccia for about 25 minutes, or until deep golden. Lift the side of the focaccia with a spatula or pancake turner and check the bottom about halfway through baking time. If it is getting too dark, slide the pan onto another pan to insulate the bottom.

6. To serve immediately, slide the focaccia from the pan to a cutting board. If it will be served later, slide it off the pan onto a rack to cool.

Serving: Cut narrow slices or squares to split horizontally for sandwiches.

Storage: Keep the focaccia loosely covered at room temperature, if it will be served on the day it is made. For longer storage, wrap, in plastic and freeze. Unwrap and reheat the focaccia for about7 minutes at 375 degrees.

Hint For Success: When pressing the dough into the pan, keep the thickness even.

Variations

Herb Focaccia: Sprinkle the top of the focaccia with 2 or 3 tablespoons of such coarsely chopped fresh herbs as rosemary, thyme, or sage, immediately before baking.

Sage or Rosemary Focaccia: Insert leaf of fresh sage or sprig of rosemary into each cavity when you press the dimples into the dough.

Onion Focaccia: Peel and thinly slice 2 medium yellow onions, about 4 or 5 ounces each, and cook them in 3 tablespoons olive oil in a sauté pan, covered, for about 20 minutes, until they just begin to color slightly. Season the onions with salt and pepper and cool. Spread the onions on the risen focaccia and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano.

Onion and Garlic Focaccia: Add 2 peeled and thinly sliced cloves garlic to the onions before cooking them.

Tomato and Olive Focaccia: Scatter 1 cup seeded, chopped, and drained canned plum tomatoes on the risen focaccia. Sprinkle with salt; pepper; oregano; 2 or 3 tablespoons of halved and pitted oil-cured olives; and 1 clove garlic, sliced into paper-thin shreds.

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Fresh Raspberry Linzertorte

One 9-inch cake, about 8 servings

Dough

1 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (about 4 ounces) blanched almonds, ground
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1teaspoon baking powder
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Finishing

1/3 cup raspberry preserves
2 baskets raspberries
1/3 cup (about 1 1/2 ounces) toasted sliced almonds
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

One 9-inch springform or 2-inch-deep layer pan, buttered and lined with a disk of parchment or wax paper

The flavor combination of nuts and spice in a buttery cake such as this is one of my favorites. Here the Linzer dough is baked without the traditional jam filling and then used as a base for raspberry preserves and a topping of fresh berries.

1. Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. To make the dough, mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Rub in the butter finely by hand. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and yolk together with the lemon zest and vanilla extract and stir into the dough with a fork--the dough will be very soft.

3. Spread two thirds of the dough evenly in the pan. Place the remaining dough in a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tube (Ateco #6) and pipe a border of dots around the edge.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cake is well colored and firm, but not dry. Cool in the pan. Unmold and slide or invert onto a platter.

5. To finish, spread the preserves on top of the cooled cake, avoiding the raised border formed by the dots of dough. Arrange the raspberries on the preserves. Decorate the edge with the almonds and dust lightly with the confectioners' sugar.

Serving: Serve a little whipped cream with the Linzertorte.

Storage: Keep the finished dessert at room temperature for up to several hours. For advance preparation, bake the cake base early in the day, then finish with the preserves and fruit several hours before serving. The cake base may be refrigerated for several days or frozen for several months.

Hint For Success: Avoid having the butter too soft or overmixing and melting it into the dry ingredients, or the baked cake will have a tough, rather than a tender texture.

How To Bake. Copyright © by Nick Malgieri. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments iii

Introduction vii

1 Quick Breads, Scones & Muffins 1

2 Breads & Rolls 33

3 Savory Pastries 95

4 Pies 143

5 Tarts 185

6 Cookies & Small Pastries 225

7 Cakes 265

8 Puff Pastry & Cream Puff Pastry 343

9 Sweet Yeast-Risen Breads & Pastries 383

Sources Of Supply 435

Metric Equivalents 436

Bibliography 438

Index 441

Editorial Reviews

Malgieri proffers such an overwhelming selection of recipes (more than 400), and with such an authoritative voice, that readers will believe his baking book is the best they've seen in years. Each recipe features easy-to-follow directions, some historical notes, and step-by-step illustrations. The color photographs by Tom Eckerle do justice to Malgieri's talent.

Barbara Jacobs