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| The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book | 
 enlarge | Creator: America's Test Kitchen
Publisher: Boston Common Press
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy New: $21.97
You Save: $12.98 (37%)
New (27) Used (6) from $21.97
Avg. Customer Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 908
Media: Ring-bound
Edition: Lslf
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 552
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.3
Dimensions (in): 10.1 x 9.4 x 2.4
ISBN: 1933615222
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.815
EAN: 9781933615226
ASIN: 1933615222
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Featuring more than 700 kitchen-tested recipes, 800 step-by-step photos, opinionated product ratings, and at-a-glance tutorials that guarantee success every time you bake.
A companion to the bestselling America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (with more than 550,000 copies sold), this comprehensive cookbook delivers the foolproof recipes, step-by-step instructions, and troubleshooting guides that have become the hallmark of every book published by America's most trusted test kitchen. For anyone who has made pie dough that seemed impossible to roll out, bread that failed to rise, or a birthday cake that couldn't be served, this book will be a lifesaver as well as a lifelong and trusty baking companion. And with 22 chapters, this book is packed with recipes that will keep you busy (and your family and friends happy) for years to come.
Here you'll find recipes that range from easy and approachable (simple bowl cakes, quick breads, no-knead bread, and no-bake cookies) to more ambitious and demanding (artisan breads, wedding cakes, fancy layer cakes, and pastry). So whether you are an accomplished baker looking for a great collection of new recipes or a beginning baker looking for a practical step-by-step guide and easy recipes to bake for your family, you'll find what you want here.
In addition to the recipes, The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book is full of test kitchen tips that explain how or why a recipe works (and where you can go wrong), recipes at a glance (where we provide mini tutorials with photos), and illustrated troubleshooting guides (where we highlight the most common baking problems and their solutions). A practical guide to baking basics with information on key ingredients and necessary equipment (along with the test kitchen's favorite brands), The America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book will help anyone get started on the right track.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 47 more reviews...
My goodness, what a cookbook! September 23, 2008
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
This review is of a book I received free through the Vine program.
I am already a fan of the television program America's Test Kitchen and I enjoy reading the informative magazine published by this same group. When I saw this cookbook dedicated exclusively to baking I just couldn't resist.
This is a very hefty cookbook. In fact, that is going to be my only negative thing to say about this publication. It is going to take up quite a bit of space on my cookbook shelf. Now I must decide which two or three books will have to be relegated to a bookcase in another room. The cookbook has a hard cover which has been laminated inside and out so that it will probably withstand many spills and splats of wet batter. The 544 pages are arranged into 24 divided sections using index tabs and a ring binder system. The index tabs all came together at the back of the book and I had to insert them into their proper places which was absolutely no problem for me. It did take a little time but the proper positioning is printed on the index divider so getting the book set up was a breeze. Here are just some of the wonderful, helpful design elements which caught my eye.
**Test Kitchen Favorite: a description of a utensil, product or cooking item used by the ATK staff, usually including the price of the item.
**Designations of "Great for Beginners" recipes in every section except the Wedding Cake section.
**Side bar boxes featuring such things as glazes, frostings and soaking syrups.
**Test Kitchen Tip: a highlighted box containing more information about the particular recipe being presented.
**At a Glance: from four to six photographs taking a cook step-by-step through a particular recipe. A real help for people who are unfamiliar with a particular technique.
**A basic recipe and then a list of variations on that basic to change it into an entirely different flavor.
**Troubleshooting: A full page devoted to explaining why a recipe had not worked for the cook in the past and how to correct those mistakes.
**Don't Make This Mistake: a photograph of a successful product and a failed product and what caused the failure.
I suppose I could just go on and on about all the outstanding information contained in this cookbook but I will not. I will say that I am looking forward to making many, many of these recipes starting with the Cold Oven Pound Cake from page 278. Is that really going to work? I'll bet it would have never been included in this book if it wasn't guaranteed to work. I have been baking for a long time. I have made variations of a large number of recipes in this book and I have actually seen many of the recipes made on the television program. It is a recipe book for bakers, by bakers, not by food stylists. The picture of batter being poured into a Bundt cake pan looks as if they took the picture in my own kitchen. Are those my floury fingerprints on the outside of that cake pan? They could have been.
Cookbook Heaven! September 25, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I give it ten stars! Where oh where has this cookbook been all my life? I have been looking for this type of comprehensive baking cookbook for years but have been very disappointed with every one I find. Not any more. I can honestly see myself spending the rest of my life cooking my way through every recipe in this volume.
OK - why am I so in love with this book? Because the baked goods are everyday, homestyle, "like Momma used to make" recipes. Most cookbooks are a variety of everyday recipes mixed with what I call "fantasy" baking - nice to look at but not practical to make - or eat. Not this volume. There's not one intimidating recipe in the entire book. These items are the memories of my childhood. They are also the recipes that I never tried but always wanted to make. Plus there are elegant baked goods and rustic breads that will make you look like a super star instead of a super snob. Everyone will love them.
Where do I start with my praise? The photos. The cookbook is full of color photos - not the occasional giant, glossy photo of finished products - but smaller, relevant color photos for each section, each recipe, each baking food or product recommended, and each process. Almost EVERY recipe has its own set of instructional photos that follow the recipe through it's steps to the finished product. Where has this book been all my life?
Besides the excellent compilation of recipes, another big selling point of this cookbook is its "accessibility." Everyone from the most novice cook to an experienced baker will find something to admire in this volume. A novice baker will find lists of ingredients essential to baking along with photos, explanations about each item, and brand name recommendations. The same is true for a list of the most essential tools used in a baker's kitchen - including a "don't waste your cash" list of over-hyped products. There's even a price list (which will become dated) so you will know what you are getting into before you hit the stores.
Each recipe also has a tip section. These address common mistakes many cooks make BEFORE you make them, with photos of course. There are also remedies and explanations of common mistakes and mishaps AFTER they happen, again complete with photos!
This amazing cookbook is in a large ring binder, which I love. I can take out pages and make copies for family and friends that want my recipes instead of handwriting them or squishing a volume into a copier at Kinkos. As a cookbook freak, this will come in very handy.
What else can I say? There is tons of info, advice, guides, charts, conversion, etc. throughout this thing. If you like to bake, this is FOR YOU. If you've never baked before but want to try, this is FOR YOU.
I've eyeballed the recipes and the proportions and combinations look good. I haven't baked anything from it yet, but I have been baking from scratch for over 40 years - so I think I can recognize a good recipe when I see it. When I start baking from this volume this weekend, I'll come back and edit this review with a critique of the recipes themselves. After all, that's what we buy cookbooks for in the first place.
Destined to be a Classic! September 25, 2008
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This is one of those cookbooks that you can use forever and then pass down to a loved one. The recipes are classic and anyone, from novice up to experienced baker, can find something new to do or to learn.
A few of the things I found most impressive about the cookbook:
1. It's very solid. The construction is not cheap and will help it last through many years of baking, flying flour and all.
2. There's a terrific pantry section in the front that covers the most common baking ingredients - it describes (and pictures) what the ingredient is, how it's used, and if applicable, any substitutions or ways to make your own.
3. Following the pantry section is one called "Bakeware and More: Stocking Your Kitchen". It shows pictures and describes what to look for in equipment, as well as listing test kitchen favorites and their prices. Each category shows several items, with the "must-have items" having a light yellow background to make them easy to pick out. Then come the specialty items, and just as important, the "10 Baking Gadgets You Don't Need".
4. The recipes cover the whole spectrum from basic to complicated and everything in between. Basic recipes are easy to pick out - they have a spoon and "great for beginners" in red. This would be a great cookbook for those with children to teach them the basics of baking. I plan on using it with my own two kids!
5. There are a TON of photos, hints and tips. Even if you've been baking for years, there will be *something* to learn.
Ok, so there are more than a few reasons I like this cookbook. All the more reason to add it to your collection!
Terrific Bake Book! September 24, 2008
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I am very impressed with the quality of this book. The author is very down to earth about baking, even comparing it to mythology. There is a mystery as to what actually happens with the ingredients when combined with heat in the oven. I have a scientific background and I enjoy the "chemical reaction" aspect that he talks about - but in regular, everyday talk, not scientific mumbo-jumbo. I have a new appreciation for why the choice of ingredients is so very critical in regards to the final product, and if you change even one ingredient it can have a major effect on how the baking turns out. Even things like selecting the type of flour is very important. I didn't know there were so many types of flour, and that each flour is different. Some have more protein content than others which will change the texture of the baked item. And it depends on what time of year the wheat was grown as to it's protein content! See?!!! This book is like attending a very interesting and fun baking school!
It leaves no baking stone left unturned (I like my pun!). It has loads of useful baking information such as a detailed substitution list, what items to put in your baking pantry, a section on "Quiche, Tarts, Casseroles, and Pizzas (see? It's not all cakes, pies and cookies!), metric conversions, and a very detailed index list in the back to find just about whatever it is you are searching for. I looked to see what they had entered for "spinach" and found 7 items!
The book itself is big - but not too big. It's a sturdy 5-ring book with large rings so it opens easily. The pages are slick but I would still try to keep them dry, and it has tabbed sections for such things as, "Getting Started", "Rustic Breads", "Fancy Cookies", and many more sections. I have never even heard of the word, "rugelach" and now I know that it is a rolled up pastry that looks delicious and easy to make. The six colored pictures that come with this recipe show me exactly what I'm supposed to do and what it's supposed to look like in every step. I like that a lot. There are many, many clear, pictures showing every step, (at least the important steps) in most of the recipes you are using. It even has pictures and directions on how to disassemble a wedding cake!!!
I love this book already! Being the naturally horrible baker that I am (worse than Ellie Mae Clampett), I need this book in a bad way. Last month I managed to ruin a cake mix by monkeying around with ingredients. It was one of the worst birthday cakes I ever made, almost inedible. But it was great if you're into rubber cakes. My first project is going to be baking a simple cake from scratch. I think I can do it with this book. I have confidence in it and the fact that the author stressed the point many times that every recipe has been tested many, many times in their test kitchen and they have selected and refined the best of the best recipes.
And this book is so reasonably priced! I would expect something of this quality to cost twice as much.
O.k.....let's get started on this cake.....
Go to yellow tab towards back of book that clearly says, "Layer Cakes".
It says to go to page 280 for an all-purpose buttery yellow layer cake.
O.k.....flip to page 280...has pictures and information on "trouble-shooting layer cakes on page 279...great!
Page 280 - here is my list of ingredients, amounts and detailed steps along the way. It even tells me where to adjust the oven rack, and how to whisk the wet ingredients in one bowl and the the dry ones in another. Yep. I think even I can handle this one (as long as I don't monkey around with the ingredients!).
More accessible than The New Best Recipe September 24, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I am a cookbook junkie. I love cooking and cookbooks and I am always looking for new cookbooks. When I had an opportunity to check out this cookbook, I jumped on it and what I discovered was an absolute diamond.
This cookbook is bound in a 3-ring binder, with clearly marked dividers. The overall quality is high - this is not likely to be one of those books that falls apart after a year of heavy use, though I imagine favorite recipe pages may need hole reinforcements eventually. The binder itself is rugged and stiff, making it well-suited for frequent use.
The cookbook is divided up into many logical sections, including a section on wedding cakes? There are sections for tarts, several different types of cookies, bundt and pound cakes, artisan breads, and MANY other baked products. To that end, this cookbook is excellent as a general reference for baking, providing a logical set of recipes.
A similar title is The New Best Recipe, which is published by Cooks Illustrated and has distilled its own collection down to what the kitchen testers have found to be the best recipe for each thing they try. Where these volumes diverge is in presentation - TNBR presents the exhausting details of the search for the best solution, whereas this cookbook presents a more traditional format but including a lot of pictures and helpful tips.
The helpful tips are the over-the-top feature of this cookbook. Occasionally you will find a cookbook that includes such hints as what to do when you need buttermilk and have none, or what other substitutions can be put in place to get desired results. This one goes just a little farther - in addition to offering substitutions, it explains in clear detail what differences the substitution will create in the end product. I have not seen this in any other cookbook, and it is an invaluable feature.
The actual presentation is excellent. When I first showed the book to my family, my wife and children immediately took it away from me and spent a bit of time just poring over it. It appears I am on the hook to make a large number of previously untried ideas.
This is a great cookbook for beginner and veteran cook alike. There is a wide variety of choice available in it, countless helpful tips (my personal favorite is the one on properly preparing pancakes), an endless supply of excellent pictures, and a large supply of excellent recipes. Don't overlook this one when you want a general baking cookbook.
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