Sift: The Elements of Great Baking

by Nicola Lamb

Nicola Lamb is the go-to person for all your baking questions and cravings. In her essential new baking bible, SIFT, she takes the fear out of failure and offers up an inspiring collection of over 100 delicious bakes.

In the first half of the book, Nicola breaks down the key elements and techniques with boundless enthusiasm and beautiful illustrations. Explore every how and why of baking and move forward with complete confidence – you'll never again wonder why your custard has curdled, why your sponge didn't rise or why your panna cotta didn't set.

Nicola's recipes are divided into the time it takes to make a bake, ranging from gooey cookies and airy cakes that you can whip up in an afternoon to fabulous showstoppers you can devote a weekend to. These

Bake in an Roasted Strawberry Victoria Sponge, Miso Walnut Double-Thick Chocolate-Chip Cookies and Bread-and-Butter Pudding with Caramel Mandarins
Bake in a Salted Vanilla and Pistachio Layer Cake, Fancy Rhubarb Tart and Olive Oil Brie-oche with Roasted Grapes
Bake in a Mocha Passionfruit Opera Cake, Pain au Chocolat and Tiramichoux

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Culinary, Reference, Cuisine

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2024

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

My highest rating: returned my library copy to quickly purchase my own.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly educational. I checked this book out from the library, but I can see I’ll need to add it to my own collection. Nicola Lamb explains technique and baking science in a way that makes me want to try making things I’ve never been interested in messing with because they seemed too difficult. I only wish there were more photographs.

[Alex Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genuinely quite nice to read, with interesting facts about the science behind baking and how to apply them. A cheerful style that was inviting and friendly; at times a bit repetitive (which makes sense as a reference material lol). The base recipes at the end are good but I wish there were about 20 more of them. The other recipes thereafter are odd and too specific to really be universally useful; some interesting tidbits are buried within them, such as a pleasant cream cheese frosting recipe. Good reference book, not so much as an actual cookbook.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is more a reference book / how to bake book that a recipe book, which isn't generally what I'm looking for from my cookbooks, but I see the importance and appeal. Attractive, lay-flat binding, and a clear style. I bookmarked a number of recipes I'm excited to try, but this isn't quite to my personal preference for a cookbook. YMMV, and I think it's excellent for what it is.

[Lobke · Rating 5 out of 5]

In het bakken aan het duiken! Dit is een geweldige boek die al mijn vragen beantwoord over meel, eieren, suiker, het rijzen, temperatuur, boter. Echt top!!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it from cover to cover and bookmarked 6 things I want to try first. A beautiful book with a lot of great culinary education info as well as recipes.

[Marthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dit is by far t allermooiste kookboek wat ik ooit heb gekregen. De wetenschap achter bakken wordt zo duidelijk uitgelegd. Meer van dit!!

[lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicola does an excellent job in preparing the baker and setting them up for success. I’ve made 5 recipes out of this book so far, and they’ve all been phenomenal! My
friends and family have sang their praises for my baked goods. I just want to keep trying and experimenting as I learn more from SIFT.

Thank you, Nicola!!

P.S. if you have the US version of this cookbook, the US measurements do not always align with the international metric units. This can really throw off your ratios. Just buy a kitchen scale and follow the recipes as intended for better results :) kitchen scales are so fun!!

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I do not understand who this book is supposed to be for. On one hand, the first third of the book seems to be targeted at the intermediate home baker that wants to learn more about the science and mechanisms behind baking. The other two thirds of the book are the recipes, and my LORD you have to be an incredibly experienced baker to execute on these recipes. I literally feel like I'm in one of the technical challenges on the Great British Bake Off, looking at a recipe written by Prue Leith that just says "step 1: make the dough", and all the bakers in the room collectively panic. So far I've made four recipes in the book, and gotten mostly lackluster results: the horchata tres leches (the recipe in Claire Saffitz's What for Dessert is much better), hot cross buns (NYTimes Cooking has a better recipe), the cross-laminated galette des rois (good, but I prefer the galette des rois in Dessert Person), and the olive oil brioche buns (had the consistency of grocery store buns... it was strange). Nicole Lamb may be a great pastry chef, but I dare say recipe writing takes a different skill set that she has not yet fully honed.

[Reading Fool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This is a fantastic cookbook, not just for its recipes, but also for its instructional information about the art and science of baking. I'd call it an encyclopedia! It makes for great reading if you really want to know why you add specific ingredients and what happens physically and chemically in each step of a recipe. The recipes themselves are beautifully photographed and well written. I have tried just one so far - I couldn't wait to make the Miso Walnut Double-Thick Chocolate-Chip Cookies. They were fantastic and will go on my holiday cookie repertoire. This is a wonderful cookbook for beginners and advanced bakers alike. Clarkson Potter provided me with a free copy of this book; the opinions are my own.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a delightfully nerdy baking book. Lamb takes readers through the fundamentals, explains why ingredients act or interact the way they do, walks you through the basic baking recipes from pie crusts to brioche, and leaves you with the confidence to tackle bakes ranging from quick crusts to two-day lamination. So far I've only baked a galette with the pie crust, which came out perfectly crisp and flaky!

My only complaint about this book, and it's because I'm a reader with 50+ year old eyes, is the typeface. The publishers chose a fine, small, sans serif font which looks lovely but is killer to read, especially on a glossy, grey page.

[Elena Vietri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fantastic, joyous, informed baking book for anyone who wants to, honestly, skip culinary school. It's sooooo good and I haven't even baked anything yet, I just trust Nicola with my life.

Also just like made so beautifully and the first third is like the most pleasurable baking bible you could read. I want to display this book and not get a single ingredient or fold on the page accidentally, even though this is a book to be baked with! I'll have to use post its and keep the book far from my mise for now. So excited to bake 😵‍💫

[Cambrie M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Condensed pastry school!!! HIGHLY TECHNICAL. A bit over my head but so fascinating. Engaging read for the info but also really excited to have this around as a quick reference. Never seen a cookbook structured like this and wish there were more like it. Delightful.

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not found a better exposition of the vital components to good baking. Clear, detailed and complete. The recipes also follow this track, going from basic to more advanced. Great book in a very competitive category.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Despite the beginning of this book having more technical information than I was seeking there are actually able recipes for the home bakers. Regardless of whether you bake from the book or not, you will definitely drool over the recipes.

[Melissa Cripps · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense, technical book on baking. The first 100 pages or so are a science based review of various aspects of baking: flour, sugar, eggs, fat, color, texture, etc, followed by some delicious looking recipes.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been following Nicola's blog since Covid and adore her dedication to breaking down the absolute best version of any baking recipe in the most granular way. As a science journalist and home baker, this book hits every high for me.

[Sydney Dodd]

DNF - it’s got so much good info in it (and cool looking recipes) but it reads too much like a textbook and I just can’t get myself to finish it rn. May come back to in the future, but for now it’s going back to the library!

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book with textured cover, super thorough explanations and a matrix of joy, which helps you mix and match the book’s recipes and I require from all cookbooks from now on.

[Sara]

HIGHLY technical, but lots of detail and info.

[Margaret Gerberding · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like all the technical and scientific parts of baking, this is for you! This book goes into a deep dive on ingredients and why they work together.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow — Alert to all my baking friends and family. This looks like a winner.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t made anything yet, so that rating may change, but I don’t think so. It reads like a 5 star, and the recipes look solid.

[anklecemetery]

Unrated since I haven't baked anything from this yet, but the layout is exceptionally detailed and I'm very excited about some of the recipes.

[Barb Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Salt Fat Acid Heat but for baking. 10/10

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! All the science of why baking happens the way it does, and a fascinating collection of recipes to work with. The library wants it back, but I need this book!

[Scarlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredible scientific guide to baking. the recipes are outstanding, and the level of freedom it brings is instant. salt, fat, acid, heat, though different, does not hold a candle to this book.

[Cara Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite baking book of all time.

[Mckinley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely photos. Impressive bakes. Great into with explanations.

[Chloe Witty · Rating 5 out of 5]

incredibly helpful for learning the science behind baking. a book I can see myself returning to frequently to understand what went wrong in my bakes.