How to Bake: The Complete Guide To Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins, Sweet and Savory

by Nick Malgieri

Learn from an expert! Nick Malgieri's recipes will help you create deliciously indulgent treats that look and taste like they've come from a professional bakery.

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.
 

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Nonfiction, Cooking

480 pages, Hardcover

Published October 17, 2018

Reviews

[Leona · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read through every recipe and I really thought this was going to be great.

So let's start with what I liked about the book:
- Well laid out
- Easy to understand
- Good tips and techniques

Now for the negative. The few recipes that I tried aren't turning out. I just finished making the old-fashioned oatmeal bread and it was a disaster. As I was making it, I could tell that the ratio of liquid to flour/oats wasn't right. It definitely needed more flour and it was impossible to knead without it. I went back to check other recipes, and sure enough... it's off, way off.

I'm not a novice baker, but I enjoy buying books such as this. No matter how experienced you are, there are always tons of things to learn from the pros. My rule is to try a recipe once as written, and then tweak after that. I'm not sure I will bother with this. The book may actually be going back to Amazon since I don't believe the recipes are tried and true.

My recommendation to others is to be leery of purchasing this book. Go with one that has been out for a while and has a more proven track record.

[Clwseattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nick Malgieri is one of my favorite 'teaching authors'. I have several of his other books, with Bake!: Essential Techniques for Perfect Baking as a hands-down favorite.

While adding How to Bake to my book journal, I realized I had another How to Bake by Nick Malgieri from 1995. In checking the copyright for this edition, yep, it was copyrighted in both 1995 and 2018 with the Bibliographical Note

"This Dover edition, first published in 2018, is an unabridged replication of the work originally published by HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., New York, in 1995. The author has made revisions for the Dover edition"

How to Bake while voluminous at almost 500 pages is not a flashy book. The 'how to' parts are all contained within the individual recipes, which makes it easy to remember and follow the hints. There are no photos and few simple illustrations in the book but How to Bake is pretty comprehensive in regards to the types and origins of recipes with little tidbits of interesting information and variation suggestions with most. Your mouth will water!

4.5 stars

[roxi Net · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a baker. Repeat - I am not a baker. I requested this book to review since it came in time with my trip to London and my new obsession with the Great British Bake Off. I love Dover books since they're simple to use with easy instructions, but I'm disappointed with the lack of photos. I definitely need a visual to compare my dish (and just how imperfect it really is). I'm definitely trying the scone recipes first :D

[Belva W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a comprehensive book on baking just about anything you would want to bake from scones, muffins, tarts, pies and cakes to savory items as well. The instructions are very detailed with lots of helpful hints and diagrams. I wish there were actual photographs of the finished products though. Still, I would recommend this book for a novice interested in honing their craft, but I think a seasoned baker would find it helpful as well. I'm really looking forward to trying several of these recipes. My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advance galley for review.

[Cheryl Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic cookbook! When it’s time to bake this cookbook is one you have a permanent place for on your counter. Every recipe is something I’d like to bake. Instructions are precise and the ingredients are easily found. I would have liked some pictures of these amazing treats though.

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every house should have this book! As a pastry instructor, I gave all of my students a copy of this book for the holidays.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love, love, love this book. This is the perfect book for the beginning baker all the way to the experienced baker. One of the great things about this book is that it gives lots of hints for baking the different recipes and also gives variations on the recipes. The book does a great job describing the different baking ingredients, equipment, and techniques. The chapters are broken down into very specific categories to make it easy to find the recipe you might want. There are classics such as cornbreads and muffins all the way to cream puffs and other fancy desserts. There's lots of explanations of terms so you completely understand how to create your breads and pastries. The only thing I wish it had was some color pictures of the different baked items. There are some diagrams of different techniques so that helps. If you know a beginning baker or someone that wants to learn to bake this is the perfect book for them. If you know an experienced baker that would like to expand their expertise this is the book for them.

[Penmouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Bake by Nick Malgieri is a republished work orignally published in 1995. His cookbook has stood the test of time as Malgieri clearly explains the techniques for succesful baking. I loved his cookbook as his recipes are clearly written and the illustrations help explain baking techniques. He has included information on ingredients and how to select the proper baking tools.

You will find the following chapters in his book:

Quick Breads, Scones & Muffins
Breads & Rolls
Savory Pastries
Pies
Tarts
Cookies & Small Pastries
Cakes
Puff Pastry & Cream Puff Pastry
Sweet Yeast-Risen Breads & Pastries

Some of the recipes you'll find include:

Cocoa Quick Bread
Classic Southern Biscuits
Oatmeal Raisin Scones
Cheddar Muffins
Starter Made with Yeast
Best and Easist Home-Baked Bread
Olive Bread
French Mixed-Grain Bread
Yocheved Hirsch's Round Challah
Soft Rolls
Old-Fashioned Chicken Pie
Pepper and Onion Frittata Tart
Neapolitan Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Prosciutto Pie
Scottish Mince Pies
Home-Style Pizza
Easiest Apple Pie
Blueberry Lattice Pie
Once-A-Year Cherry Pie
Butterscotch Cream Pie
Chocolate Almond Spice Cookies
Bernese Hazelnut Gingerbread
Vanilla Sables
Rugelach
Classic White Cake
Moist, Buttery Nut Cake
Angel Food Cake
Butter Almond Financier
Apricot Crumb Cake
Oxford Fruitcake
Lemon Macaroon Cake
Ambrosia Cake
Old-Fashioned Spice Cake with Boiled Icing
Swiss Chocolate Truffle Cake
Chocolate Mousse Cake with Raspberry Eau-De-Vie
Chocolate Souffle Roll
Ganache
Easy Meringue Buttercream
Caramel Pecan Cheesecake
Marbled Cheesecake
Swiss Pretzels
Apple Dumplings
Apple Turnovers
Bistro Apple Tart
Snowballs
Cheese Straws
Easy Food Processor Brioche Loaf
Brioche Bee Sting Cake
Italian Christmas Bread
Irish Yeast-Risen Tea Cake
Chocolate Croissants
Danish Crescents

As you can see there are plenty of recipes in his cookbook. I'm sure the How to Bake cookbook would make an appreciated gift for any baker.

Highly recommend.

Review written after downloading a galley from NetGalley..

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

How to Bake lives up to its name: the recipes start simple in each chapter and then you build upon techniques and skills as you progress. Everything is laid out simply and without all the superfluous graphic design that can get in the way of easy-to-follow directions. That said, it is rather bland - no pictures or designwork, just straight text.

The book breaks down as follows: Quick Breads, Scones & Muffins/Breads and Rolls/Savory Pastries/Pies/Tarts/Cookies and Small Pastries/Cakes/Puff Pastry and Cream Puff Pastry/Sweet Yeast-Risen Breads and Pastries/Sources of Supply/Metric Equivalents/Bibliography. As you can see, it is mostly breads and pastries. There are many savory (meat) items included in the breads, though.

The introduction is mostly about how to use the book rather than cooking techniques; there are handling directions, some tools/pans discussions, and a list of the essential ingredients for most of the recipes.

Each recipe has a bold font title, spaced ingredient list, tools needs (nice addition!), a short introduction, numbered and short steps, then variations. I especially appreciate the short numbered steps since that makes it as easy as possible to follow the directions. I have a hard time with the cookbooks that use chunky paragraphs for directions - they look great but it is at the expense of utility.

In all, a nice way to get some baking techniques under your belt and to feel more comfortable with cooking. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m a cookbook aficionado and have been for decades. In all that time, I’ve rarely found recipes such as are in this book. Recipes, such as Italian Bread and Mince Pie, come with a little bit of history behind them that makes them all the more interesting. The ingredients are not outlandish but ones you’d find in most grocery stores. This cookbook be a great addition to any serious cooks’ repertoire.