The Savory Baker: 150 Creative Recipes, from Classic to Modern

by America's Test Kitchen

The ultimate guide to savory baking using fragrant spices and herbs, fresh produce, rich cheeses and meats, and more

Baking is about a lot more than just desserts. This unique collection, one of the few to focus solely on the savory side of baking, explores a multitude of flavor possibilities. Get inspired by creative twists like gochujang-filled puff pastry pinwheels or feta-studded dill-zucchini bread. And sample traditional baked goods from around the world, from Chinese lop cheung bao to Brazilian pão de quejo.

Our flexible recipes let you keep things simple by often using store-bought doughs and crusts, or go all out and make them from scratch using our foolproof methods. No matter what kind of baker you are, you’ll be inspired by the irresistible flavors, from everyday biscuits to showstopping breads, including:

Quick breads, scones, biscuits, and pastries: Turn scones savory with panch phoran, an Indian spice blend with cumin, fennel, and mustard seeds. Bake the flakiest biscuits ever, packed with fresh sage and oozing with melty Gruyère. Even danish goes savory with goat cheese and Urfa chile.

Tarts, galettes, and pies: Jamaican spiced beef patties or a flaky galette with corn, tomatoes, and bacon will be your new favorite lunch (or breakfast, or snack). Or make pizza chiena, the over-the-top Italian double-crusted pie of eggs, cheeses, and cured meats.

Batter and stovetop “bakes”: Popovers bursting with blue cheese and chives dress up dinner, while bread pudding with butternut squash and spinach makes the brunch table. And savory pancakes are for anytime, whether you choose Chinese cōngyóubing or Korean kimchi jeon.

Flatbreads, pizza, rolls, and loaves: Try alu paratha, the Northern Indian potato-stuffed flatbread. Shape mushroom crescent rolls or a challah enlivened by saffron and rosemary. And for kids of any age, bake a pizza monkey bread.

Every recipe has a photo you’ll want to sink your teeth into, and ATK-tested techniques plus step-by-step photos walk you through rolling out pie and galette doughs; shaping breads and rolls; stretching pizza dough; and more.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food, Reference

368 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2022

About the author

America's Test Kitchen, based in a brand new state-of-the-art 60,000 sq. ft. facility with over 15,000 sq. ft. of test kitchens and studio space, in Boston's Seaport District, is dedicated to finding the very best recipes for home cooks. Over 50 full-time (admittedly obsessive) test cooks spend their days testing recipes 30, 40, up to 100 times, tweaking every variable until they understand how and why recipes work. They also test cookware and supermarket ingredients so viewers can bypass marketing hype and buy the best quality products. As the home of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines, and publisher of more than one dozen cookbooks each year, America's Test Kitchen has earned the respect of the publishing industry, the culinary world, and millions of home cooks. America's Test Kitchen the television show launched in 2001, and the company added a second television program, Cook's Country, in 2008.

Discover, learn, and expand your cooking repertoire with Julia Collin Davison, Bridget Lancaster, Jack Bishop, Dan Souza, Lisa McManus, Tucker Shaw, Bryan Roof, and our fabulous team of test cooks!

Learn more at https://www.americastestkitchen.com/.

Reviews

[Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm going to be morbidly obese if these books get any better!!

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that counts khachapuri, pupusas, Olive Garden breadsticks, and empanadas (more or less) in its recipes get an automatic 4 stars from me.

Alas, I live at a high altitude so baking is tough for me.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

can't wait to take this out again!

[dessertcomes1st · Rating 4 out of 5]

ATK has become hit or miss for me because I’ve been reading them for decades and they can get repetitive. This book however, is not that and there are quite a few recipes that I’ve bookmarked to try, including deep dish quiche Lorraine and a pizza babka. Sounds good, right?

This is the usual quality you’ve come to expect from ATK with detailed instructions, helpful procedural photos, and a “why this works” headnote.

Recommended if you’d like some savory with your sweet!

[Dray · Rating 5 out of 5]

The test kitchen is hard to beat. They do a lot of testing and hone in on what makes a recipe sparkle. This is a fantastic resource for bakers and focuses on savory treats rather than sweet which is part of what makes it fantastic. They have a well curated collection from around the world with quite a few recipes i have never seen before, and I read a lot of baking books. I almost never rate books a five but this one gets it. Recommended.

[X · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute banger full of highly variable recipes.

Real effort was put in to feature both a classic recipe and then a twist on it.
I especially love the "why this recipe works" explanations that aren't just "here's why I like this" or "here's how to make it", but focus on "this is why you would make this recipe as opposed to anything else, given you have these ingredients".

And for me, that's what baking is all about.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quality of America's Test Kitchen books is really never in question, so it's always more about how many of the recipes are actually things I'd want to eat. I'm interested in making about half of the recipes in this, but I'm going to have to consult their bread book to make sure there aren't any repeats before I decide on adding it to my collection.

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been baking from this cookbook for about six weeks. It is wonderful. Biscuits, breads, tarts, galettes, and crackers. Great photos of all the recipes that you can almost smell off the page. They have tested all recipes and give you the exact technique or special ingredients to make it yourself. My next selection from their library is the Bowls cookbook.

[Katrina Zartman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of a variety of breads from across the globe are included in this volume. I didn't try to bake any of them yet. Large, colorful photos tempt one to put your hand to a pleasant task.
Good for inspiration even if you don't decide to keep it permanently on your shelf.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

YUM! This totally went into my cart, I need this.

[Mariko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of recipes I want to try in here.

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will have to purchase to try all the ones I want but the couple I did were yum!

[Andrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm looking forward to baking from this book! Very clear recipes, all with finished item pictures and most with process pictures too.

[Anna Catherman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unconventional recipes, many of which seem to try too hard.

[shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, please!! Tasty delights in every chapter!

[Danielle Mccoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love all the pictures showing how to make the baked goods.

[Sps · Rating 3 out of 5]

Handpies, everyone wants to eat handpies, just make another batch of handpies. Handpie!

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really solid recipes with pantry basics. Some recipes have more specialty ingredients, but they should easily be found at most stores.

[Kim Bell Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of recipes is my jam, or my bacon, as I prefer! Good ideas!

[Precis Fundi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just got one... the temperature guidelines are in feranheit.. it would been great if it was in both Celsius n feranheit. For the price, I was expecting more.

[AChef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this.