[.ca] Baking with Julia: Sift, Knead, Flute, Flour, and Savor... (ISBN 0688146570)

From Amazon.com:
Television cooking shows are occasionally moderately entertaining to watch, but as sources for usable recipes and good cooking ideas, they are hit or miss at best. Cookbooks based on cooking shows are even less likely to be useful in the kitchen. One shining exception is Julia Child's "Master Chef" series. One of the best cooking shows ever produced, it also yielded some wonderful cookbooks, including Cooking With Master Chefs. The latest is Baking With Julia, which features the creations of 26 top bakers. All are artists with flour, eggs, butter, and the other ingredients of their craft. Writer Dorie Greenspan is a master at her craft as well. The paste for eclairs, she writes, is transformed from "ordinary-looking batter" into "a puffed pastry that appears to be threatening flight." It's all definitely good enough to eat.

An Atlas for Baking Techniques:
As other reviewers have said, this volume is one of the most frequently consulted books in my library of over 250 cookbooks. I began baking from it just because it was my latest book on baking. Then, I began toing to it when the results of baking recipies found in other books did not pan out as well as I expected. It was also directly responsible for my acquiring a heavy duty KitchenAid stand mixer, although I was able to quite successfully do recipes involving some heavy duty dough even without the mixer. But, the mixer did make it easier. One of the primary lessons I learned from my comparing recipes in this book to other books is that these recipes are fully up to professional bakers' standards. No dumbing down here. My best evidence is when I tried making cinnamon buns using two other recipies and the results were simply inferior to what one could buy from Entenmens at the supermarket I then made the same product using the Child recipe and I produced definitely superior results. Please be aware that these recipes were not developed by Julia Child and Julia Child did not write the book. This does not detract from the quality of the book, just the quality of the credit. The writer, Dorrie Greenspan, has done several other books on baking, all with a very high quality. Julia's collaborators, all major talents in baking, include such stars as Nick Malgieri, do nothing but increase the value of the volume. This book is at it's best as an introduction to all the different types of baking for a person who has time to deal with the finer points of baking things like artisnal breads and sticky buns. Yes, a stand mixer is recommended.

Outstanding:
I just want to say for the bad reviews in here, that I've made some things in here 2x, and one time they came out perfect, another not. Indeed, some of the techniques are so specific that if your oven temperature is 10 degrees off or the dough rises an extra 1/2 hour, it makes all the difference in the end result. Anyway, I love cookbooks where the chefs tell the truth and don't give bogus recipes -- this is one of them! I would make changes to suit my own taste of course, but this is a reliable book.

A Reliable Baking Book:
I am skeptical of most of the cookbooks that are based on PBS TV cooking shows, plus some of Julia Child's early cookbooks had many recipes that were involved and difficult for the casual home cook to do. This book, however, is a reliable resource that you can depend on for baked goods in your home oven. The most important feature of this book is that all of the recipes are written by professional bakers (of whom there are some 2 dozen or so, some you will recognize, all are seasoned bakers from various commercial settings), and the recipes are scaled-down versions of reliable production recipes. The instructions are exemplary in their detail and completeness. All things considered, this is also an excellent learning tool for the beginner. When I need to learn something new (such as rugelach or naan), this is one of the first books I reach for. The first chapter has an extensive section on basic techniques and words that you do not usually get in even a good baking book. It has some basic recipes that must be mastered before you go on to the recipes in the rest of the book, like genoise or meringue. It also has chapters on bread (Daily; Artisanal, Flatbreads), breakfast goods and quick breads, cakes (Everyday, Showstoppers, Wedding Cake, Cookies), and pastries (Pies, Grand, Savory). It has a good selection of all the major categories you are likely to want to do at home.

baking enthusiast:
What a wonderful book! I received this book as a gift 2 years ago and since then have refered to it repeatedly when I want to learn to make an authentic recipe from well-known bakers from across the country. The book covers all the basics: artisan breads, sweet breads, pies, etc. - and from there you learn to master and build a strong foundation for future recipes. The bagel recipe is so easy and delicious I now have friends requesting me to save some when I make them! While some of the recipes are definately time consuming, they are definately worth it should you find a few extra hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If you are serious about becoming a better baker at home this book definately delivers!

Become a better baker with this book:
This is one of the most frequently used cookbooks in my kitchen. The recipes are easy to understand and although laborious at times, the effort is often worth it. I feel that this book has helped me improve my cooking/baking skills tremendously. I would suggest the recipient of this book obtain a heavy duty mixer, since many of the recipes require its use. Julia and her co-author conspirators display a helpful humor, advising the consulting cook not to worry when things look like they shouldn't. I highly recommend this book and have purchased it as a gift for several friends. The beautiful pictures are a great inspiration, as well.