Baking with Julia Savor the Joys of Baking with ... (ISBN 0688146570)

Amazon.com Review:
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.

Baking with Style:
This book is a real gem for the at home baker, beautifully laid out. It is not just a complilation of recipes but more than that it is both a history book and an encyclopedia of the varied pieces that end up a baked product. It is by far my favorite tome on the subject.

Baking With Julia:
This cookbook was everything I wanted. It's detailed, explained and illustrated beautifully. It's a companion book to the PBS series of the same name and it's perfect. The recipes are varied and run a wide range of baked goods. I consider it a must for any serious bread and pastry baker.

Baking Bliss:
This lavish book is a companion to the PBS program of the same name. As Julia writes in her introduction, there was such a public interest in the baking segments of her show that she decided to make the information available in book form as well. Dorie Greenspan--who had already written cookbooks of her own--authored the book in consultation with over twenty bakers. Baking with Julia is a compendium of recipes and techniques, from simple cakes to an incredibly extravagant wedding cake. (I almost want to get married now just to have an excuse to attempt making that beauty...) You'll find savory breads, breakfast treats, and desserts elegant enough to make Paris' finest patissier applaud. (Almost every recipe in the book is presented in stunning full-page color.) I especially appreciated the glossary of terms at the beginning of the book--they cover everything from techniques to tools. A pastry scraper really is handy!

Baking Bible:
I have had this book since it first came out. This is, by far, the baking bible for those of us who adore to bake on weekends. Recipes I continually come back to are the Vanilla Pound Cake, which I often make for neighbors at Christmas. And the unbelieveable blueberry muffins which are worth the price of the book!!! Boca Negra, the flourless chocolate cake is to die for, along with Sunny Side Up Apricot pastry. Enormous popovers which I still love to watch on the PBS show where Julia speaks of honey dripping down to her elbows. Yes the receipes are sometimes time consuming---this is not a quick bake approach. Where else can you learn from the top pastry chefs and pay thousands for cooking school? The photos are increadible, the book has a nice size and receipes, while detailed, are easy to follow. Enjoy!

A classic:
I received this book last summer. Clear directions and recipes that work that my family can easily recreate at home. I have a few of her other books but really like the simple and straightforward directions in this one.