Beautiful Breads and Fabulous Fillings: The Best ... (ISBN 1401602509)

what a mess:
The author has got to be kidding: two pounds of salmon or two pounds of chicken or 16 slices of bacon for two sandwiches-what is she thinking or is it just really sloppy editing? And why does almost every recipe include Lawry's lemon pepper. This book is a mess-nasty-looking and sounding breads and ridiculous fillings!

Creative but Inconsistent - 2.5 Stars:
I had high hopes for this little book and I really wanted to like it. On the positive side, it's visually attractive - and unfortunately this gives the impression that the recipes are better than they actually are. It boasts more than 100 color photographs, most of them full-page. For a volume of 256 pages, that's more than generous. It's written with a friendly, conversational tone which makes the author likeable (pretense in a cookbook is rarely a good thing). The fonts are quite readable - even the index - and the layout is eye-catching, if not downright charming. The book is a handy size too, making it a welcome respite from the prevaling wrist-breaking leviathans. Certainly the recipes are creative, providing truly flavorful alternatives to your everyday Ham & Swiss on Rye. So what's wrong with this book? Inconsistency, lack of instruction, unwieldy recipes and poor editing. Nearly every book published has an error or two in the form of typos or mistakes in grammar. "Beautiful Breads" is no exception. On page 17, a line reads "Sweet dough is the firt dough I created." The "firt" jumps right out as it leads the recipe. A similar introduction on page 135 says, "...my parents would make a turkey..." One cannot ever "make" a turkey - only nature can accomplish such a daunting task. One can "fix"; "prepare"; "roast"; "grill"; "cook"; or "deep-fry" a turkey - but I promise you, you cannot "make" one. There are other errors, as well - mistakes that should not have been missed by the editor, Geoff Stone - who wasn't as "masterful" as the author stated. Now - for the recipes (which include salads, soups, sauces, sides, and desserts as well as breads and fillings). The heart of this book - and Sky's reputation - is bread, yet there's very little written about the nature and technique of crafting bread. Serious bread bakers know that overnight starters and longer rise times translate to more flavor - but these breads do not have the benefit of either. Their flavors come from the add-ins ("filled breads") - some of which are delicious. Nevertheless, the breads themselves are quite ordinary (the "Concord Grape Bread" is an inedible gummy mess and not worthy of any filling) and there's nary a sourdough to be found. Sky sings the praises of white bread, feeling that it is "underrated". Whole grain is so much better and "white" whole wheat flour is now widely available - why not use whole wheat for more of her breads? Sky also fails to detail the type of yeast to be used - Should we use "Active-Dry", "Instant", or "Rapid-Rise"? There's not much offered in the way of instruction. ONE OF THE MOST ANNOYING INCONSISTENCIES ARE THE YIELDS. Some bread recipes yield one loaf, others yield as many as nine! The "Basic White Bread" uses 16 cups of flour and eight cups of milk and half-and-half. The "Basic Whole Wheat Bread" uses 18 cups of whole wheat flour (TOO LARGE FOR THE AVERAGE HOME BAKER!) The Kitchen Aid Artisan stand mixer has a 9-cup "Flour Power" rating. Even the Kitchen Aid Pro 600 only has a 14-cup "Flour Power" rating. Unless you have a Viking 7-Quart mixer or a Hobart commercial machine, you're going to be mighty tired after hand-kneading such large recipes. No suggestions or instructions are offered to cut the recipes in half. WARNING: IF YOU'VE NEVER WORKED WITH A DOUGH THAT CONTAINS ONLY WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR (NO WHITE) YOU'RE GOING TO GET VERY FRUSTRATED. THIS TYPE OF DOUGH TAKES SOME EXPERIENCE. IF YOU FORGE AHEAD, CALL THE KING ARTHUR BAKING HOTLINE FOR HELP - YOU'RE GOING TO "KNEAD" IT - PUN INTENDED. Among the soup recipes, some yield six servings, some eight to ten. The "Pumpkin Soup" yields a whopping 12 -14 servings, employing four cans of pumpkin and five cups of maple syrup (this soup is very sweet and tastes more like pumpkin pie than soup. A savory garnish of crumbled bacon saved the day) - yet there are no recommendations for freezing such an excess of soup! The "Minty Yogurt Sauce" is fine - although painfully obvious, but the "Real Mint Sauce" and "Creamy Candied Carrot Sauce" are awful - each using a large amount of sweetened condensed milk. They are far too saccharine and the flavor of cooked milk predominates. Sky also seems to use "Lawry's Lemon Pepper" in virtually everything. There are some odd combinations, such as Hershey's kisses in a fruit salad and a full teaspoon of almond extract in both the Marinara and Rosemary-Sage Sauces. The large amount of butter in Sky's recipes didn't concern me nearly as much as the seemingly large amount of sugar - maple syrup, sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and grape jelly. Ugh! We don't need more fat, sugar and white flour in our diets! Sour Cream, Cream Cheese, and Mayonnaise are used - with no suggestions for the lighter versions of each. One sandwich recipe, "Stuffed Strawberry, Granola, Cream Cheese, and Brown Sugar English Muffins" contains one full cup of cream cheese per sandwich! Sky peppers the book with "health messages" (sometimes erroneous) at the bottom of many recipes, yet the book is full of fat and sugar! Further, the Butterscotch and Lemon Meringue pies employ traditional meringue, in which the egg whites are not fully cooked to 160 degrees. No mention is made of a safer substitute such as "Just Whites" or other pasteurized pure egg white products. Sky knows the dangers of Salmonella, as she mentions it in the introduction. A caveat urging those who may be immune compromised to avoid raw eggs is woefully missing. The best I can say about "Beautiful Breads" is that it might serve as a source of inspiration for all kinds of interesting and tasty sandwiches. A first-rate chicken salad sandwich can be food of the gods. Before you part with a few dollars to buy this book, borrow it from your local library - try before you buy. There are better bread and sandwich books to be had, including Nancy Silverton's sandwich book, which is a far better choice.

Mouthwatering!:
This is a gorgeously written and mouthwatering cookbook---I'm so glad Margaux has decided to show the world how to make her delicious sandwiches and soups, as well as the sandwich that Oprah has made famous! Keep up the good work!

Fun and Incredibly Imaginative:
I love this cookbook and find myself using it again and again. The author is obviously a creative spirit, which makes for an abundant supply of imaginative recipes. Every recipe is unusual and fun. They are extravagant and call for a lot of ingredients, but if you're in the mood for something unusual and delicious, the outcome is worth it. A few critiques: Serving sizes are enormous. You could easily make a fraction of what's called for. Also, yes, some recipes are a little vague and you have take your best guess. I can overlook that for the inspiration and fun the cookbook offers.

What could possibly contain this dough?:
I got this book for Christmas because I wanted to start baking my own bread, tried a batch, and then put it on the shelf. I pulled it out again today and was reminded why it has absolutely no use for me. The author clearly did not make any effort to make these recipes relevant for a home cook. The bread recipes call for 16 cups of flour! I have a Kitchenaid, but it can't deal with that. When I made the initial batch I dove in blindly and when all that dough started to rise it was unbelievable! I actually had to get out a large size turkey roasting pan to let the dough rise because nothing else could contain it. It was like a monster. I think the bread was good-don't really remember-I was too distracted by the every growing masses of dough all over my kitchen. I think I am going to send this book to Goodwill because unless I cannot envision a time that I will ever have access to the kinds of tools needed to deal with the quantities of bread made by this book.