Product Description

A collection of 150 simple step-by-step recipes that still have gourmet appeal, The Modern Baker strives to bring you baking success with the bulk of the preparation taking under one hour. Nick Malgieri distills years of teaching and experience into these detailed recipes for virtually every savory or sweet yeast bread, quick bread, muffin, pastry, dough, and batter. Recipes are thorough and include descriptions of how batters and doughs are supposed to appear at each stage of preparation. The Modern Baker is as necessary and essential as a good oven; Nick Malgieri leads cooks through the simple art of creating an international assortment of delicious sweet and savory baked goods, interweaving techniques and helpful sidebars.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17693 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Amazon.com Review
A collection of 150 simple step-by-step recipes that still have gourmet appeal, The Modern Baker strives to bring you baking success with the bulk of the preparation taking under one hour. Nick Malgieri distills years of teaching and experience into these detailed recipes for virtually every savory or sweet yeast bread, quick bread, muffin, pastry, dough, and batter. Recipes are thorough and include descriptions of how batters and doughs are supposed to appear at each stage of preparation. The Modern Baker is as necessary and essential as a good oven; Nick Malgieri leads cooks through the simple art of creating an international assortment of delicious sweet and savory baked goods, interweaving techniques and helpful sidebars.

Sample recipe from The Modern Baker: Chocolate Almond and Amaretti Cake

Once fall arrives and the flood of summer fruit and berries dwindles to a trickle, I start to think of using nuts in baking. The new crop of nuts begins to reach stores in the early fall and I love to start using them right away when they're at their peak of freshness and flavor. This chocolate almond and amaretti cake is a perfect vehicle for enjoying the lush sweetness of that newly harvested crop of almonds. Nuts and chocolate are always a great combination, and this rich and delicate cake showcases them particularly well. The presence of the ground amaretti cookies, made from exotic wild apricot kernels, provides a slight bitter almond perfume that pleasantly heightens the flavor and aroma of the almonds in the cake. One taste and you won’t miss those peaches and blueberries at all. --Nick Malgieri

One 10-inch cake, about 8 large servings

From Publishers Weekly
Would-be bakers could hardly ask for a better instructor than Malgieri, a prolific cookbook author (How to Bake, A Baker's Tour, Perfect Cakes) and director of the baking program at the Institute of Culinary Education. Though his previous books have for years made solid home cooking resources, this volume's clarity and simplicity may make it his most well-received yet. In it, Malgieri manages the considerable feat of condensing his process for creating pies, tarts, cookies and other baked goods into only the most crucial steps, without sacrificing taste or texture. Relying on a food processor for most mixing tasks (in place of labor-intensive steps like folding), Malgieri patiently guides readers through some of the baking world's most daunting delicacies, including French baguettes, brioche, tart dough, and homemade puff pastry. With Malgieri's confidence-building tutelage and a little practice, readers will be frosting cakes and cranking out scones like pros, and the chef offers multiple variations to try once the basics have been mastered. Though the layout leaves something to be desired--a mix of too-small typefaces, especially in ingredient lists, is sure to cause eyestrain--this makes a solid introduction and a dependable resource.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Malgieri is director of the baking program at New York's Institute of Culinary Education and author of numerous other cookbooks, including How To Bake, in many ways the predecessor of this ambitious new title. He begins with an introduction to ingredients, equipment, and techniques and follows with eight recipe chapters. Chapter introductions provide helpful general tips on the various techniques involved, and recipe headnotes offer more specific information. Despite the subtitle, streamlined techniques do not seem to be a major focus, as many recipes rely on classic, time-tested methods. The recipes, many shown in color photographs, include both traditional favorites like Date Walnut Bread and more contemporary creations such as Smoked Salmon Mille-Feuilles, with ethnic specialties from a wide range of cuisines. For most baking collections.Mushet, a talented pastry chef, cooking teacher, and author of the excellent Desserts: Mediterranean Flavors, California Style, presents the latest book from the Sur La Table team, following Things Cooks Love. Like Malgieri's book, it covers both sweet and savory baking, but it includes far more information. Two lengthy introductory chapters cover techniques, equipment, and ingredients, and dozens of sidebars on "Tips for Success" and "What the Pros Know" offer further helpful insider advice. Recipes range from basics such as Quick Puff Pastry and Classic Sugar Cookies to unusual and appealing treats like Malted Milk Chocolate Tart; most of them include make-ahead information, and many also have variations. There are striking color photographs throughout, as well as step-by-step technique photos. Mushet's style is engaging and never intimidating. Essential.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Nick Malgieri's Best Book Yet
I'm a bit of a cookbook geek with over 300 in my collection. I have purchased several of Nick Malgieri's books through the years. I have to say that "The Mondern Baker" is by far his best yet. It seems like the book he was meant to write. As with all his books, the instructions are clear and the recipes well tested to make sure they work every time in the home kitchen. What sets this book apart from his other works and most other baking books on the market is the wide range of recipes. They really do resonate with the modern cook. I highly recommend this book and I hope more people will give it a try.

Nick does it again
Nick Malgieri's books are always a delight, and this latest one is no exception. His recipes are wonderful, directions crystal clear. My only complaint (and this complaint is against other baking book writers as well), PLEASE put weights of ingredients in as well as cup amounts. Many home bakers weigh now, and we would love to have more precise measurements.

Horrible layout, great recipes
I'm basing my review on having checked this book out from the library. I've decided NOT to buy it because the type and layout is just frustrating as heck, and I know it would be one of those cookbooks I dread using. I've decided to copy out and reformat the recipes I really enjoyed so that they'll be easier to read. I'm only forty, by the way. My eyesight's not that bad. Really, it's a poorly designed book: The typeface of the ingredient list requires me to lean in about eighteen inches from the page, the text is nearly as small. Gorgeous photos, and I like that they have one recipe per page or per two page spread, which shows some planning. It's just a shame they used such a miniscule typeface. Quite a shame, since there are several great recipes.