Product Description

Authored by Martha herself, this amazing book delves deep into one of her very best subjects - baking. Follow along with Martha as you learn the ins-and-outs of this delicious culinary art.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22198 in Books
• Brand: Martha Stewart
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Released on: 2005-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Amazon.com
Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook presents the doyenne of the Better Way in tip-top form. Or rather, it offers the work of a dedicated team who, under Stewart's stewardship, has devised over 200 baking recipes for both savory and sweet treats, ranging from the traditional likes of buttermilk biscuits, gingersnaps, blueberry pie, bagels, and chocolate angel food cake, to the more novel pleasures of Sausage and Feta Hand Pies, Cherry Fragipane Gallete, Carrot-Ginger Cupcakes, and even the buttery-sugary to-die-for yeasted pastry called kouign amans. Also present and accounted-for are Stewartian showpieces like Mocha-Pistachio Wedding Cake.

The greatest virtue of the book, apart from the clarity of its recipes, lies in its organization: the chapters, which cover all baking stops, begin with relevant tips, followed by notes on equipment and techniques, all photo-illustrated. These set-ups supply context that maximizes the possibility of pleasurable, goof-free baking. Photo-illustrated how-to's in the formulas further the cause. A quibble is the absence in many of the recipe headnotes of descriptive material about the baked good they introduce--it's important to provide info on techniques and ingredients, as the headnotes do, but baking recipes in particular cry out for descriptions of what, for example, sfogliatelle (an Italian pastry), or lime-glazed cookies are. This said, the book is immensely appealing and will excite as well as instruct a wide range of bakers, from the would-be to the accomplished. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly
Six years after Stewart's now classic Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook reinvented canapés, here is an end-of-the-meal sequel. General baking tips start things off, most of which are beginner focused ("Read a recipe all the way through"), along with an illustrated guide to baking equipment. Along with expertise, Stewart is also selling the fantasy of wealth; she keeps a vast collection of pots, pans and implements in her own pantry. At times, readers may wish she would offer more suggestions of substitutions for these tools and gadgets (for instance, nearly all the recipes require a stand-up mixer). All the same, this work is, as promised, an essential guide. The recipes include 42 different cookies and 30 cakes, plus pies, tarts, coffee cakes, scones, biscuits, muffins, crackers, bread, fine pastries and more. They range from Classic Apple Pie to twists on standards, like a Tarte Tatin that involves cooking the apples entirely in the oven (instead of on the stovetop) and international goodies like Torta della Nonna. Instructions and sidebars are exhaustive yet accessible. Naturally, the book is exquisitely designed, with beautiful food styling and the spare, closeup photography that's become a hallmark of Stewart publications. Additionally, Stewart includes instructions for decorative crusts, coconut shavings and pastry twists that make her creations look so appealing. (On sale Nov. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
This new volume may add to global warming as cooks all over the country start up their ovens to produce the extraordinary baked goods that Stewart proposes. Few of Stewart's recipes are completely original. Martha's genius rests in her uncanny ability to see a recipe in a novel way. Thus, her roulade has a filling of blackberry fool. Pineapple upside-down cake replaces the pineapple's core with mango. Caramel sticks cover the multiple chocolate layers of Dobos Torte. Rather than the little slices of banana customary inside ordinary banana cream pie, Stewart employs dramatic lengthwise slices. In addition to quick breads, Stewart offers yeast-raised loaves and buns, including focaccia, English muffins, croissants, and Danish pastries. Stewart's cookie recipes yield products suitable for gift giving. Illustrations throughout offer some guidance to the perplexed baker, but some recipes, such as the sfogliatelle, almost demand personal, step-by-step treatment. This is not an in-depth treatise on any one particular facet of the baker's art, but what Stewart chooses to deal with, she unfolds with care, grace, aplomb, and total mastery. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook
Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook The book itself was obviously in excellent condition hence the five stars, when it left the seller but sadly, due to inadequate packaging two of the corners had been exposed and badly damaged in the post. The book was also received quicker than I anticipated.

Amazing book
I love this book. As someone who hasn't been baking too long, this has helped me a lot. I normally don't get too hung up on pictures in cookbooks. Yes, they're nice if they're there, but I can live without them. In this case, they are extremely helpful because there are so many different desserts in this book that I had never even heard of before! Luckily every single recipe in this book has a beautiful photo. I also like the sections about baking equiptment. Those sections helped me tremendously when I registered for my wedding. I knew all the pans and gadgets I was missing and was able to ask for them all. Some of the chapters are a little more intimidating (at least to me who doesn't have a lot of baking experience) like the breads and pastries, but I can see that the recipes are written so clearly that with some patience and re-reading, anyone can master this stuff!

So far I've tried several of the cookie recipes. My personal favorites were the gingerbread cookies (they come out PERFECT), and the oatmeal raisin, which are without a doubt the most delicious oatmeal raisin cookies I have ever eaten in my entire life. I also made the ricotta cheesecake last year at Thanksgiving as an alternative dessert and it was moist, fluffy, and divine with a very subtle lemon flavor. The only recipe I had some trouble with was the brownies. Mine came out rather dry, but it may have been the oven I was using because I made them at someone else's house. Perhaps their oven was hotter than mine, or maybe the chocolate I used had too high a cocoa content. But I'm looking forward to trying them again.

I initially picked up this book because I wanted to learn to bake. Had I known better I probably would have started a little more slowly with something more demonstrative. I don't think this is necessarily the ultimate handbook on baking since the instructions are pretty brief, but I admit they are helpful, and I think I'm a much better baker now because of this book. All over it's just a beautiful book and the recipes inside are sure to impress.

come on...it's Martha...
Martha has got it goin' on. this book is beautiful, great pictures and recipes. i am pretty sure i put on a couple of pounds just by looking at the pictures :)

i have tried a couple of recipes and loved them. prep your ingrediants beforehand, so you don't have to worry about having enough vanilla or eggs (i speak from experience :\ )

this book is worth purchasing just to add to your collection of timeless cookbooks. it has techniques and advice that will help anyone reach a better understanding of baking.