BakeWise : the hows and whys of successful baking with over 200 magnificent recipes

672 Pages·2008·4.35 MB·English

by  Corriher

Also by Shirley O. Corriher
CookWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Cooking with over 230 Great-Tasting Recipes
SCRIBNER
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2008 by Confident Cooking, Inc.
Photographs by AKELstudio, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For information, address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York,
NY 10020.
SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc., used under license by Simon &
Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008032681
ISBN-13: 978-1-41656083-8
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6083-1
Visit us on the World Wide Web:
http://www.SimonSays.com
BakeWise is dedicated to
Chef Marty Thompson
and
the young chefs like him who study and work so hard
and
generously share their talents with us
My Gratitude and Thanks
Many talented cooks contributed to BakeWise.
Chef Marty Thompson diligently tested recipes for both CookWise and
BakeWise. In spite of running his own very demanding cleaning service and
catering business, and later attending a culinary academy, Marty would get up at
5 a.m. or work until very late to test my recipes with exacting precision.
Young as he was, Marty loved cooking and read every food book that he
could get his hands on for years before he had the opportunity to become an
outstanding student in an Atlanta culinary academy. One of his teachers would
address questions to the class prefaced by, “Does anyone other than Mr.
Thompson know…?” Marty did not live long enough to complete his chef’s
training, but he will always be a young culinary hero and, to me, Chef Marty
Thompson.
My husband, Arch, worked night and day on BakeWise. Even though
sometimes I wasn’t doing something the way he thought that I should, he always
came through for me. A master of computer databases, Arch can retrieve
information that no one else can find. And, most of all, he put up with me
through the agonies and triumphs of working on a book. In his way, when I
needed it the most, he was tender and supportive.
My friend Gena Berry is a food expert extraordinaire! And master organizer
of food projects of any size. She manages the Taste of the NFL—the big dinner
for about 3,500 the night before the Super Bowl. Gena managed both the final
recipe testing and the food preparation for the photographs for BakeWise. Gena
and Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y’all, directed my DVD with cooking
lessons (available at kitchensecretsrevealed.com). Through thick and thin, Gena
jumped right in to help solve whatever problems I faced.
Maggie, Maggie Green! This book wouldn’t be here without Maggie, my
excellent line editor. Not only is Maggie a master of clear, direct writing—even
with Shirley’s molecules—but Maggie always knew what we should do and
stayed calm through my frantic calls, Arch’s frantic calls, and probably frantic
calls from my editor, Beth Wareham.
BakeWise was blessed to have the incredible talent of a great young
photographer, Alex Koloskov, a true genius with light. I was awed by his work
and thrilled to get him for the photography for BakeWise.
BakeWise has truly been a team effort. Beth Wareham at Scribner has fought
for the very best for BakeWise and I am so grateful. My agent, Judith Weber, has
been in there pitching, making sure that I had what I needed for the book.
Thanks to the many talented experts at Scribner who contributed to
BakeWise—Whitney Frick, Associate Editor; Rex Bonomelli, Art Director;
Brian Belfiglio, Director of Publicity; my publicist, Kate Bittman; and my
copyeditor, Suzanne Fass. What a good job she did. Alexandra Nickerson
created a wonderful index.
Thanks to my friend Delores Custer, who got Lynn Miller, food stylist and
former pastry chef, to do the styling for BakeWise. I really appreciate Lynn’s
talents and her cheerful, positive personality through the long hours. You have
only to look at the pictures to see what an outstanding job she did.
I had taught many of these recipes or I had tested them for articles. I had a
heroic team of home-front testers who came to my rescue over and over again. I
got great suggestions for things that should be included in the recipe directions
from my daughter, Terry Infantino. My son-in-law, Carmelo Infantino, was the
delicate-job expert (doing such things as the intricate work of cutting the
snowflake cookies). My daughter-in-law, opera singer Beth McCool, with much
help from four-year-old Daniel, many times managed emergency testing of a
recipe in spite of the demands of very young Kevin.
Then the recipes went to Gena’s team of experts. I am so grateful to these
outstanding bakers for all of their work both testing recipes and preparing dishes
for the photography, many times under frantic time demands. Some, like Doris
Koplin, have their own cookbook (Doris’s is The Quick Cook), and both Doris
and Barb Pires have operated baking businesses. Gil Kulers, The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution wine columnist, makes my Tunnel of Fudge Cake
frequently and prepared two versions. I am truly grateful to these experienced
bakers: Alison Berry, Sue Clontz, Tamie Cook, Samantha Enzmann, Jerry
Johnson, Shirley Lawrence, Julie Opraseuth, Vanessa Parker, Debbie Peterson,
Robert Schiffli, Judy Sellner, and Paula Skinner. Special thanks to Robert
Schiffli for juggling mixers and food processors, getting us in and out of places
for testing and the photography.
My thanks to Mary Taylor, who taught me so much about ovens and baking,
and arranged for Arch and me to spend a day in a major oven manufacturer’s test
kitchen.
Special thanks to my science buddies: Dr. Harold McGee, author of On
Food and Cooking, for his major support—everything from looking after Arch
and me when I got my titanium knee to the great fun of making presentations
with him.
Dr. Sara Risch, international flavor chemist, who is a reliable source of
information and a joy to have as a co-speaker on programs.
Dr. Rob Shewfelt, fruit and vegetable expert, and Dr. Carl Hosney, starch
expert, always came to my rescue when I had questions.
Finally, my thanks and gratitude to many others who are named specifically
in the text or recipes and to those who have been inadvertently omitted.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. Cakes, Luscious Cakes! Muffins, Quick Breads, and More
Chapter 2. Puff, The Magic Leavener—Steam
Chapter 3. Pie Marches On and On
Chapter 4. As the Cookie Crumbles
Chapter 5. Great Breads—Great Flavors
Ingredients
References and Bibliography
Sources
Photographic Insert
B W
AKE ISE