The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum

The Baking Bible Reviews

• 
  Sarah

  I'm sure this is blasphemy, but I do not love this book. I appreciate it; there are some great-looking baked goods in here. But-- her super detail makes me crazy. I am frustrated by the sheer amount of effort put into figuring things down to the gram. Does my reaction make sense? Probably not, but it is what it is. Call it my own form of rebellion. Will I try many of these recipes, probably with outstanding results? You better believe it.
• 
  Douglas Hitzel

  It seems only appropriate to label this book Rose's magnum opus. Every subject she has ever covered is now brought under one cover, and the student is taught the best of what she has learned since those previous books were published. One thing I have always valued with Rose Levy Berenbaum is that she leaves not one thought or question uncovered. There is never an air of mystery with her recipes that leave me wondering where it went wrong or right. I love this about her! Her amazing understanding of each ingredient and how it factors into the recipe is much of what makes her such a brilliant baker. (I base most of my bleached versus non-bleached flour decisions on her findings, as an example) While parts of her books (such as Rose's Golden Rules) could seem repetitive (all of her books devote chapters to rules, reasons, etc...) they are golden rules because THAT is how a good baker succeeds in the kitchen!! Science is part of the art and joy of baking. I am thoroughly delighted to see Rose expand her world of cakes, cupcakes, cookies, pies, and breads. But just know that this is not simply a book of recipes. No. Like any of Rose's books it is a textbook leading you from A to Z on how to better understand the world of baking in your kitchen. Rose arduously labors to help each of her readers not just succeed with each recipe, but to become a better baker. This book was well worth the wait, and it is a beautiful introduction for any new to Rose's work. I can confidently say I owe much of my success in my baking business to Rose. Most of what I know I can trace back to her direction. This book does not fail in that longstanding tradition. This is a must read!
• 
  Kathryn Lee

  I LOVE Rose's cook books! I love that they are so precise and that she doesn't just give you the recipe, she gives you all the information on why things work, and tips for success, so that I feel like each book is a cooking class instead of just a recipe book. I have only just delved into this one, but the recipes so far are divine!
• 
  Beth Cato

  I enjoy a good, detailed cookbook that breaks down the most effective way to do recipes. That said, much of this book felt... fussy to me. I'm a pretty experienced baker, and even I felt daunted by the detail and options presented. Maybe I'm not the ideal audience because I don't want my hand held quite so much. The breadth of recipes within this volume is fantastic, though--and the information in the back on techniques, ingredients, and tools, is a fantastic resource for cooks of any level.
• 
  Lorraine

  Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Baking Bible, The IACP Cookbook Winner, covers so many yummy items, and with Ms. Beranbaum's 'methodical ' approach, home bakers can bake quite a few dishes previously only professional bakers could do. Found in this book are easy-to-follow directions with photographs showing each step so home bakers can produce dishes never attempted before. My only concern is I hope I am a good enough home baker to be able to follow all the directions without panicking. Also in this book are special tips, info on special equipment, troubleshooting bread, measuring ingredients, oils for baking, storing chocolate, plus much more baking information. I am looking forward to baking the author's Apple Pie, Blueberry Buckle, Brioche Bread, Monkey Dunkey Bread and her French Toast.
• 
  Christina Karvounis

  What an outstanding collection. This truly is a baking bible. The range is epic, from dense cakes to candies, Beranbaum covers it all with precision and accessible language for both the new baker and seasoned.
  
  I especially appreciate that Beranbaum offers measurements in standard cups/teaspoons and in weights.
  
  This is a must-have for anyone who calls him/herself a baker!
• 
  Ginny

  Amazing. This book makes me want to quit my job and bake from it cover to cover. Can't wait to try some of these recipes!
  
• 
  Beth

  My first impressions and thoughts about this book.
  1. Food porn! Holy cannoli this book has gorgeous photographs of cakes and pies!
  2. Having never read or looked through any other books by this author, she is beyond finicky. I'm sure it's all meant to help her readers/fans be successful. One of her recipes, the Renee Fleming golden chiffon sponge cake took 17 trials before getting the perfect texture. Yikes. Which leads me to my final observation. 3. This book is WAY out of my league. I would love to have the skills to replicate the recipes in this book but I know myself too well. Epic fails for sure.
  So, I will browse and read the descriptions and gaze longingly at the scrumptious photographs. I may jot down some tips and tricks. Then, I will return to the library so that others may be tempted.
• 
  Megan

  I like how Beranbaum breaks everything down (for example, she'll tell you how to make the lemon curd, then turn that into mousseline or buttercream), but this makes the recipes seem very long-winded (this was probably exaggerated due to my viewing of this cookbook on an e-reader). And some of the cakes easily have 5/6 different parts; even the cookies seem time-consuming. I'm all for complicated recipes, but sometimes easy ones are nice, too.
  
  I was intrigued by her flavor combos though. I love the idea of a prune caramel cream cake (I'm one of those people who actually likes prunes), and the mango cheesecake sounds divine.
• 
  Dorisq

  I don't think I will try every single recipe, but I love the style of writing and the clarity of the instructions. This book does not leave many baking questions unanswered, it is also unpretentious and includes some very simple homey recipes as well as more technically advanced ones. I highly recommend it if you're a baking lover.
• 
  Phyl

  Coffee Crumb Cake Muffins on page 81 are awesome!
• 
  Leigh Anne

  A must-have for serious home bakers.
  
  And by "serious" I mean "skewing a wee bit fancy." Beranbaum, who has written more than 10 cookbooks deciphering the mysteries of great baked goods at home, produces here a volume for folks who aspire to genoise, rugelach, homemade lekvar, and slightly-more-high-maintenance than usual pastries, garnishes, and fillings (there's a recipe here for savory cream puffs with faux fois gras, so you know she's not fucking around).
  
  Although the results are fancy, and the steps take a bit longer, the processes themselves are clearly explained in great detail, and beautifully illustrated so that you know what the end result should look like. All sorts of tricks and tips are slipped into each recipe, so even though you should be reading them carefully anyway, read the recipes extra carefully! And more than once. The bias here is toward sweet goods, with chapters on cakes, pies/tarts, cookies/candy, and bread/yeast pastries, some requiring special pans/equipment, which ends up making the book a bit spendy to use, but at least the ingredients are easily available (no need to run off looking for quince jam or whatever).
  
  You really should have all the Beranbaum books in your collection, unless your library is so tiny you can't. This one would be a good pick for small libraries that can only afford one or two of these thick-as-a-brick guides. But really, budget for them all, at some point, as they would make a good reference shelf at home, too. I know I'll be purchasing this one for myself, and not just because I had no idea how easy it was to make lekvar (that shit is expensive by the bottle, comparatively, so seriously, look into that). Recommended for all library collections.
• 
  Thảo

  Nếu mà goodreads cho rate nhiều hơn 5 sao thì mình cũng sẵn sàng rate cao hơn nữa.
  Mình xem Rose Levy Baranbaum là master baker nên đọc blog hay sách của cô, mình đều thích. Mình thích cô ở điểm sự tinh tế, nhạy cảm trong baking và cách viết hướng dẫn rõ ràng, dễ hiểu, dễ làm theo. Mình chưa thử hết tất cả các recipes trong đây, nhưng những loại bánh đã thử theo hướng dẫn đều thành công.
  Ai muốn tự học làm bánh, mà không biết bắt đầu từ đâu thì có thể vào blog của cổ hoặc từ quyển sách này. :D
• 
  Tee

  I’m a good cook, but not a great baker. I will spend all day making Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon without hesitation, but these recipes are a bit much. While I can appreciate the beauty & effort, it’s just not happening here. The detail is fabulous & the instructions clear, which I very much appreciate. That is super important for recipes at this level, but I’m personally not interested enough in dessert to do this myself. However, the authors obvious love for what she does & instructs are very well done.
• 
  Martha Hall

  This is huge, comprehensive and thorough. And the results look stunning. Many of these are far too complex for me to make--several recipes involve three or four individual recipes, then combining them. But it was beautiful and lush and bakers ought to love it.
  
• 
  Ann Marie

  I love how exact these recipes are. I enjoy baking because it is an exact science. Follow the directions, get a yummy result. There are so many good recipes in here and Beranbaum makes sure to direct you on how to get the best finished product. Can't wait to work my way through more recipes.
• 
  Donna

  This could be called the encyclopedia for bakers - it is so comprehensive in both how much information is here as well as what is included - you can bake just about anything you want with success if you follow her recipes and instructions.
• 
  Sandy Larivee

  Disappointed
  
  Not at all what I expected. Very few pictures and printing on at least the kindle edition were very small and difficult to read. Most recipes I wouldn’t make. Glad I got it from the Libby library app and didn’t purchase it.
• 
  Carolina

  Rose is a Queen. My go-to baking book.
• 
  Toby Ovakind

  jjj
• 
  Mairzi

  A comprehensive, well written cookbook but for some reason I am just not a big fan of her books.
• 
  Diane

  Excellent Book
  
  Can't wait to try many of these recipes. The hard part will be deciding what to bake first.
  Lots of hands on advice with each recipe.