Rose's Baking Basics: 100 Essential Recipes, with More Than 600 Step-by-Step Photos by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Rose's Baking Basics: 100 Essential Recipes, with More Than 600 Step-by-Step Photos Reviews

• 
  Martha Foster

  A great book to finish up the year, especially as I have made a resolution to bake more next year. This book has delicious looking recipes, helpful hints, and easy to follow instructions. I look forward to using it!
• 
  Lorraine

  This is Rose’s dream book and it is also the perfect book for anyone who would like to make some excellent desserts for yourself or to impress some friends or family. Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Rose’s Baking Basics has provided step-by-step directions that are accompanied by superior photographs to guide the way for beginner bakers or to assist the advanced baker. The book is divided into Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Tarts, Bread, and Toppings and Fillings. More importantly, the author included 3 sections in the beginning of the book which should prove invaluable to any level of baker.. 1. Top 10 Golden Rules for Baking. 2. Essential Equipment for Baking. 3. Essential Ingredients for Baking. Then pick a recipe and go for it. I have The Baking Bible which also has detailed instructions, but as I read it I was becoming overwhelmed. I do not feel this way about this book. With the added photographs in Baking Basics, I believe that I can have success or at least a stronger chance of success. One reason for this is I have always thought one ‘should eat dessert first’. My congratulations to the author! 5 stars.
• 
  Lisa Lutts

  I love to bake and this cookbook has been an eye opener for me. I tend to be a messy and often chaotic cook. Something that you can't do with baking. This book helps me to go step by step and she showed me the importance of measuring with a scale and having all your ingredients prepped and ready to go. So far, everything I've made has come out beautifully. Well, my pie crust still needs some work, but this was be best tasting crust I've ever made. Sure, it takes time to bake even simple things using Rose's methods, but its worth it!
• 
  Carolyn

  No question that R.L.B. is the reigning queen of the perfection in baking techniques, but I take slight umbrage to her “Apple Cider Cake Doughnuts” (p. 123) in that they are nothing more than a cake batter baked in doughnut shapes. Sorry, Rose, but doughnuts are FRIED.
  
  Also a little incongruous in a book on baking basics is an entry for “Chocolate Butterscotch Toffee” which is far from baking, but pure confectionery.
• 
  tiasreads

  First let me say that every cookbook should be required to come with a pretty pink ribbon bookmark. No other color will do now, lol.
  
  This cookbook is mislabeled. The recipes are not 'the basics'. RLB doesn't do basic. These recipes are The Essentials.
  
  This is not the book for you if you're looking for anything new and different. (No cronuts in sight.) This book is about honing technique, reinforcing the foundation that you've built on, even if you've been building on it for over 35 years like I have.
  
  If you're new to baking, don't bother with the rest- start here and get it right the first time. If you're an experienced baker, get this book if you're ready to level up.
• 
  Dan Stern

  I've been following Rose for about 6 years and I even have a tag for her on my blog so yes i have to consider myself a hugh fan. I think its fair giving that backstory before I get on to the review. Her book Rose's heavenly cakes were my very first digital cakebible and whenever someone asks for a cake that isnt red velvet or poundcake that book is where I start looking for inspiration. This book on the other hand is not about baking the most difficult cake with the weirdest pronounced name or where each cake has milelong ingredientlist followed by 2-3 pages on how to cut the basil the right way before you boil it 10 secs in carbonated water - this book is all about the basics and how to. Even if you have baked your entire life there is always some new tricks you can learn and this book has a lot of them. The recipes are - as always with Rose - well written, easy to follow and filled with good pictures with instructions and when you think the recipe is over and you turn the page to the next she gives you variations on how to make it, for example change a single pie to 8 smaller ones and what to use and timers and temperatures. Brilliant. It might seem like a small thing but for a lot of people this should come handy. The index is sorted as it should, all cookies with cookies not by holidays or ingredients or the worst example ive seen which was sorted after seasons. Another winner for me as a non-american is that everything is listed with both american meassurements and grams, no need to convert, its already there. If you feel insecure about baking this is the book for you also if any person out there wanna start baking with little to no experience this is the book I would buy. There are a lot of "how to" books out there and internet has even more info and guides if you are into that sort of things but this book has it all in an easy written and pics not to mention a great collection of cookies, cakes and pastries. Dont miss out.
• 
  Robin

  This is an exceptionally well-crafted and thought out cookbook. Lots of step-by-step photos, measurements for all ingredients are listed both by weight and volume, and ample discussion of technique. The recipe selection is great, full of classics that you will actually make on a regular basis with a few fun twists. The biscuits I made from this were *divine*, but I do have a small quibble that a cookbook that proclaims to have "no-fuss recipes" had me sieve the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. So, perhaps not for somebody looking for the easy way to bake things, but would be a great choice for a home baker wanting the best recipes for classic bakes that they will make again and again. Highly recommended for adults (and older teens who are serious about baking).
• 
  Pamela Sue

  I am a pretty good home baker. Cakes, cookies, even bread are all do able for me. I do struggle with pie crusts. The directions for pie crust were confusing. Lots of options and that made it a jumbled mess in trying to follow. But I did follow it. I doubled and tripled checked every step. The dough was so dry it would not stick together at all. I would knead it together and then like a sand castle with the slightest touch it would fall apart into grains of flour and bits of butter. I finally put it in a bowl drizzled it with 2 Tablespoons of ice water to get it to slightly stick together and stuck it in the fridge. It's probably going to be tough from my repeated kneading to try and get it to come together. Looking for a simple and good pie crust? This is NOT it.
• 
  Mairzi

  Good baking book with well photographed and easy recipes. Unlike many of the baking books I read over the last months, this one does not rely on exotic ingredients or unusual flavors which is a refreshing change. But for a book that purports to provide the basics, it would have benefited from more careful editing. Sometimes the steps in the recipes don't match those in the photos. And sometimes the instructions aren't as clearly written as they should be.
• 
  Michelle

  I loved looking at this cookbook and found it fascinating. And . . . fussy. I won't be trying to make any of these, because peeling skin remnants off of toasted walnuts with my fingers does not josh with my current lifestyle. Nor does going through a multipage recipe--for six muffins. But it was pretty to look at and nice to read.
• 
  Lisa

  Have I told you how much I adore checking out cookbooks from the library? Ah well, yes I do.
  
  While I won't buy this one, it's a solid choice for the recreational baker and those who can attempt to perfect some pretty good looking desserts.
• 
  Nicole

  If you are looking to learn the basics of baking and then go way beyond the basics, this is your book. It teaches you the basics, the pantry needs, and then provides recipes that range from easy to difficult. Great book to keep in your cookbook library.
• 
  Kyriana

  For a "no fuss" baking book, there sure are a lot of stipulations on how exactly to measure, store, purchase, and incorporate each ingredient. I'm sure the end results are wonderful, but this is hardly no fuss.
• 
  Laura

  The book lives up to it's title.
  A great reference for anyone starting to bake or wanting to learn more techniques - one to come to if you want a specific technique or basic recipe.
  helpful pictures
• 
  Lori

  Really beautiful book for anyone who wants to learn the basics and beyond.
• 
  Shannon

  Great resource.
• 
  Brie Peters

  Borrowed from library but didn't have a chance to make any of these delicious treats! Will borrow again- love the step by step photos!
• 
  Sarah

  The techniques here are not my cup of tea, at all. And, who writes a recipe for 8 cupcakes?! And another for 10 cupcakes?! I love you, Rose, but no.
• 
  Beth Kellum

  Don’t care for the layout and step by step instructions. Nothing unique in this one. Just not for me.
• 
  Meghan Moore

  Acquainting myself to baking terms to get cookin
• 
  Jo Lin

  Another excellent book in RLB's signature, detailed style. Love it.
• 
  Mariko

  Excellent resource for beginning and intermediate bakers. Fantastic layout and instructions, easy to understand.