Book Recommendations For New Bakers
Decorating By SquirrellyCakes Updated 5 Jan 2006 , 3:24am by SquirrellyCakes
Often people ask which cookbooks are worth buying. I would highly recommend Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies
These are really excellent books, most particularly for new bakers. They are not commercial baking books but for anyone baking from their home, these are very good books to have.
The Baking Handbook explains terms and has pictures that demonstrate what things are supposed to look like when you "cream ingredients" and such. Common baking terms are defined. There are basic recipes for pastry, types of cakes, cookies, etc. Pictures of the various types of baking pans that you use, tools etc. There are some excellent recipes that you can use as a basis for other things. It is a great book for the novice baker and also a good book for the home baker.
The Holiday Cookies softcover book is also excellent. Very well organized, you see pictures of every cookie that there is a recipe for. Cookies are labelled if they are suitable for freezing etc. Quite a nice variety of recipes too.
All of the recipes in both books have been tested too, something that many cookbook authors don't do anymore.
There are a lot of recipe books out there that do not have much in the way of information, for the novice baker. These two are the exception. I would highly recommend the purchase of these two books.
Hugs Squirrelly
I have not seen Martha's new baking book but also highly recomment In The Sweet Kitchen(Regan Daley???). I borrowed this book from the library-it's a big book with the first half being all about baking and recipes only in the second half. Very good information(and I think she's Canadian).
Sandra
I have not seen Martha's new baking book but also highly recomment In The Sweet Kitchen(Regan Daley???). I borrowed this book from the library-it's a big book with the first half being all about baking and recipes only in the second half. Very good information(and I think she's Canadian).
Sandra
Not familiar with that one, but I will go looking, thanks! I find that most people are a little afraid when they start baking and they need to see what certain things are supposed to look like, like stiff peaks etc. Also, the terms are confusing for them, so any book we can recommend is very helpful, isn't it?
I also like Jean Pare's cookbooks, another Canuck, her books are available at Walmarts across North America. She uses ordinary ingredients in her recipes, a big advantage to the novice cook and baker.
What I am finding is that just about every decorator out there has a cookbook these days and many don't explain anything, nor are the recipes tested. I find that because of name recognition, many novice bakers will purchase these books and be disappointed.
Hugs Squirrelly
Yes, Martha's baking book is very user friendly. Haven't tried any of the recipes yet as I'm still all baked out from Christmas. DH has insisted that I at least try the biscotti recipe before I return the book to the library. 
I highly recommend Cookwise : The Secrets of Cooking Revealed by Shirley Corriher and of course, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee.
I have also thoroughly enjoyed The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and of course all of Alton Brown's books.
These are all great starter books if you're looking to actually understand what you're doing rather than just follow recipe instructions.
Yes, Martha's baking book is very user friendly. Haven't tried any of the recipes yet as I'm still all baked out from Christmas. DH has insisted that I at least try the biscotti recipe before I return the book to the library.
I know what you mean, but hey, I had a new mixer to try out. I made the chewy chocolate chip cookies, I think page 36. They taste good but they really flattened out a lot. Not sure if it was because of my new Vollrath cookie sheet or if the recipe just does that and I was too darn lazy to dirty more cookie sheets to compare, haha!
I have heard good reports on the biscotti recipe, haven't made hers yet though.
Hugs Squirrelly
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