Fearless Baking: Over 100 Recipes That Anyone Can Make

Organized by technique (Just Stir and Bake, Rolled Crusts for Pies and Tarts, Baking with Chocolate), "Washington Post" food columnist and cookbook author ("Bake and Freeze Desserts") Elinor Klivans' "Fearless Baking" promises good results for the least experienced.Each recipe begins with "baking answers," anticipating problems and questions and explaining the why behind the directions, then continues with clear, detailed, step-by-step instructions, along with do-ahead hints and storage requirements. The preface includes a baking glossary, utensil and pantry lists and a primer on techniques.There are savories among the sweets (green tomato and cornmeal pecan crisp; lemon, sage, parsley and thyme cheesecake), cookies, cakes, breads and, of course, the perfect pie crust every time. Klivans' precision and clarity is inspiring and reassuring and the range of recipes offers plenty for the veteran baker as well as the novice.

Eleanor Klivans has written some of the best dessert cookbooks that I have seen. My husband who never baked before these books has become the best pastry chef I know. Everyone wants his recipes and they are ALL from the previous books of Eleanor Klivans. This new book is formatted wonderfully with each chapter presenting a new and a little more acvanced technique. The savory section is wonderful for vegetarian choices and the desserts, as always, are inventive and absolutely delicious. I don't know another author who does a better job, especially for the "baking challenged." Hopefully the first books will be back in print, as the previous three were treasures of treats and should become classics.

It is worth the price of the book for the apricot, cranberry and walnut pie. It is perfect for the holidays. The book not only has sweets but also savorys included. I have baked for many years and while this is a excellent book for beginners it has enough to keep the experienced baker busy.

Pastry chef Klivens here presents a step-by-step course designed for beginning bakers - starting with the basics of baking equipment and moving to very simple first recipes. Fearless Baking is essentially a baking course conducted by a professional chef - on paper. Chapters quickly move from the basics to exciting, more complex presentation desserts.