How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science

For many years home bakers have been producing baked goods for their family. Most have little knowledge of the science and "why" that is going on. Very useful for those with inquiring minds. I have been judging foods at county fairs for 20 years and find this book containing useful, additional information to pass on to fair exhibitors. Some people quit trying when they have product failure, this wonderful textbook might give them enough information to try again.

I'm very well impressed with this work. Here are some of the things I have learnt so far: -The most fundamental secret that makes professional bakers an entirely different animal from serious-home bakers. Funny, but there is actually a reason professional bakers get consintently way better results than average bakers. -Why baking is the most challenging the of culinary arts. -Why if a recipe calls for a certain type of flour you should respect that, or else you risk having bad results. -What's the role of milk in baking and why you have other options if you want to experiment. -What baking powder is, and how it is different from baking soda? What would happen if you used too much of these ingredients or if you didn't use them at all. -Which ingredient in baking has many functions and is very difficult to replace in baking products. -What kind of chocolates exist, what makes them different and when you should use one or another to obtain certain effects. So far I have had two baking experiences with this book: 1. I was struggling with a brownie recipe I found in another book which I think is just plain-wrong. The first time I did it was just before "How baking works" arrived. The results were disastrous. The brownies turned out a little bit rocky! When "How baking works" arrived I did some experiments and voilá. Much better results! 2. The other day I was going to make hot-cakes and I practically ran out of one ingredient. I said to myself "well, lets see if I can use what I have learnt so far to pull this off". Since one of my ingredients was in a different amount I changed the quantity of my other ingredients. I tried and guessed that my hot cakes were going to rise much more and have an even softer texture. They did!!! What a great book! Now, this is BAKING! This is the real deal, the real pleasure. Baking is like a game and "How baking works" explains the rules so you know how and when to brake them and still have great desserts!!! Which is exactly the reason I got this book in the first place. I want to experiment with recipes, to add some flavor or change the texture. This is just the book for that! Many books give you recipes, which is OK, but if you don't know what you are really doing then you become slave of your recipes. And problems begin when the final baked product doesn't turn out how it was supposed to. The recipe might be all right, but maybe there are different factors in your kitchen, oven, ingredients, etc. that are spoiling everything for you. The way I see it, these kind of books are the ones that really turn you into a professional baker, because they give you the knowledge you need to be in command. Great addition to any baker's collection!

Like most young people who bake today at home, I did not grow up learning from my mother or grandmother what happened when I added more flour or orange juice to a cake recipe. Without this knowledge, changes to recipes produce difficult-to-predict results. Though Ms. Figoni writes more for the professional pastry chef, her clear explanations of the chemistry of baking should enlighten the home baker as well. I have used this book recently as I have tried to modify my American recipes while living in France. Before coming to France, I always followed my recipes exactly with pleasing results, but that is impossible in a different country, as various products are not always available. While for my regular cooking, this has rarely proved to be a problem, in pastries and breads, there is a complicated chemistry (particularly with products that rise) which can simply fail. Ms. Figoni's book has proven to be extremely useful in trying to deal with differently milled flour, finding baking powder (knowing the chemical composition helped), and understanding substitutions of ingredients. More importantly, reading the book has given me a more profound understanding of baking, allowing me to improve recipes systematically rather than rather at random.

This book is more like a text book with the questions at the end of each chapter and experiments to try. I got this book to actually learn from it and try and avoid the high cost of culinary school. I read each chapter, answered the questions and did the experiments. The book is a great way to go if you really want to learn about what goes into baking great tasting breads and pastries.

Truly a scientific vision on everything that you ever need to know about baking. The information covered in each chapter are essential knowledge for everyone, whether an experienced bake or someone who is just getting started. I have been baking for many years, but after reading this book, everything seems to make a lot more sense to me. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in baking whether professionally or just for fun.....