Professional Baking, College Version

This is a book that is designed to be a text book for baking. While recipes are measured in both English and Metric, they are primarily measured by weight, not volume. Also many of the proportions are not for the home, but for industrial use. The book covers many areas of baking by going delving into ingredients, and their special characteristics. There is an almost 40 page primer on baking specifics such as yeast, temperatures you want you kitchen to be for rising of breads and much more. If you are looking for information about is about baking in general this book would more than serve you well as it covers so much, but its primary use would be best suited for a professional kitchen.

With each edition I can hardly imagine how the next one could possibly be any better and this one is no different. This book is the standard issue book at many cooking schools. That is actually how I came upon my first copy, from a friend who had finished Chef school and purchased a newer edition. The illustrations are beautiful and very helpful, the directions clear and concise. Make no mistake, this is a complete cooking school course with everything except the tuition and practice. Starting at the beginning is a good idea because it is laid out like a course. So, it teaches a technique and then from that point forward in the book it refers to the technique. However, with a thorough index it is not a problem to find out where the technique was discussed.There is no better book to learn professional cooking or just learn the techniques to astound your friends. Thorough and well documented, when it comes to learning professional cooking techniques, this is the book to have.

Before I read this book, I though I knew a little about baking. Now I know I that I knew very little about baking. To me, flour was just flour. Now I know which type of flour is best for which recipe. There is so much information packed into this book, it's a wonder that it doesn't burst.