Rating: 
Summary: Truly "all-purpose," as the subtitle promises
Review: I've been baking frequently for nearly thirty years, but my results took a Great Leap Forward more than a decade ago when I discovered the advice and products from the folks at King Arthur Flour. The Baker's Companion is a welcome addition to my kitchen. Though I own at least a hundred baking books, this one has all the advice, all the recipes, all the suggestions for substitutions, that a baker of any level of proficiency would need for sublime everyday cooking. (King Arthur also offers a wickedly tempting catalogue of staff-tested equipment and provisions--check it out!)This book already lives on my kitchen counter, rather in the bookcases. There's no higher praise than that.
Rating:
Summary: Useful Baking Book
Review: I've made about a handful of the recipes in this book and have thought that most of them were quite tasy. Some were okay - the Lemon Bread was too dry I thought and the Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies were crisp and not chewy (it turns out this is because of a typo and the recipe needs two eggs instead of one as stated.) On the other hand, I made my husband a Boston Creme Pie for his birthday and it was *very* delicious. Most of the recipes have been good. I also like the layout of this book. It's easy to find things, plus it's a cozy read. The book has a bit of a New England feel to it. I tend to like cook books that you can sit and thumb through and think of future baking projects and this book is definitely that way. There's a lot of interesting information about how to bake something better. I don't know if this the end all book on baking, but I do find that I'm reaching for this book more than most of the others I own. The only thing I don't like about it is the use of shortening for many of the recipes. I tend to prefer baking with butter. This is only a personal preference though. Overall it's a usefull book to own.
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Summary: An Absolute Essential Cookbook!
Review: If it can be baked, and has flour in it, it's in this cookbook -- from tortillas to pie crusts. Everything you ever wanted to know about baking. As necessary a reference to the home cook as a dictionary is to a writer. Thoughtfully and plainly presented, each recipe includes helpful illustrations.
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Summary: Fabulous - a Must-Have For ANY Baker
Review: If you need a fantastic baking book on how to bake virtually everything, then this is the book for you! Most cookbooks out there fail to mention little things that are extremely important in a recipe, such as sifting flour, using eggs that are at room temperature, which type of oil to use etc. Most cookbook authors either know this information and figure you do too, or the author does not know these techniques and those recipes in those books are not all they could be. And most cookbook buyers know how to read a recipe, yet do not understand it. King Arthur Flour is a company that has been in business for over 200 years. It is their business to know flour, and to understand how to use it. It is also to their benefit to educate their flour buyers in how to bake better, so they will be happier with the end product, and thus buy more flour and even recommend their flour to their friends. In their latest book: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook they explain why you need to sift your flour (it adds air to the mixtures which aids in leavening), why French Toast bread should be stale, why you only fry in certain oils and much more. They also offer recipes for virtually everything; from breakfast foods to quick breads, from doughnuts to yeast breads, from cobblers to cookies and cakes, as well as pies and quiches. This book even offers a section on which kitchen tools are the best for your baking projects: from type of chocolates to pie pans. This is a must-read section for any baker. This cookbook is designed for 90% of the cookbook buying population. This cookbook is fantastic as now you can understand what you are doing rather than just following directions. When you decide to make modifications to your recipes, now you will know what parameters you must maintain if you want your recipe to turn out. For example, almond oil will not work when frying doughnuts, as it has a very low smoke point. For the price of this book, you get more than what you are paying for. This is an excellent book and should be a standard in any home that has any baking! For added interest, King Arthur Flour offers free baking seminars across the country, as well as online classes.
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Summary: Fantastic Cookbook
Review: My boyfriend mistakenly thought I wanted this cookbook for my B-day in Dec, but now that I have it, I love it. We've made the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting twice, the hot milk cake with chocolate frosting, the elegant white cake with easy buttercream (superb!) and their clafouti with apples instead of peaches (fast and delicious for breakfast!) We want to try most recipes, including baking our own whole wheat bread. The book is highly informative and simple in its approach to explaining the science of baking.
Most recipes don't require fancy machines - which is great since we don't own a device that can knead dough. I was tired of reading recipes in magazines that tell you to put in dough in mixer with the x,y, or z paddles for two minutes and no other instructions!
Rating:
Summary: Warning! This book is dangerous!
Review: My son's friends have started to say, "Steven's Mom makes awesome peanut butter fudge bars." My husband's colleagues prefer the crackers... Don't buy this book if you can't afford the time to bake for all the various groups who will be after your baked goods once you start using it. BTW it is not doing my diet plans any good either.
Rating:
Summary: Warning! This book is dangerous!
Review: My son's friends have started to say, "Steven's Mom makes awesome peanut butter fudge bars." My husband's colleagues prefer the crackers... Don't buy this book if you can't afford the time to bake for all the various groups who will be after your baked goods once you start using it. BTW it is not doing my diet plans any good either.
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Summary: Great Cookbook! Helped Me Bake My Best Apple Pie Yet!
Review: THE KING ARTHUR FLOUR BAKER'S COMPANION is a delight, both as a book to read and enjoy, and as a cookbook. The slightly oversized pages allow for plenty of room for the well-laid out text. Ink and paper colors make it easy to read. The handful of photos is attractive and inspiring. Line drawings are well rendered and do a great job of illustrating techniques. Each recipe includes a short or not-so-short comment on the recipe from the King Arthur team. The comments are chatty and interesting enough that you may find yourself paging through the book, reading it for pleasure. As a guidebook and manual, THE KING ARTHUR FLOUR BAKER'S COMPANION is excellent. The book is designed to make it easy to scan and plan. Each recipe tells you how much you'll make. Quantities of ingredients are given in both cups/teaspoons and in ounces. When a dish is made in distinct stages (such as crust and filling), both the ingredients and the instructions are separately labeled. Each recipe also -- though you may not want to know! -- gives very complete nutritional information (calories; grams of fat, protein, carbohydrates, sugars, and fiber; mg of cholesterol and sodium; vitamins and minerals). Like THE JOY OF COOKING, THE KING ARTHUR FLOUR BAKER'S COMPANION includes long sections that talk about the basics, in addition to great specific recipes. I am comfortable with the basics of making piecrust. I read their section on basic piecrusts and it was very solid information. I was so inspired that I decided to step out and try a variation, the Long Flake Method. The instructions were very clear and easy to understand and follow. It was like having a master baker there to give you great bits of advice like "Give your chilled dough 10-15 minutes to warm since you made it with all butter." My biggest challenge was believing that my dough should look as it did, as this method calls for visible pieces of fat in the dough. I gave in, followed the directions, and got a wonderfully flaky piecrust. To fill the crust, I used their recipe for The Best Apple Pie. It was delicious. They suggested a bit of rum, which gave this old favorite an exciting new twist. Things were going so well that I also tried their recipe for a streusel topping, and ended up with a fabulous, beautiful apple pie. I got an enthusiastic thumbs up (and clean plate) from my husband and positive reviews from a baker friend that tried it. To address a possible concern you may have: While the King Arthur company sells excellent baking ingredients and tools, you would never know that from reading this book. There are no dicussions of the best ingredients and gadgets and how you can get them from King Arthur. There are no references to brand names, and no ingredients that you can only get from a specialty supplier. The King Arthur team is a class act. (And by the way, I have bought some of their spices. mixes and tools, and all have been excellent.) THE KING ARTHUR FLOUR BAKER'S COMPANION is a book that you can read and enjoy. I recommend taking it into the kitchen and using it. The results will be delicious!
Rating:
Summary: Collecting over 450 recipes
Review: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion is an "all-purpose baking cookbook" collecting over 450 recipes showcasing some of the most delicious creations time, energy, flour, and a "will to bake" can make. Each individual recipe, ranging from Gingerbread Pancakes, to Brioche (a rich yeast bread), to Almond Stollen, and more, comes prefaced with a brief aside concerning the history and tradition of the baked good. Highly recommended for personal and community library cookbook collections, The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion is far more than merely just another recipe book; it also offers a wealth of information about the history and usage of wheats, malts, herbs, spices, and more.
Rating:
Summary: Collecting over 450 recipes
Review: The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion is an "all-purpose baking cookbook" collecting over 450 recipes showcasing some of the most delicious creations time, energy, flour, and a "will to bake" can make. Each individual recipe, ranging from Gingerbread Pancakes, to Brioche (a rich yeast bread), to Almond Stollen, and more, comes prefaced with a brief aside concerning the history and tradition of the baked good. Highly recommended for personal and community library cookbook collections, The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion is far more than merely just another recipe book; it also offers a wealth of information about the history and usage of wheats, malts, herbs, spices, and more.
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