The Complete Idiot's Guide to Baking (Complete Idiot's Guide to)

Rating:
Summary: Good for Beginners
Review: Baking is easily the most mystifying and landmine fraught area of cooking for me. It is just plain difficult. BUT: _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Baking_ makes baking seem not only possible but fun. With patience and practice, you can bake. Unbelievable? I thought so, too. But, this book gives you the guts and sense of culinary adventure to try and try again.

No fact is too simple to be presented in this book. And, that's a good thing because baking often goes catastrophically wrong because of one tiny, simple error. This book is very reassuring to a beginning baker. And, it not only gives the hows but also some very interesting whys of baking -- information of interest to even seasoned cooks.

If you think that the scent of baking bread belongs only to great grandmas or bread machines, read this book. If you think warm, gooey, fresh cookies can only come out of a plastic wrapped tube, read this book. It will empower and educate you to bake.

Rating:
Summary: It's not as hard as it seems...
Review: Baking is easily the most mystifying and landmine fraught area of cooking for me. It is just plain difficult. BUT: _The Complete Idiot's Guide to Baking_ makes baking seem not only possible but fun. With patience and practice, you can bake. Unbelievable? I thought so, too. But, this book gives you the guts and sense of culinary adventure to try and try again.

No fact is too simple to be presented in this book. And, that's a good thing because baking often goes catastrophically wrong because of one tiny, simple error. This book is very reassuring to a beginning baker. And, it not only gives the hows but also some very interesting whys of baking -- information of interest to even seasoned cooks.

If you think that the scent of baking bread belongs only to great grandmas or bread machines, read this book. If you think warm, gooey, fresh cookies can only come out of a plastic wrapped tube, read this book. It will empower and educate you to bake.

Rating:
Summary: Good for Beginners
Review: I used to be a "complete idiot" when it comes to baking, not anymore, thanks to this book. It explains many of the "how" s and "why"s of baking that used to puzzle me. Now, I can bake confidently and I bake about twice a week. My friends think I am a great baker!

This book is really great for a beginner. It gives you the foundation, the basic. But even now, after 3 years of baking, I still refer to this book when I try a new recipe and failed.

You said "what about the recipes"? Oh, they are good for beginners. Basic and simple recipes that a novice baker won't be afraid to try. They have one of the easiest yellow cake recipe I have ever seen, and another one for chocolate cake. I have tried some recipes (about 10) from this book and they all worked beautifully and tasted great. The "Wonderful Pear Tart" had many of my friends asking for the recipe, the chocolate cake which I frosted with chocolate frosting also in this book had my friend asking me if I had bought the cake form a restaurent! And they also have a nice and moist "Banana bread" recipe.

I recommend this book for absolute beginners. It is a good place to start.