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Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads (Includes a DVD) - Sweet and Savory Baking for Breakfast, Brunch, and Beyond by Ciril Hitz Books in Review
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Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads (Includes a DVD) - Sweet and Savory Baking for Breakfast, Brunch, and Beyond
by Ciril Hitz
Quarry Books
ISBN 978-1-59253-564-4
Published November 2009 - Softcover - 176 pages - $24.99

The smell of home-baked goods is one of the most enticing smells there is.  One's mouth waters with anticipation of either butter melting on a slice of warm bread or on a muffin, or of jam on a fresh scone or icing on a cake.  Heaven, and soooo much tastier and better than store-bought.  This very handy book offers Ingredients (covers flours, sugars and sweeteners, fats, etc.); Equipment; Techniques (rubbing, creaming, blending, etc.); Baking; Enriched Dough (brioche, doughnuts, stollen, bostock, buns, etc.); Laminated Dough (Danish, croissants, and swirls), and Fillings, Glazes, and Spreads.  Learning more about the make-up of flour and sugar and how they are made, will help the baker get the most out of both.  You'll also learn about leaveners (steam, air, and carbon dioxide), and eggs (you can freeze eggs, only not in their shells—do read how to do this).  Once you get through your "lessons", which are very important, it's time to start baking.  Hitz starts off with Quick Breads, Muffins, and Scones, and has on offer things like Ginger Scones, Swiss Carrot Cake (looks yummy), and Mixed-Berry Muffins.  Then it's on to things like Lemon Brioche Doughnuts (oh, help me!), and Tea Ring (looks so pretty) before attempting Croissants.  And finally, it's on to making spreads like Almond Bostock Paste or Butterkuchen Paste or even Lemon Cream and Lemon Curd, or you could try Pumpkin Pastry Cream or Smoked Salmon Spread.  The Troubleshooting chapter is particularly helpful if you're not quite confident in the kitchen yet.
I loved that the measurements are given in metric, weight and volume weights and measures, as not everyone has all the equipment.  I was surprised that there wasn't much brown or whole-wheat flour used or discussed.
Illustrated.  No nutritional guides.
Conclusion - Beautiful illustrative pictures so you know how dishes should look, and an infinitely helpful book to have in your kitchen.

book cover

Review copy not supplied by publisher - library copy reviewed.

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