ShareThisBy TOM MENTZER
Scripps Howard News Service
Monday, May 07, 2007
Baking is more than a kitchen technique, it's a science. Ingredients are unforgiving, temperatures must be just so _ even a humid day can spoil that perfect loaf of bread.
So what better way to learn how to bake like a pro than from a textbook? "About Professional Baking: The Essentials" (Thomson Delmar Learning, $54.95) is just that, a culinary class-in-a-book for the home cook.
Rather than offering mindless lists and steps, author Gail Sokol explores the fundamentals of baking. While the "how" is thoroughly explained, she treats the "why" with just as much respect.
Take the section on chocolate-chip cookies, the crisp-vs.-chewy debate. Sokol takes pains to explain various techniques to create your own perfect cookie, including charts with a variety of ways to manipulate the dough.
This book isn't for dabblers. While the volume as a whole is not overly complex and the writing is quite clear, it's definitely geared toward those with a deep interest in baking.
Definitions and explanations of baking techniques feature prominently, with scattered recipes serving more as examples of lessons than stand-alone items. The book is divided into chapters, each tackling a major kitchen concept.
The first seven chapters focus on dough, from breads to cakes to pies. Few stones are left unturned. Sourdough starters and savory breads, croissants and chocolate cakes _ this book covers a lot of ground.
The chapters are wisely formatted, often opening with one or two foundation recipes, then offering ways to use each. And while this isn't an encyclopedia of recipes, those that are included are delicious examples.
The final chapter alone is worth the price of admission: troubleshooting. Sokol provides several pages of "what-if" questions, then offers solutions to fix the immediate problem along with reasons for the dilemma to prevent it from happening again.
This textbook is strong enough to be used in the culinary classroom, but user-friendly enough for the home cook. With a little patience and a lot of practice, anyone can cook like a professional baker.
(Tom Mentzer is a free-lance writer. Contact him at tom.mentzer(at)gmail.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.net)
