A food scientist explains why cakes fall, cookies spread and breads rise, with over two hundred recipes
The science behind good baking
Shirley O. Corriher, a biochemist turned cooking teacher, explains the hows and whys of successful baking. She shows what flour, sugar, fat, eggs and leavening actually do, why a cake turns out dense or a pie crust tough, and how small changes fix the problem. More than two hundred recipes, from cakes and cookies to puff pastry and breads, each come with a note explaining what the recipe shows.
Who will enjoy it
Home bakers who want to understand their ingredients and solve problems, and anyone curious about kitchen science.
What you will get
A detailed baking bible that turns kitchen failures into lessons, explaining the chemistry behind every step so your cakes, pies and breads come out better.
BakeWise Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Nonfiction · Baking · Food science · Cookbook
Length
544 pages · ≈ 16 h
More about this book
Shirley O. Corriher studied chemistry at Vanderbilt University and worked as a biochemist before turning to food. Her earlier book, CookWise, explained the science of cooking; BakeWise does the same for the oven. She writes like a friendly teacher solving mysteries: why the cookies spread flat, why the cake sank, why the meringue wept.
The book is organized by type of baking. Long chapters cover cakes, pies and tarts, puff pastry and other layered doughs, cookies, biscuits and muffins, breads, and egg-based dishes such as souffles and custards. Each opens with a clear explanation of how the ingredients behave, such as how different flours build structure, how fat makes pastry tender or flaky, and how sugar and eggs affect texture and moisture. Then come recipes like her tall, airy popovers and chocolate crinkle cookies, each with a section called What This Recipe Shows. At-a-glance charts let busy bakers diagnose a problem quickly, and once you understand the principles, you can adjust your own favorite recipes with confidence.
Dense with information but rewarding for curious bakers. About 544 pages in hardcover, with color photographs.
The Food Lab
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
Baking: From My Home to Yours
The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
Flour Water Salt Yeast
The Pie and Pastry Bible
The Bread Bible
The Cake Bible
Professional Baking
Baking and Pastry
The Professional Chef
Bouchon Bakery