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The Cook's Illustrated Baking Book
Our popular all-in-one baking book is now in full color!
Our popular all-in-one baking book is now in full color! The Cook’s Illustrated Baking Book has it all—definitive recipes for all your favorite cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, breads, pizza, and more, along with kitchen-tested techniques that will transform your baking. Recipes range from easy (drop cookies and no-knead bread) to more ambitious (authentic croissants and dacquoise) and our trademark expertise shines through each one. Discover why spreading the dough and then sprinkling the berries leads to better Blueberry Scones, why cubed versus shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese makes all the difference in our irresistible Cheese Bread, how we found three ways to squeeze more lemon flavor into our Lemon Bundt Cake, and how to keep the best Buttermilk Waffles your family will ever taste warm and crispy.
An illustrated Baking Basics chapter at the front of the book provides information on key ingredients and equipment and lays the groundwork for a lifetime of baking success. A shopping guide at the back recommends our favorite brands. These recipes represent all the wisdom of the bakers that came before us as well as all we've learned through literally thousands of trial-and-error sessions in our kitchens.
Some of the recipes you'll find inside:
Summer Berry Pie
A fresh berry pie might seem like an easy-to-pull-off summer dessert, but most of the recipes we tried covered the berries in gluey thickeners or embedded them in bouncy gelatin. Our goal was to create a berry pie with great texture and flavor—and keep it simple. We start with a not-too-sweet graham cracker crust and then add berry-on-berry flavor. Raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries glazed with warm jelly are nestled in a berry puree mixed with a little cornstarch. Serve with whipped cream (and copies of the recipe!).
Pizza Bianca
With no cheese or sauce—just a gloss of oil and salt—we know this looks more like focaccia than pizza. But its crisp exterior and chewy, bubbly interior will make you forget all about nomenclature . . . it’s simply the best pizza you’re not eating. In some ways, this is the simplest bread imaginable because it doesn’t involve shaping the dough into a loaf, just stretching it into a pan. Make the traditional (perfectly plain) version, or our variations with caramelized onions and Gruyère; tomatoes and mozzarella; or tomatoes, sausage, and fontina.
Rustic Plum Cake
This is an easy-to-make plum cake recipe with a hefty plum presence. Ground almonds replace some of the flour in the batter, which makes a moist, rich cake that is strong enough to hold the plums aloft. Although Italian plums are well suited to baking, their season is too short to make them a practical choice. Instead simply poach supermarket plums in a few tablespoons of jam and brandy to brighten their flavor and keep them moist.
Details
Recipes: 450+
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 518
Item Number: CH79
Item Weight: 4.10 pounds