Melissa Weller - A Good Bake: The Art and Science of Making Perfect Pastries, Cakes, Cookies, Pies, and Breads at Home

Acknowledgments

It took four years to write this book, and the recipes and knowledge took more years than that. I always wanted to write a baking book but never felt that I was ready. One evening in the summer of 2015, Charlotte Druckman introduced my desserts and me to Nancy Silverton. And it was through this introduction that the cookbook came to be. Nancy tasted my desserts and then proceeded to immediately ask me if I wanted to write a cookbook. She generously put her agent, Janis Donnaud, in touch with me. I cannot thank Charlotte enough. Not only for her introduction to Nancy, but also for so many other things including helping me fine-tune the books introduction. I also cannot thank Nancy enough. Not only for the introduction to Janis, but also for being a mentor to me through her work and her books. And thank you, Nancy, for letting me test quite a few of these recipes in your beautiful home kitchen. I feel quite blessed to have such a smart and talented agent in Janis. Thank you, Janis, for being a tough cookie when I needed straightforward feedback.

This book would not have been possible without Carolynn Carreo, my writer. Carolynn, I love how you captured my voice, even when I didnt think I had one. Your writing and work is amazing. And I am grateful that you practically wrote two books in just this one! You put in so much work and meticulousness to yield consistency in all of the recipes. Thank you. I also must thank my editor, Lexy Bloom. Your vision in bringing my science and engineering background more front and center makes me proud of the book. And makes the book feel like who I am. Thank you to Tom Pold and the entire team at Knopf. From the meticulousness of the copy editing to the beautiful design, the book is beyond what I could have imagined it to be. Thank you to my photographer, Johnny Miller. Your photographs make my pastries look like works of art. When I said moody, you got it and ran with it. And thank you so much to your lovely and extremely talented team, including Rebecca Bartoshesky, who assembled beautiful and moody props, and Rebecca Jurkevichthank you for all of your help in styling the food. I picked up so many good tips and tricks and I am grateful that we worked together.

The recipes and knowledge within this book come from years of work and learning and I want to thank all of those mentors and teachers along the way. In particular, Gina De Palma, a true mentor to me. You are still missed but your recipes live on. Dorie Greenspan, I learned so much by baking through your recipes at home. Jim Lahey, my knowledge of bread and fermentation blossomed while working at Sullivan Street Bakery under your tutelage. Toni Lynn Dickinson, I learned so much from you while at the French Culinary Institutefrom creaming butter and sugar to sacrificing batter in cake-making. Thank you. I also could not have written this book without the help of the many assistants I have had, including Zoe Kanan, Joe Bowie, Ali Spahr, Harlie Orr, Tiffany Bryant, Mel Levi, and Sergey Linnikov.

And last but not least, thank you to my son, Wyatt, for tasting all of the pastries. And thank you to Ken, for everything else.

A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MELISSA WELLER received a James Beard Award nomination for Outstanding Baker in 2016. A French Culinary Institute graduate, she trained at Babbo and Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City. She was chef-partner at High Street on Hudson; the head baker at Per Se, Bouchon Bakery, and Robertas; an owner and founder of Sadelles; and the head baker at Walnut Street Caf in Philadelphia. She lives in Brooklyn.

CAROLYNN CARREO is a James Beard Awardwinning journalist, the author of the cookbook Bowls of Plenty , and the coauthor of thirteen cookbooks. She lives in San Diego and Mexico City.

Savory Breads

Even though I am both a chemical engineer and bread baker, this book is not a deep dive into the science of sourdough. It is a collection of recipes that I love and make often at home, and the savory breads I include in this chapter reflect that. The difference between these breads and those in a hard-core bread-baking primer is that none of these rely solely on sourdough starter to rise. Instead, they use a combination of starter and commercial yeast, which makes them easier to achieve, and more forgiving. These are also enriched breads; they have something in them or on them, such as sugar, eggs, nuts, seeds, or cheese. These are my go-to breads that I want to share with you.

Potato Onion Buns

Makes 13 burger-size buns

These buns make for perfect bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches. The secret to how special they are lies in the balance of ingredients. First, the dough contains onions that are dehydrated in a low oven, which intensifies their flavor and also improves their texture. Removing water from the onion creates tougher cell walls, which means the onion doesnt break down during the mixing process, so the buns have bits of sweet onion in them. The buns also contain baked potato, which is pure starch; the potato in the dough causes the dough to ferment quickly, giving the buns an ethereal texture. The acidity of the buttermilk softens the dough, and the dough also contains a small amount of sugar. All of these components work together to create an umami effect, and the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savory. It is really the perfect bun.

Plan ahead to make these. I suggest you dehydrate the onion and bake the potato the day before you plan to make the dough.

For the dough

2 large (1,000 grams) yellow onions

1 medium to large (200 grams) Yukon gold potato

2 tablespoons plus more olive oil (30 grams), for coating the potatoes

3 large bunches (50 grams) fresh chives

5 cups plus more for dusting (600 grams) all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons (6 grams) instant yeast

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon (17 grams) granulated sugar

3 teaspoons (21 grams) fine sea salt

cup (188 grams) buttermilk, well shaken

cup (160 grams) whole milk

1 large egg (50 grams)

1 large egg yolk (17 grams)

For baking the buns

Nonstick cooking spray

2 tablespoons (30 grams) extra-virgin olive oil

Dehydrate the onions

Arrange the oven racks so one is in the top third of the oven and the other is in the bottom third. Preheat the oven to 200F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cut the onions into a -inch dice and spread them out over the surface of the two prepared baking sheets.

Place one baking sheet on each oven rack and cook the onions for about 4 hours, until the onions have shriveled and are almost completely dried out, stirring them every hour so the onions around the edges of the pans dont burn. Remove the onions from the oven and set them aside to cool to room temperature. If you are making the onions in advance of making the dough, consolidate them on one baking sheet and set them aside, for as long as several hours, until youre ready to use them. Or transfer them to a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Cook the potato

Arrange the oven racks so one is in the center position. Preheat the oven to 400F.

Rinse and dry the potato. Place it on a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it in, drizzle it with enough olive oil to cover (about 1 teaspoon), and rub the oil into the potato. Wrap the potato in the foil and place it on the center oven rack to bake until it is very soft when pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 1 hour to 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove the potato from the oven and set it aside to cool to room temperature. (If you are cooking the potato in advance of making the dough, leave it wrapped in foil and refrigerate it until youre ready to use it.)