Goldman - A Passion for Baking: Bake to Celebrate, Bake to Nourish, Bake for Love

A Passion for Baking

Third Edition

Copyright 2014

Text and recipes 2014 by Marcy Goldman

River Heart Press

www.RiverHeartPress.com

Montreal, Canada

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, in any form or means without prior written permission of the author/publisher, excepting brief quotations in connection with reviews written specifically for inclusion in magazines, newspapers, and online publications. Marcy Goldman is a cookbook author, master baker, and host of the website,

Library and Archives Canada in Publication

ISBN 978-1-927936-04-7

ISBN 978-1-927936-05-4 eBook Goldman, Marcy

A Passion for Baking/Marcy Goldman

1.Baking l.Title

Other Books by Marcy Goldman

The Bakers Four Seasons, 2014, www.RiverHeartPress.com

When Bakers Cook, 2013, www.RiverHeartPress.com

A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking, 2009 Whitecap Books

The New Best of BetterBaking.com, 2009 Whitecap Books

A Passion for Baking, 2007 Oxmoor House

A Passion for Baking, 2014 eBook www.RiverHeartPress.com

Text and recipes 2007 by Marcy Goldman Images 2007 by Oxmoor House, Inc.

P.O. Box 2262, Birmingham, Alabama 35201-2262

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007930131

Oxmoor House, Inc.

Editor in Chief: Nancy Fitzpatrick Wyatt Executive Editor: Susan Carlisle Payne Art Director: Keith McPherson

Managing Editor: Allison Long Lowery A Passion for Baking

Author: Marcy Goldman

Editor: Julie Gunter

Senior Copy Editor: L. Amanda Owens Copy Editors: Donna Baldone, Jacqueline Giovanelli, Diane Rose Editorial Assistant: Rachel Quinlivan, R.D.

Proofreader: Vanessa Rusch Thomas

Senior Designer: Melissa Jones Clark Photography Director: Jim Bathie

Senior Photo Stylist: Kay E. Clarke Associate Photo Stylist: Katherine Eckert Test Kitchens Director: Elizabeth Tyler Austin Test Kitchens Assistant Director: Julie Christopher Food Stylist: Kelley Self Wilton

Test Kitchens Professionals: Kathleen Phillips, Catherine Crowell Steele, Ashley T. Strickland Director of Production: Laura Lockhart Production Manager: Theresa Beste-Farley Production Assistant: Faye Porter Bonner Contributors:

Copy Editor: Dolores Hydock

Editorial Assistant: Laura K. Womble Indexer: Mary Ann Laurens

Interns: Amy Edgerton, Amelia Heying, Lucas Whittington Photographers: Beau Gustafson, Lee Harrelson Photo Stylists: Melanie J. Clarke, Lydia DeGaris-Pursell Test Kitchens Professionals: Jane Chambliss, Ana Kelly, Mary Long, Debby Maugans

contents

Dear fellow baker,

Welcome to a cookbook that is my personal invitation to you to a very special baking class. We are going on a baking adventurea never-ending passion for the flour arts. Consider this a coffee klatch between friends who meander through many topics of sweet things, pausing to chat and lingering over what we bake and enjoy.

This book is my personal and professional harvest of all my baking seasons to datea collection that is truly a mother lode of great baking. It is about both what to bake and how to bake it better.

Home baking is the sensory bouquet of all these thingsscents, sounds, touches, and visionsbut most of all, it is a feeling born of a desire to create, nurture, nourish, and give. Within such magical things, there is a feeling or a unique energy that is, in turn, a taste. It is a taste that cannot be bought, sold, borrowed, or imitated.

Homey stuff may not always be picture-perfect, but it is absolutely, undeniably beautiful. It is food created with care that is meant to nourish in every way. That said, I intend to share with you each and every trick in the book on baking, to make your recipes foolproof and beautiful.

A passion for baking is like falling in love with life again and again. We recommit to those things we love as a matter of choice that seems innate. So it is each time you take out a block of butter, find a recipe, and choose to create something home baked for yourself and those in your circle.

It is with great delight and warmth that I invite you to join me in the kitchen and become part of the conversation and celebration that will ensue. For all of you, my baking readers, who patiently asked for years when I was going to do another bookhere, at last, is the book I promised.

As always, I wish you sweet times in the kitchen and sweeter times in life.

Marcy Goldman

September 2014

Consider this a coffee klatch between friends who meander through many topics of sweet things, pausing to chat and lingering over what we bake and enjoy.

baking secrets

B aking, much like fashion, changes as tastes change. It is true that we like things sweeter than our ancestors may have, and we are more aware of better fat choices; also, we might like to visit the notion of whole grains in some of our baking. Some things in the bakers kitchen, however, are eternal:Taste, specifically great taste, is one of them. Great taste in baking is founded on three things: superb ingredients, proper handling, and a balanced recipe.That said, the best vanilla extract, superb flour, unsalted butter, rich chocolate, fragrant spices, fresh baking powder, and pure salt are things that always impact home baking and never seem to change.

Baking is about craftsmanship. It is a processa series of building blocksjust as is crafting an heirloom rocking chair from the best maple you can find, using the best tools, as well as considering the gifts of time, expertise, and love involved. Memorable baking thrives on the same criteria.

Innate care and attention to detail make the difference between good baking and memorable baking.The oven can do magic, but it cannot transmute poor ingredients or remedy poor handling into a baking symphony; only your care and consideration can do that. In the end, good taste in all foods, and particularly in home baking, is everything.

If you have a beautiful recipethe baking blueprint before youall you have to do as the baking contractor is do it justice by contracting out, in turn, the best ingredients, techniques, and execution. And add your personal energy, of course. It all results in the incredible, memorable taste that is the crowning touch.