We are a third through December and the holidays keep rolling along. If you have foodie friends or family yet to shop for, and you are still scratching your head, here is a suggestion that any recepient will treasure. In fact, you probably want to treat yourself.
How Baking Works, Third Edition,by Paula Figoni has just been published by Wiley. This is a serious book, literally a baking bible for anyone who truly wants or needs to understand the chemistry and physics of baking. Figoni is a food scientist and associate professor in the International Baking and Pastry Institute in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University. An industry consultant, too, Figoni is a deep source of knowledge and, more importantly for all us, an exceptional writer. The science of baking is complicated, yet this book reveals the details with great cogency. You can skim this book to get the basic ideas, but it’s a serious read to understand and learn those details. That’s the investment that people must make to become very great bakers.
We know that the food world makes progress: new chefs, new ideas, … You might not consider baking as rocket science, but it is science and the pace of progress here is enormous. The Second Editiion of How Baking Works was published just 6 years ago. This new edition is bigger: wider pages, taller pages, more pages. The book has 50% more pages, with each one truly containing more information.
What has changed? The writing that was in the Second Edition is largely here. It’s not that there are changes to the old. It is that there is more, much more information here, reflecting new knowledge, ideas, techniques, and ingredients. The book is dense with new sections and paragraphs supported by many new pictures, tables and charts. Two chapters of great importance to bakers have undergone significant updating.
The chapter on Oils and Fats is much longer with more charts and diagrams to explain the key role of these core ingredients. What makes puff pastry work? Now you can get the detail that will truly influence your baking.
The chapter on Sugars and Other Sweeteners reflects the enormous growth in options available to us. There are new sections for items like agave syrup, items that were not in our markets a decade ago but now seem to be everywhere. There is an extensive discussion of different sugars and sweeteners so that you can better select what works best for you next creation. Or what might work if you are interested in doing a real science experiment. Need to substitute some syrup for sugar, or just curious how it might work, that information is at your fingertips. And, when you caramelize sugar, what is happening and how does that flavor evolve? The answers are here.
How Baking Works is literally bursting with information. there are answers here for questions you have yet ask yourself. If you love baking, then this book will be a treasure for you.