Many of us dream about becoming pastry chefs. To actually be paid for working with butter, sugar, and chocolate seems a fantasy. Others of us just want to make better desserts. And some of us toy with the idea of starting a new business where your creations can please others and make you a profit.

All it takes is skill and some very fine training. Where to get that training? Certainly at The Culinary Institute of American, the good CIA. And if you can’t go there, the next best thing is to have the CIA come to your kitchen. Working with Wiley, the CIA has published a series of books that can guide you through every aspect o the culinary arts. For those with a sweet tooth, the original Mastering the Art and Craft of Baking and Pastry has been a bible treasured since 2004. Filled with both recipes and detailed instructions, it has been the perfect kitchen companion. Recently, the CIA unveiled the 2^nd Edition. I could not imagine how the CIA could improve on that perfect first edition, but they have.

The 2^nd Edition is just a bit longer, another 60 pages of temptations. The new format shows tighter organization and better explanation. For example, instead of just talking about emulsions, there are some very helpful diagrams to accelerate your understanding. The changes here are small but definitely informative.

Recipes have been rewritten, for example the Rugelach one, to reflect better ideas for flavor and technique. Some chapters have been extensively rewritten. The Cookie chapter has about 50% turnover in recipes with emphasis now on cookies that you, as an entrepreneur, could roll out with pride. The selection of recipes here clearly reflects the “state of the art” in what a contemporary bakery needs to offer. For the original recipes that are still here, they have been refined and perfected. I have always been a fan of checkerboard cookies, but actually assembling that dough has always been a little dicey. I’ve had more marbled mess than perfect little checkerboards in my career. Now, the 2^nd Edition has diagrams that even I can follow.

Other chapters remain similar to the 1^st Edition. Although, when I went through the chapter on individual pastries and could not find the Bear Claws, I got very upset. Not to fear, the Bear Claws have simply been moved to the excellent breakfast chapter. If you don’t know what a Bear Claw is, you were not raised west of the Rockies. But now is your chance to catch up.

This delicious volume is 932 pages of insight, encouragement, and inspiration. Whether you do it for profit or for fun or just to make a special treat for a Sunday morning, this is wonderful book to snuggle up with and dream. You know that with the quality of the CIA involved, each and every recipe is going to work and delight.

The book’s title, The Art and Craft, hints at the fun part of baking and pastry. Yes, along with candy making, baking is applied chemistry. Careful attention to measurements and technique are essential to success. You can mix and match doing a barbeque sauce, but don’t mess with a croissant. Or a Bear Claw. The details and instructions are here to make you a baking success and to build your confidence. This volume presents the foundation of careful techniques needed so that you can become a baking artist and go forward to craft sweets reflecting your own dreams and imagination.