I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

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I'm Just Here for More Food: Food x Mixing + Heat = Baking

4.28 of 5 stars 4.28 · rating details · 2,251 ratings · 72 reviews

Alton Brown explores the science behind breads, cakes, cookies, pies, and custards, explaining it in his own inimitable style. Recipes cover all the basics, from pie crust to funnel cake to cheese souffle. The book also contains appendices and equipment lists.

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published October 1st 2004 by Stewart, Tabori and Chang

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Jun 12, 2012 Darren rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookery-food

In many ways this book is a little difficult to describe so that it receives the credit it deserves. It is more than a recipe book even though it isn't a classical recipe book - it is more than a textbook too.

This fairly massive tome from Alton Brown is a relatively informal "workshop guide" to basic food preparation in the shape of baked goods. Here Alton focusses on ensuring that the reader really understands the nitty-gritty or the nuts and bolts as to what really happens from when you mix to...more In many ways this book is a little difficult to describe so that it receives the credit it deserves. It is more than a recipe book even though it isn't a classical recipe book - it is more than a textbook too.

This fairly massive tome from Alton Brown is a relatively informal "workshop guide" to basic food preparation in the shape of baked goods. Here Alton focusses on ensuring that the reader really understands the nitty-gritty or the nuts and bolts as to what really happens from when you mix together ingredients right up to the point of serving. If you only care about making recipe X with the shortest amount of work, hassle and time this book is not for you. If you want to understand how things work with a view of improving them then you may find this a gem, particularly if you are not a food scientist or advanced chef.

Brown starts with a good introduction and a bit of an explanation to as to what to expect, before it is onto the "parts department" where elements such as proteins and carbohydrates are explored and their interaction whilst baking is explained. No, do read on, it is not as dull as you might think. Even if you don't fully understand what Brown is writing, if you can pick up some basic understanding and practical tips you may find a real, noticeable difference in your baking. The importance of core ingredients such as eggs and flour also comes under the proverbial magnifying glass, helping remove any misapprehension that, for example, different types of flour are essentially the same and do roughly the same job. Indeed they may, just as a bicycle and an aircraft can propel you from New York to London (eventually).

After all of this, recipes and their underlying work processes are concentrated within a number of standard methodologies and thus many recipes appear here. Each standard methodology - muffins, biscuits, pie variants, creaming, straight dough, egg foam, custards and a few other bits and bobs are similarly heavy on the science and plain-language explanation of the whats and whys and, naturally, then many recipes are provided that draw on this knowledge.

As long as you remove any preconceptions about this book and if you are interested in how things actually go together and want to hopefully make a better "product" then this book might be an interesting, innovative diversion for you. A hybrid that carefully curates and moulds both high-level academic theory and common sense practical information to a fairly light-hearted, engaging and informative stream to be piped en masse into your brain. Just like Alton Brown's (American) television shows you can sense the energy, constantly changing focus as you read through the book yet, surprisingly, there is an almost serene, controlled manner to this as well. A concept that is harder to explain than it is to understand through reading it.

The book ends with, as you would hope for, a good detailed index since it is a fair bet you will be referencing hither and tither as time goes on. Some little errors and some abrupt endings made this reviewer scratch his head metaphorically a few times, but these little black marks rapidly pale into insignificance when you consider the overall picture.

I'm Just Here for More Food: Food X Mixing + Heat = Baking, written by Alton Brown and published by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. ISBN 9781584793410, 336 pages. Typical price: GBP20. YYYY.

This is a RETROspective review of a previously-published book that, whilst not new on the market, is still available and the review has been made of the book as it stands today.

// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //(less)

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Apr 23, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It was a bit pricey, but I got it cheap at a store closing. If I had $30+ a pop to blow, I'd get every single one of his books. I have never sat down and read a cookbook as if it were a real book before. But I started yesterday thinking I'd have a glance here and there and learn a few things in between reading my other book.
Instead I stayed up reading until 3 in the morning, went to bed, and woke up to start reading again. Of course I didn't read the recipes too thoroughly as...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Lindsey Duncan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Mad kitchen scientist Alton Brown is back for another installment, this time looking at the process of baking and the chemical compositions that make it work. He divides his recipes into mixing method because it determines the consistency and texture of the final product. This makes a lot of sense for this book and also for anyone anxious to pick out the patterns in a wide variety of recipes. Every section provides examples of the type.

For my money, I thought this book was a little better than t...more Mad kitchen scientist Alton Brown is back for another installment, this time looking at the process of baking and the chemical compositions that make it work. He divides his recipes into mixing method because it determines the consistency and texture of the final product. This makes a lot of sense for this book and also for anyone anxious to pick out the patterns in a wide variety of recipes. Every section provides examples of the type.

For my money, I thought this book was a little better than the first, though some of the metaphors / illustrations are stretched a mite too thin. Maybe it's because baking is more precise and scientific, so Alton's exacting methodology has less tendency to seem like overkill; maybe it's purely personal, because baking is my favored arena. Regardless, I also found the recipes in this book less basic and more generally interesting - this is a book that lends itself to being used as a recipe book.

However, the way the recipes are laid out and printed significantly hampers this. I always photocopy recipes so I can hang them up in my kitchen and not damage the book - well, several of the recipes are 4-5 pages with illustrations and wide spacing. Even if this isn't your habit and you prefer to have the book on hand, that's a lot of flipping, propping, etc to refresh yourself of the steps. I would have preferred the detailed explanation and then a separate page with the compact recipe. (I can't really complain about the flaps with the Mixing Methods rather than repeating it in every recipe, since Brown's intention is for you to memorize them instead of continuously referring back. It's a good idea ... though I pulled the flaps forward for my photocopies anyhow. I'll get there.)

But the rest of the book is entertaining and clever. It starts with the building blocks of baking and examines their composition and their purpose in baking - whether they strengthen, leaven, weaken, etc. It's a delicate balance ... but one gets the feeling that by deeper review and perhaps some additional information (for instance, what ratio of X to Y would balance out?), you could alter recipes in a more complicated manner than simple 1:1 substitution - and that's invaluable.(less)

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Dec 28, 2008 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read my review of A.B.'s original cookbook, since I don't want to repeat myself about his style or philosophy on teaching folks how to cook.

Baking is largely defined by the "method," the process by which the ingredients are mixed prior to baking. Things like the Muffin Method (wet ingredients mixed, dry ingredients mixed separately, then combined) or the Biscuit Method (cold fat cut into flour) are taught before they are applied to specific recipes. It even has these page flaps that allow you to...more

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Jun 29, 2009 SheWunders rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2009-06

Reads more like a science text book than your standard cookbook. I'm hoping the tips learned here will help me with my baking technique.

The only thing that I didn't like about Mr. Brown's style is that it isn't geared towards quick or fool-proof baking at all. This is book is for those who want to master a difficult (but tasty) craft. I'm some where in between those who want to do it quick and do it perfectly, so I might to follow all of Mr. Brown's instructions, but I'm definitely learning fro...more

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Apr 09, 2010 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: home-library, cookbook

A really great book if you're a baker and have a scientific mind. Me, not so much. I know baking is a science and I definitely consider myself a baker, but the book was a little much for me. I didn't get out of it what I was hoping to in terms of grasping how one ingredient reacts to another, or this causes that, etc.

The book has lots of diagrams and when something is explained there is a visual to go along with the explanation when possible. One thing I really liked about the book was that the...more

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Mar 14, 2008 Beli_grrl rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: bakers and would-be bakers

I was waiting to review this until I had tried a recipe and tonight I did. I made the peanut butter cookies. I have made many batches of peanut butter cookies over the years and have never had a bad batch. Alton's are very good cookies, but not my favorite. They're kind of crunchy, and I like a chewier cookie, but that's just me. Don't get me wrong; AB's are excellent, too.

The real reason I'm giving this book 5 stars is that it's just such an interesting read for someone who loves baking. I had...more I was waiting to review this until I had tried a recipe and tonight I did. I made the peanut butter cookies. I have made many batches of peanut butter cookies over the years and have never had a bad batch. Alton's are very good cookies, but not my favorite. They're kind of crunchy, and I like a chewier cookie, but that's just me. Don't get me wrong; AB's are excellent, too.

The real reason I'm giving this book 5 stars is that it's just such an interesting read for someone who loves baking. I had a lot of "Ah ha" moments reading about the chemistry and physics of baking. Actually, I knew I had a touch for it, and now I understand more clearly what I have been doing right. And I definitely have picked up some valuable pointers for improving.

The writing is light and amusing and easy to read but gives some really solid information. It's almost a "dummies" kind of read, only you're not pretending to be stupid because there happens to be an area in which you're not expert, which I think is the problem of the concept behind the dummies books. You're not a dummy just because you don't know Photoshop or antique coin collecting. You're a dummy if you are interested in one of those things but won't read up on it. So anyone reading a dummies book has proven, ironically, that they are not. Wow, what a digression. What I'm saying is that Alton uses a similar light touch with humor and helpful diagrams but without insulting you for not already knowing it.

Some people might not like his insistence on unusual methods, like weighing ingredients by volume. There are little things to pick at in this book like that. He also insists that you have a stand mixer if you're going to bake cookies. He says handhelds don't cut it and neither does manual mixing. But I mixed manually on cookies for years when I was young and poor and they always came out great. Then I used hand mixers for many more years and my cookies were, of course, fine. So he's kind of unrealistic in his expectations for the equipment of the average Joe's kitchen. But it's fun to dream of one day having all that stuff and knowing you would have this book to help you know how to use it.

To recap: only made one recipe and liked it. But the book (and there's quite a lot of text, this is far more than a cookbook), is a pleasure to read.(less)

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Jan 02, 2008 Katie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: food, pwned

Not as good as the first book. In "I'm Just Here for the Food", AB had a very casual, minimalist attitude towards tools and techniques: keep it cheap but heavy; you don't need a thousand pans to be a good cook; good cooking is really only variations on a very few common themes, so learn to trust your instincts and play around a little, and people will think you're fabulous.

Now, baking is a more fastidious endeavor so you can't be quite as hippie about it, and he seems to have compensated by inj...more

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Dec 20, 2009 William rated it 5 of 5 stars

Just like "I'm Just Here for the Food," this book teaches WHY you do things as you do in baking. First of all, it bakes by mass, not volume which allows for more repeatable results and is simply faster. There is no careful measurement with a scale. Pour until it is enough. Move on.

It helps that the recipes are often excellent too. The banana bread particularly never fails and Chocolate Muffins #7 are amazing with surprisingly little fat given the resulting taste and texture.

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Apr 07, 2008 Sherpa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Sherpa the Baker, who'd think that? Anyways, If you're looking for a cookbook, this is NOT the book for you. However, if you are looking for a book that begins with a 60 or so page explanation of the science behind baking, you're in luck. The entire book which includes a good number of recipes looks to instruct the reader in how to consistently make excellent baked goods of all kinds; yeast breads, muffins, cookies, etc, by taking a unique approach to the categorization of these items, the mixin...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Andrea rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cookbook

This is a great book... not because of the recipes (although I've modified his cookie recipe to make my own killer one) but because of how he breaks down and simplifies the different procedures. Baking, much more than regular cooking, is an exact science. He not only tells you what to do, but WHY, and in what order to get the proper results.

Indispensable.

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Jun 10, 2009 Rosita Chiquita Juanita Chihuahua rated it 3 of 5 stars

Tons of factual baking education going on here, which is great! Serve me up a plate, I'm hungerin'! And clear, with humor that fits in nicely. But: I only tried four recipes, but they weren't home-runs, and there were tricky bits to them that you think Mr.Technique would have given you the heads-up about (Frustrating doughs, laughing so I will not cry). There's a bunch of scientific details in here that don't seem so need-to-know, and thus I dozed off some times. Also, I have heard from several...more

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May 18, 2010 Cherie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Great reading if you want to understand the chemistry of baking. I don't expect to use all the recipes in this book. And despite his case for some ingredients over others, I have my own preferences. But it's a really helpful reference if you want to make your own ingredient substitutions, since you'll learn why each ingredient is important to a recipe.

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Feb 23, 2009 Scott rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love this cookbook. Miles got it for me when he met Alton Brown during an appearance at Book Passage in Marin. Alton even signed the foam core promotional sign and gave it to Miles which he still has 3 years later. It is primarily a baking cookbook and in Alton Brown style it deconstructs and explains the science behind baking.

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Dec 28, 2008 Chris rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ok, this is where the rubber meets the road. After all, I am more of a baker than someone who makes read food. I kind of wish that there were more recipes in the book overall, but it is a great reference to the different "styles" of baking and why you need to use the muffin method instead of creaming to make things turn out right.

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Jan 04, 2012 Laree rated it 5 of 5 stars

I honestly read this like it was a novel. So many amazing explanations for why things work and why they don't - at a molecular level. So many perfect ideas (like freezing your butter and then using a cheese grater to cut it in!), so many yummy recipes. Now I just need a good scale to weigh all my ingredients!

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Jan 15, 2012 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking

My only complaint is that this book can require flipping back and forth. By putting forth his own theory of recipe construction, Brown requires the cook to learn his language. Still, this book is filled with great information and the a recipe for the best cheesecake I have ever had/made.

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May 02, 2010 Sam rated it 5 of 5 stars

Great, in-depth book on baking methods and recipes. I particularly liked the detailed section on ingredients, describing what specifically and scientifically each part plays in the baking process.

i heart alton brown :)

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Jul 09, 2009 Kelsey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I love this book because I love the science behind things. It was so interesting to learn all about how ingredients work together. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys cooking.

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Dec 12, 2011 Carmen rated it 4 of 5 stars

He should be called "The Anal Chef", but this ex-architect's extremely analytical approach to baking appeals to me (I wonder why? - DON'T ANSWER THAT!). Not just recipes here, but thorough explanations of how it works. AND the pizza dough is great! It cooks up soft & bubbly - not unlike a NY Sicilian pie - and much better than the Mark Bittman recipe i had been using.

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Feb 03, 2013 Mckinley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking, non-fiction

Got for D. It's all about baking which was just what he wanted. He's totally into the science of baking. And this has helped out a lot.

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Jul 24, 2012 Keith rated it 3 of 5 stars

Actually, this is my sister's review. It is #6 on her top 10 cookbooks ever. For my part, I like reading the explanation and the recipes.

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Mar 24, 2009 Heather rated it 5 of 5 stars

Once you read his book on cooking, (I'm Just Here for the Food), you'll totally want to read this one on baking...

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Nov 20, 2011 Adrienne rated it 5 of 5 stars

I met Alton at a book signing for this book. He was awesome. I wish I had told him what his show meant to me.

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Jul 29, 2011 Catherine Woodman rated it 4 of 5 stars

He is not to my taste, but he does an outstanding job of explaining the chemistry of how things work

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Jul 24, 2011 Sarah Castillo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction

Love that this book has formulas instead of recipes in some areas. Makes creating your own breads and muffins a whole lot easier. I also like that it teaches cooking in concepts rather than in rules.

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Sep 09, 2009 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars

Picked this up at the library and decided to see if anything looked good. Of course I only saw that it was Alton Brown, not that it was a baking cookbook.

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Oct 18, 2011 Andrea Harris rated it 3 of 5 stars

i really liked this book. it helped with my senior project a lot. now im gonna go get the first 1.

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Apr 11, 2010 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction, humor, cookbook

Love it! Please see my review for Food + Heat = Cooking (my thoughts are about the same).

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Aug 05, 2011 Scott rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cooking

Breaking down recipes into methods--wouldn't mind seeing more cookbooks like this.

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About Alton Brown

Alton Brown is an American food personality, cinematographer, author, and actor. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show Good Eats, the miniseries Feasting on Asphalt and the main commentator on Iron Chef America.
Brown received a degree in drama from the University of Georgia. He first worked in cinematography and film production, and was the director of photography on the m...more

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