Great day in the morning, BakeWise is out! You are holding the book that everyone has been waiting for. Sure enough, Shirley did not hold b...
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reviews
Mar 21, 2011
Monika
rated it: 
This book gets infinity stars from me.
Here's my review for this book over at 101 Cookbooks Library, which has a bit more detail:
Written by a biochemist, this book is *essential* for anyone that is serious about baking, especially if they are a recipe developer or make a lot of modifications/substitutions. Every possible variation and combination of all essential baking components - flour, egg whites, yolks, baking soda, baking powder, acids, sweeteners, fats, Dutch proce More...
Here's my review for this book over at 101 Cookbooks Library, which has a bit more detail:
Written by a biochemist, this book is *essential* for anyone that is serious about baking, especially if they are a recipe developer or make a lot of modifications/substitutions. Every possible variation and combination of all essential baking components - flour, egg whites, yolks, baking soda, baking powder, acids, sweeteners, fats, Dutch proce More...
Jul 21, 2010
Fans of Cooks Illustrated type cookbooks where the science and the experimenting are as important as the recipes will enjoy this book by James Beard Award winner, Shirley Corriher, the author of the classic, CookWise. The author uses her background as a chemist to explain the science of baking. Each recipe is accompanied by a section titled "What This Recipe Shows". For instance, "Cream of tartar speeds up the unwinding of the egg-white proteins and aids in forming and stablizi
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Jan 06, 2009
Rikelle
rated it:
I love this book! I have become a big fan of Shirley after watching her on Alton Brown. This is not your ordinary cook book. Instead of just giving you a recipe she tells you the purpose for the ingredients and the science behind baking. This is great because you can now have the tools to tweak your own recipes. I also love her tips for tempering chocolate. The only thing I wish the book had was more pictures. Also the cookie section could use more information. I saw her once on television sayin
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Nov 14, 2009
Emily
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I read through this book, and there were a lot of amazing sounding recipes. So, I tried two of them and was underwhelmed. The science behind the recipes was interesting, and why she chose the amounts of ingredients that she chose. We tried the Apple Walnut Muffins, and agreed that there were just too many flavors in them. I also made the Lemon-White Chocolate cookies, and they were okay. For some reason they left a weird aftertaste in my mouth. So, if you like to read about the science of
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Jun 06, 2010
Elizabeth
rated it: 
I admit that I bought this book mainly for the science and had no strong intention of ever making any of the recipes. But now I've read the book and am feeling tempted by a few. Which is why I really wish there were more photos. I'm not familiar with many of the baked goods the author includes, and pictures of the final products would help immensely. When she talks about her Double-Icing Technique for ganache, I want a photo to see just how smooth she can get it—are the results worth the effort?
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Mar 17, 2011
Sherri
rated it: 
I wanted to love this, I really did. After seeing the author's numerous appearances on Good Eats, I was excited to dive into her work and learn all about the science of baking. But in reality it was rather disappointing. The book is packed full of useful reference information - baker's formulas, scientific explanations, discussions of ingredients. I instantly learned why the sheet cakes I had tried to make for my son's birthday didn't rise and wished I had read the book beforehand. However, as I
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Jan 19, 2012
LulusMom
rated it:
This book is so frustrating! The author knows a lot about baking, and has much to give. But the book is poorly edited. It always takes longer than necessary to find what I'm looking for. And it's rife with errors, like this one on page 432: "Baker's percentages are explained on pages 000 to 000." I *still* have not found the mysterious pages those were meant to mention.
Also, the very first thing I wanted to bake--and reached for this book--was scones. And this book has no re
Also, the very first thing I wanted to bake--and reached for this book--was scones. And this book has no re
Jun 30, 2009
Matthew
rated it:
This cookbook is good for both the intuitive "I don't use a recipe" Ratio-type home cook (because it illustrates general principles) and the "I've researched the optimum method of cracking eggs" Cook's Illustrated-type home cook (because it has clearly written and carefully researched recipes). The chocolate crinkle cookie recipe alone is worth the price of the book! My only complaint is that the recipes don't include serving amounts but then, I've researched the best way to
Jul 23, 2010
Great book that provides lots of insight into how ingredients work to produce baked goods.
I just wish the text was better organised and the layout more attractive. Photographs far and few between and were poorly shot extreme close-ups which did not do the recipes justice. It was like look under a magnifying glass at collections of crumb and cake slices.
Such a shame as I really enjoyed the writing style but more attention should have been paid to presentation.
I just wish the text was better organised and the layout more attractive. Photographs far and few between and were poorly shot extreme close-ups which did not do the recipes justice. It was like look under a magnifying glass at collections of crumb and cake slices.
Such a shame as I really enjoyed the writing style but more attention should have been paid to presentation.
Jan 05, 2009
Maggie
rated it:
If you ever wondered why your baked goods didn't turn out--this is the book you need! This book goes in to the science behind why recipes work the way they do. Do you prefer a crispy cookie or a soft cookie? Fudge-like brownies or cake-like brownies? This book tells you what to do to get the result you want. Plus there are a number of recipes that look like fun to make.
Nov 11, 2009
I cannot give this book a rating. Not because it was bad or good, but because I realized I'm not ready for it. I got it thinking that understanding the science of baking would help me make an awesome pie, but instead I learned that I clearly don't know enough about either science or pie-making to understand this book. I've decided to try to make a few more pies and then re-read it and see if that helps. I bet this would be a good book for people who bake a lot. Or got A's in chemistry.
Mar 02, 2009
Anna
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Oh how I love this book. I read about it on NPR and my hubby bought it for me for Christmas. I love knowing the science behind baking and cooking. I think it all started when I moved to a much more humid climate and couldn't get my favorite cookie recipe to work (the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe). I was so sad because they were so, so good. Since that time, I had been on a quest to fix them. The funny thing about this book is that it directly addressed the recipe and gave
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Dec 09, 2011
Sharri
rated it:
Okay, I don't normally include cookbooks on my GoodReads list -- then again, I don't normal read cookbooks. But this one is different. This one was made for people like me don't have much interest in the process of preparing food... unless you make it scientific! The author talks about the science behind baking soda (now I know the difference between baking powder and baking soda!) and flour (now I know that the wide variance in all-purpose flour's protein levels explains why my cookies sometime
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Jan 20, 2011
Courtney
rated it:
Amazing infomation to make sure all of your baking is perfect. I learned so many great things (use a pizza stone to ensure even distribution of heat and to bake evenly).
Loved the coconut cake recipe.
Loved the coconut cake recipe.
Feb 11, 2010
Ashlie
rated it:
Baking is such a science that it was fun reading this book cover to cover. I didn't get all of it -- chemistry was never my best subject -- but I did pick up a few things that have helped me with baking since.
Mar 09, 2009
Sarah Beth
rated it:
This is an amazing book packed with information but it's truly for the perfectionist/skilled baker - way too high-level for a dedicated amateur such as myself.
Feb 06, 2011
Gina
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This also looks good, but again, not for baking at high altitudes. She did recommend the book Pie in the Sky, so that will be next on my library list!
Jan 14, 2010
Brenda
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Like Alton Brown, Shirley Corriher blends fun and interesting science behind cooking and baking to make you a more informed and better cook/pastry chef.
May 29, 2010
Kathryn
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Cookies, yum. Have you ever wondered why something you bake turns out perfect one time but less than perfect another time? This book will give you the answer to that and many more baking questions that you didn't even know you had. Shirley Corriher even gives you the formula to invent your own cake recipes. Do you prefer your brownies cake-like or fudgy? And what is up with that dry flaky crust they sometimes develop on the top? This book explains it all and tells you how to adjust the rec
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May 13, 2009
Autumn
rated it:
Shirley Corriher is a nuclear genius and also unpretentious enough to include a recipe for 'Fire Crackers' that's made out of saltines, cheddar and pepper flakes. Also, her granny made biscuits the same way my granny made biscuits ie: correctly.
Apr 15, 2009
I haven't gotten very far in this book but I LOVE it. She goes into detail about how to get what you want out of a recipe. What alterations to make to get fugde-like brownies or cake-like brownies or brownies with a thick crust. I'm always tweaking recipes and love that this books has tons of info to help me do that more effectively.
I had to return it to the library but I got Cookwise for Christmas. Haven't had time for it yet.
I had to return it to the library but I got Cookwise for Christmas. Haven't had time for it yet.
May 27, 2009
Laura
rated it:
Very informative. My cookies taste better than ever after following a few simple tips gleaned from this book.
Mar 16, 2009
Jessica
rated it:
Should be called Serious Baking for Serious Bakers. Buying all the gadgets and ingredients the recipes call for can make for some pretty pricey muffins. I've made two of the recipes with tasty but not so-mind-blowing-it's-worth-the-cost results. However, the tricks and techniques make the book worthwhile. Get it as a book on baking -- not a recipe book.
